If you spend a lot of money each month filling your car with gas, it makes sense to maximize your return on that expense.
Several credit cards offer bonuses on gas purchases. It’s a smart business choice because using a card for gas means that card will always be in your wallet and you’re more likely to use that card for other purchases besides when you go to fill up the tank.
Which card is the BEST? It depends on what type of reward you want to earn (cash or points), if you want to pay an annual fee and if you want an all-around card or a card that’s just for gas purchases. This is one of the instances where Your Mileage May Vary. Here are some of the cards available, with an above-average return on gas purchases.
I’ll split them into personal cards and business cards.
Citi Strata Premier Card
The Citi Strata Premier card earns 3 ThankYou points for each dollar spent on gasoline. This is the best return for a personal card that earns transferrable points. That means you can take the points you earn with the Premier card and transfer them to an airline program or use them to make reservations through the Citi travel portal. This card has a $95 annual fee, so you’d need to spend a lot on gas each year to earn that money back. Therefore, getting this card only makes sense if you’re going to use the card’s other bonus categories, like travel, supermarkets, and dining.
CLICK HERE to read our full review of the Citi Strata Premier card.
Costco Anywhere Visa
The Costco Anywhere Visa card earns 4% back on gasoline purchases up to the first $7,000 each year. You will earn points at gas stations AND when buying Costco Gas. Since gas purchases at wholesale clubs are typically excluded from bonus categories, earning 4% on those purchases is a huge plus if you buy gas at Costco often.
This card has no annual fee as long as you are a Costco member. You receive the cashback once yearly as a lump sum that needs to be redeemed at Costco. Using this card for gas is a no-brainer if you’re a Costco loyalist. CLICK HERE to read our full review of the Costco Anywhere card.
American Express Everyday Preferred
The American Express Everyday Preferred earns 2 Membership Rewards points for gas purchases. The card also gives a 50% bonus on points earned if you use the card 30 times or more in a billing cycle, giving you a return of 3 points per dollar spent on gas. Membership Rewards is American Express’s transferrable points currency and I find it easy to use them for aspirational redemptions. I used AMEX points to book the best award trip I ever planned for my dad and his wife, getting them to Bali and back in business class.
The card has a $95 annual fee but can be worthwhile because besides earning 2 points per dollar for gas, it has bonus categories for supermarket shopping and a 50% bonus on all points earned with 30 transactions. CLICK HERE to read our full review of the card.
Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards
If you’re looking for a no-requirement, no annual fee, cash-back card, the Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards card may be perfect for you. It earns 3% cash back in the category of your choice: gas, online shopping, dining, travel, drug stores, or home improvement/furnishings, 2% at grocery stores and wholesale clubs and 1% cash back on other purchases. Bonus rewards are capped at $2,500 in combined grocery/wholesale club/selected category purchases each quarter.
While the card is not exciting, you can earn $300 back each year if you only use the card for gas purchases up to $2,500 per quarter. That’s enough to purchase most round-trip economy airline tickets. You also have the flexibility to use the money however you want.
We don’t have this card since we use our cards to earn points or miles for our travel, but I realize that some people would find it extremely valuable. You can sign up for the card at the Bank of America Website.
PenFed Platinum Rewards
The Platinum Rewards card from PenFed Credit Union earns 5x points on gas purchases at the pump and 3x points on grocery purchases. It has no annual fees and no foreign transaction fees.
You can redeem points earned with the Platinum Rewards card for travel or gift certificates. There’s no chart available that I could find, but other websites have placed redemptions for gift cards at 0.85 cents per point and travel redemptions at 1.15 cents per point. Even at a cent each, that’s a 5% return on gas purchases with a no-annual-fee card.
Since PenFed is a credit union, you have to be a member to be eligible for their credit card. While there were previously requirements for membership, now the only cost to join is depositing $5 in a savings account.
You can sign up for the card at the PenFed website.
American Express Hilton Honors Surpass
If you’re looking for a card that will earn you points in a hotel program for your gas purchases, the Hilton Honors Surpass Card from American Express is a great choice. It earns six Hilton Honors points per dollar for US gas purchases and purchases at US restaurants and US supermarkets. The Surpass card also earns 12 points per dollar for Hilton charges worldwide and 3 points per dollar for all other purchases.
Hilton points are only worth about 0.6 cents each. That’s a 3.6% return on your gas purchases, which isn’t the best value out there. However, if you’re a Hilton fan and get a better value for your points, this card is a good choice for you. The card has a $95 annual fee but provides complimentary Hilton gold status and a free weekend night certificate if you spend $15,000 in a calendar year.
CLICK HERE to read our full review of the Hilton Surpass card.
Citi Custom Cash
The Citi Custom Cash provides 5% back in one of several categories listed by the card.
5% eligible categories: Restaurants, gas stations, grocery stores, select travel, select transit, select streaming services, drugstores, home improvement stores, fitness clubs, live entertainment.
You earn 5% in the category you spend the most in each month and 1% on all other charges. The only thing keeping all the points and miles geeks from getting the card is that the 5% bonus is limited to $500 each month.
I exclusively use this card for live entertainment expenses, which include concerts, theater tickets and amusement park tickets. However, it could be a good option if you spend $500 a month at gas stations.
CLICK HERE to read more about the Citi Custom Cash card.
Buc-ee’s Mastercard
If you’re eligible for the Buc-ee’s card, you can sign up at the TDECU website.
Business Cards
American Express Business Gold
The American Express Business Gold card offers a great return on gasoline purchases as the card pays 4x Membership Rewards points for the top two of the following spending categories each month:
- U.S. purchases made from electronic goods retailers and software & cloud system providers,
- Monthly wireless telephone service charges made directly from a wireless telephone service provider in the U.S.,
- Transit purchases, including trains, taxicabs, rideshare services, ferries, tolls, parking, buses, and subways,
- Purchases at U.S. media providers for advertising in select media (online, TV, radio),
- U.S. purchases at gas stations, and
- U.S. purchases at restaurants, including takeout and delivery.
If your business has large expenditures at gas stations, earning 4x points is hard to beat. CLICK HERE to read our full review of the American Express Business Gold Card.
Wyndham Rewards Earner Business Card
The Wyndham Rewards Earner Business card earns 8X Wyndham Rewards points for gas station purchases. That’s incredible as a standard bonus category and could be valuable, depending on how much you want Wyndham points.
The card costs $95 per year and also pays 5X points on advertising, marketing and utility expenses.
You can sign up for the card on the Barclays website.
Final Thoughts
Choosing which card to use when you pull up to the gas station can be confusing. Putting a little thought into what type of reward you want to earn can make the decision easier.
- I use the Citi Strata Premier card because I like to earn the maximum points I can for our travels.
- Sharon uses the AMEX Hilton Honors Surpass because it’s at the front of her wallet to help us earn a free night after $15,000 in spending. She only wants to have one card to use everywhere, and this one gives a good return on her usual expenses (gas and groceries)
- My dad uses the Costco card because he loves shopping at Costco and often fills up at the Costco gas station.
Like most things, there’s no BEST card for everyone. What’s good for someone else might be terrible for you. Make an informed decision and then watch the points or cash back start rolling in.
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