Comments (scroll down to add your own):

1. I never really considered cashback or reward cards. I guess if they provide a true incentive I should really consider them.

   Comment by Alisa — Jul 7th 2008 @ 7:14 pm

2. I have this card and am currently using it for the gas cash back. You can only redeem the cash back every time it reaches $20 though.

   Comment by EN — Jul 7th 2008 @ 8:50 pm

3. Already ahead of you – signed up last week! My Discover card is my oldest credit card and thus one I’ll never cancel because it helps my credit score (ironic as that is). Heck getting 5% back may even make me fill up my tank instead of just putting in 5 gallons everytime. I know I’ll be filling up on Sept 30th though.

   Comment by KC — Jul 7th 2008 @ 9:59 pm

4. For my gas I use the Barclays Gulf Platinum MasterCard. it gives me 3% on Gulf purchases, and I have 2 Gulf locations near my home and they are the closest gas stations to my home so it works out that way.

   I know BP and Shell have better rates at 5%, but I have been using this card for years and the rewards is in the form of Gulf Gas gift cards, so when I go to station next I just pay with Gulf gift cards and essentially get free gas!

   P.S. They now offer 6% on Gulf Gas!!!! Yeah!

   Comment by ns — Jul 9th 2008 @ 10:19 am

5. ns: That’s a 60 day promo, at which time you fall back to 3%. The better strategy would be an unbranded 5% card, which gives you 5% off at any station including Gulf.

   Comment by nickel — Jul 9th 2008 @ 10:54 am

6. What would you do & use if you had to get 12 gallons of gas? Following stations are within a commute: BP (cash/credit) $3.979. Exxon (cash/credit) 4.029. Gulf (cash=3.889, credit=3.989). Valero (cash=3.879, credit=3.999). Hess (cash=3.919, credit=4.019). Shell (cash=3.919, credit=3.999). I think using the 5% cashback Discover Card is better; since you do get cashback. ($4×12= 48; 5% is 2.40; if paid by cas,$3.9×12=46.8.) If you use a 3% card, in the example, you profit only ~0.3% (24cents) since the pay-by-cash is cheaper. Any lower cashback or reward points are cost ineffective; unless these gas stations stop realistically charging more for credit gas purchases.

   Comment by SavingEverything — Jul 12th 2008 @ 12:20 pm

7. SavingEverything: I would use the strategy that yields the lowest net price. So I would use a 5% card and buy at the place that gives me the lowest after-rebate pricing. As long as the card premium isn’t more 5% or more, you still come out ahead. Of course, if you want to get into the nitty gritty, you might also consider the cost of waiting for the rebate in terms of bank interest lost, etc. but that’s just splitting hairs.

   As an aside, they don’t technically charge more for credit (they’re not allowed to). Rather, they offer a cash discount, which somehow doesn’t run afoul of Visa/MasterCard rules.

   Comment by nickel — Jul 12th 2008 @ 12:43 pm

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