Gasoline Credit Cards Can Save You - Or Cost You Big

Credit cards that offer a rebate on gasoline purchases are the latest marketing push from most major credit card companies. More than 20 million direct mail pieces touting the benefits of gasoline rebate credit cards will find their way into the mailboxes of American consumers this year. Television, radio and print advertising expenditures for this rebate campaign are also expected to be much higher this year.

Are these gasoline credit cards a good deal for consumers? Should you bite at the latest Discover or Chase Perfect Card rebate offer? Probably "Yes" but only if you pay-off the entire credit card balance on-time each and every month.

If you fill up a 20 gallon tank once a week at $2.90 per gallon with a 5% rebate credit card that would bring your actual cost per gallon down to about $2.76 per gallon. But that's only if you pay-off the entire balance.

Interest rates on these gasoline credit cards range anywhere from around 14% to 34%. Most are adjusted to the prime rate and would climb even higher if the Fed continued its present trend of rate increases. Even at the low end of the range, if you carried the balance for one month's gas purchases for a year, your actual cost per gallon for that month would have been around $3.30 per gallon. If you missed the credit card company's payment date that month and got whacked with a late fee, your cost per gallon for that month would have been around $3.79 per gallon. If the addition of the $39 late fee to your balance kicked you over the card's credit limit and you added the $35 over limit charge, your cost per gallon for that month goes up to about $4.23 per gallon.

With any credit card offer the small print is everything. The grace period for paying credit card bills, now around 20 days, keeps getting shorter. The Universal Default provision buried deep in the credit card company's contractual language could allow the credit card company to raise the interest rate on your credit card account with them if you bounce a check at the grocery store, or are late or miss a payment on another, completely unrelated, credit card or maybe even your utility bill.

Many of these gasoline rebate cards offer attractive introductory rates that become less so after three months, or restrict the best rebate to certain brands of gasoline, or charge an annual fee if you do not use the card frequently enough. Almost all the gasoline rebate card offers are joint ventured with specific gasoline retailers. Shell and Citibank, Chase and Marathon, RBS National Bank and Kroger to name a few. Not every gasoline retailer has a station on every corner. Check to see if the rebate offer is limited to a specific geographical region. For example, the Citi AAdvantage card offers double miles on gasoline but only to card holders in Miami and the New York tri-state area.

Peter Boston is an attorney, writer, and netrepreneur who contributes to Profacere.com an information and resource center for loans, credit cards, FICO credit scores, and consumer credit issues, and to the Profacere Personal Finance Blog.

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How to Get the Cheapest Gasoline

There are various ways to get cheap gasoline. Due to the increase of fuel prices throughout the world and the expiration of the natural sources there seems to no relief to get cheap gasoline. This has resulted in most people looking for alternative sources of transport or getting cheap gasoline. 


The regular surcharge of increasing prices of gasoline has actually increased the budgets of all vehicle owners drastically. Hike in these prices has also resulted in cab fares and bus fares to go up.It is known to all that the gasoline prices have raised because of the fast changing world market oil prices and this has made the easily availability of cheap gasoline even more difficult.

But there are various ways through which cheap gasoline can be availed these days. For getting cheaper priced gasoline in your locality it is essential for you to watch the television or read the newspapers. Visiting the nearest gasoline stations and checking out the prices for gasoline also helps you to be updated about the surge of fuel prices. It is best to compare the prices of one dealer with other competitors. This helps to check which dealer offers the cheapest gasoline price at that moment.

There are various other factors also which help you in finding cheap gasoline. This also depends largely on the budget you maintain. Those who travel a lot and need travel allowances where the car needs to be in full tank all the time then it is very easy for you to get cheap gasoline in your area. But those who drive for convenience and then hunt for cheap availability of gasoline many find it difficult to get the same. Fuel should be bought in huge quantities only after surveying your locality and checking out and comparing the prices for available fuel rates. If there are no cheaper sources of fuel in your locality then it is suggested that you make your mark for the amount of fuel spent while commuting and how much is spent on gasoline for a month.

It is also essential to calculate the amount which can be saved by using other modes of transport like the subway or the trains. Other factors which should be considered here are the number of days you are working and also the amount of traveling time. One other option of getting low cost fuels is gasoline stations are to find offers. There are various credit card companies which provide discounts on fuel charges and money back offers.

These offers can help you to reduce the overall cost of fuel for the year. Then there are also certain gasoline stations which provide special cards where points are added to the account of the user. After a certain number of points are accumulated the user can redeem the same for cash or fuel. Sensible planning and usage of your car can help you to save a lot of money in the long run. Travel allowance is provided by many companies but in the long run it is also advised that fuel should not be wasted.

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Is There a Difference Between Gasoline Brands?

Are there really some cheap gas brands that won't run as well as brand name gas station's gas? I've heard stories for years never to buy gas from one gas station because it's watery, or only buy from this brand because it gives better gas mileage. Do any of these stories have a basis in fact?

The real fact is that 99% of all gasoline in the United States is of good quality. Many gasoline, no matter the brand, probably comes from the same source and refined at the same refinery. They are probably even sent out in the same pipeline and stored at the same storage terminal.
So what is the difference, if any, between gasoline brands? It's the additives that are added to the gasoline. All gasoline in the United States contains additives to meet EPA federal standards, even the cheap gas station gasoline. There is a difference between name brand additives and the generic ones but how much of a difference is there and does it really make a difference to your car's performance?

The additives are added to the gasoline when the gasoline is loaded into tanker trucks right before it is taken to a gas station. Until then, all the gasoline is the same. The amount of additives added varies, but for some brands it's just a quart of additives for 8,000 gallons of gasoline.

What will have the most impact on the gasoline quality is the gas station's tank quality, the tanker truck and the consistency of the suppliers in the chain to keep the quality at a certain standard. That affects the gasoline more than the additives. Consumer Reports tried to test gasoline brand differences but quit when they realized differences were not more than differences caused by factors such as temperature and humidity.

There will be differences in gasoline in different parts of the country. The volatility of gasoline in the winter in Connecticut will be much different than that of gasoline in Arizona. Also states and regions have different regulations and standards concerning the quality of the gasoline. Some areas may require gasoline formulated for lower emissions. You may actually run into a bad batch of gas, but it's due to the individual gas station than the brand.

The best thing to do would be to find a gas station that is convenient for you to fill up at, that is reasonably priced and has a consistent supplier. There really is no reason to change gas stations if you've found one that works for you. But only use the grade of gasoline that your car's manual specifies as that will save you money and headaches down the line.

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