How Fuel Cards And Gas Rebate Cards Can Lower Your Petrol Bill

A gas rebate card is becoming much more popular as the price of gas has been increasing. It is important to understand the terms of the gas rebate cards as many times what is advertised in the introductory offer and what is detailed in the fine print can be quite different. Gas rebate cards tend to offer a percentage discount or rebate on any gas purchased.

However the large rebate tends to only be available for the first few months, generally at about 90 days. For example Chase's MasterCard has a 6% rebate on all gas purchases but only for the first 90 days and then after this time the rebate drops to around 3%. As with many credit cards the terms and conditions can change drastically. There have been cards in the past that offered rebates on gas but when the card issuer discovered that people were only using that card to purchase gas and not other items they quickly changed the policy.

You will also need to realize that many gas rebate cards only offer rebates at specific gas stations. To receive the full rebate you will have to go to a standalone stations. Also the savings you may be receiving from the rebates may not be savings at all as gas rebate cards tend to have much higher interest rates then traditional credit cards. If you carry a balance on your credit cards then it is advised that you do so on a low interest card and not the gas rebate card.

Many times you will have to make a request for the rebate and if you do not request it then you it can disappear after about 6 months. It is possible to be creative and save quite a bit on gas but this can take some time to figure out.

For example it is possible to buy a gas card, such as a $50 card for about $48. But to purchase the card you use a rebate card that offers a rebate on all gas station purchases, say about 5% rebate. So altogether that may be about an 8% discount, which can save you about 26 cents per gallon if gas is above $3 a gallon. In the long run gas rebate cards are not as great as they first appear.