Wading through gas credit card offers

You probably don't need to be reminded that gas prices are getting higher. Gas stations know this and are beginning to offer some decent gas rewards cards. Anything a gas station can do to save customers money is a good thing.

I picked up a brochure today at Sheetz for their store-branded credit card. The sizzle: 10% rebate on Sheetz purchases (including gas). The fine print: this rate is only good for the first 90 days. After that, the rebate drops to 3% at Sheetz, 2% at grocery stores and restaurants, 1% anywhere else except at competing gas stations, which earn 0%. (Ha!)

On the face of it, this doesn't seem to be quite as good as my Chase PerfectCardâ„¢ Mastercard® — I earn 3% at all gas stations with that card now — but there's a catch: the PerfectCard rebate for the qualifying 3% purchases is capped. Right now there is no cap for the qualifying 3% purchases on the Sheetz card.

Many other large gas-station chains have these kinds of cards: higher-than-average rebate at their stores, lower rebate elsewhere.

So to summarize, here are some key considerations if you're looking to take advantage of a gas credit card offer:

• Is the gas station nearby? The offer probably isn't worth it if you're spending time (and money) driving just to squeak out a few percent extra rebate.
• Does the post-teaser gas rebate have a cap on qualifying purchases? Obviously no cap is better.
• Is the rebate tiered? Some cards pay a lower rebate for the first purchases made on the card, and higher rebates as you charge more. Others pay the same rebate regardless of how much you charge.
• Is gas at that station competitively priced? Most gas stations will be close in price to their nearest competitors, but some gas stations are just way higher than their competition. Four percent off of really high-priced gas may not be better than 1% off of more reasonably-priced gas. (Reasonable, of course, is in the eye of the beholder.)
• How are the rebates paid? My Chase PerfectCardâ„¢ Mastercard® has a cap, but the rebate gets paid as a credit on my next bill. It's immediate and automatic each and every month, and I like that. Other cards may pay their rebates in gift cards by mail, and there may be a minimum redemption amount. Do the gift cards expire? Or are the rewards in “points” that could be devalued easily?
• Does it have special deals with places that you shop? The Discover® Open Road(SM) Card has some pretty high rebates with selected merchants — currently up to 20%! — in addition to a higher rebate rate on gas.
• Are you responsible with credit? The APR, default rate, late fees, grace period, etc. on these cards really don't matter because proper use of these cards involves paying the entire balance off each and every month! Paying interest or fees on gas reward cards totally defeats the purpose of your using the card.