Best gas credit cards of October 2023

When you visit the gas station to fill up your car, it’s a painful reminder that you spend a significant amount of your monthly budget on gas. Right now, the average gas price is north of $6.00 a gallon in California and almost $3.80 a gallon nationwide. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the amount the typical American spent on gasoline increased by 37% from 2020 to 2021 and then again by 45% from 2021 to 2022. 

One way to remove a bit of the sting is to get a credit card that offers rewards on gas. Over the course of a year, earning 3% rewards or more on each dollar you spend at the pump can really add up. And, if the rewards go beyond the pump, you can benefit even more.

This list of the best gas credit cards includes gas cards issued by national banks that offer rewards on gas purchases at most gas stations.

Some gas station brands issue their own credit cards that offer increased rewards on gas purchases at that brand’s partner gas stations. If you always buy your gas at the same place, it might be worthwhile to compare your favorite station’s gas card against these more general options.

We like getting great rewards on gas purchases, but for most of us gas is a relatively small fraction of our monthly budget. With the Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards credit card, you have a single card that gets 1.5% cash back on every purchase, every day. Having one card that earns great rewards on all purchases means you don’t have to juggle a wallet full of cards and remember which one to use for gas. If you value simplicity and want a single card that you can use for gas and all of your other purchases, the Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards credit card is a great option.

• 1.5% cash back rewards on every purchase, every day with no minimums or caps.
• $200 cash new cardmember bonus once you spend $500 on the card within three months.
• Extended warranty benefit.
• Travel accident insurance.
• No annual fee.

Having limited credit history or having missed a few payments in the past shouldn’t lock you out of getting a credit card that earns rewards, but most rewards cards require a good or excellent credit score to get approved. In contrast, Capital One makes the QuicksilverOne Cash Rewards Credit Card available to you if you have fair credit. You’ll get a card that offers 1.5% cash back rewards on every purchase, including gas, plus have the security of using a credit card for your purchases.

• 1.5% cash back rewards on every purchase, everyday with no minimums or caps.
• Automatic credit line reviews starting six months after you open the card.
• $0 liability for fraudulent purchases if your card is lost or stolen.

• No new cardmember welcome bonus.
• $39 annual fee.

The Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express offers 3% cash back on purchases at U.S. gas stations, which earns the card its spot on this list. But what really makes this card worth its annual fee ($0 intro annual fee for the first year, then $95 per year after that; see Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express – Rates & Fees) is its additional rewards in other categories. The Blue Cash Preferred offers 6% cash back on up to $6,000 per year of purchases at U.S. supermarkets (1% after you spend $6,000) and 6% on select U.S. streaming services. (Terms apply.)

• 3% cash back on purchases at U.S. gas stations. 
• 3% cash back on eligible transit.
• 6% cash back on purchases at U.S. supermarkets on up to $6,000 of spending each year, then 1%.
• 6% cash back on select U.S. streaming services.
• Extended warranty benefit.

The Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express gives you 3% cash back on up to $6,000 per year of purchases at U.S. gas stations. If you’re not spending more than $100 a week on gas, that means you’ll get 3% rewards on all of your gas purchases using a card with no annual fee. (Terms apply.)

What makes this card stand out is its 3% cash rewards on up to $6,000 per year of U.S. online retail purchases. This makes the Blue Cash Everyday Card a versatile card that can replace a wallet full of store credit cards — you can get increased rewards while shopping at a large selection of online stores using a single card. The card also offers 3% cash back at U.S. supermarkets on up to $6,000 of purchases per year (then 1%).

• 3% cash back on up to $6,000 per year of purchases at U.S. gas stations, then 1%.
• 3% cash back on up to $6,000 per year of U.S. online retail purchases, then 1%.
• 3% cash back on up to $6,000 per year of grocery purchases at U.S. supermarkets, then 1%.
• $200 new cardmember welcome bonus after spending $2,000 on the card within the first six months.
• No annual fee.

• No extended warranty benefit.
• Only 1% cash back on all other eligible purchases.

It’s easy to find a card that offers generous cash back rewards at gas stations, but earning more than one airline mile per dollar on gas is rare. The United Gateway℠ Card offers two MileagePlus miles per dollar spent at gas stations, making it one of the only cards that can earn you two miles per dollar in a U.S. airline frequent flyer program. Interestingly, it is also the only MileagePlus credit card with no annual fee.

• Earn two miles per dollar spent at gas stations, plus two miles per dollar on United Purchases, two miles per dollar on local transit and commuting, and one mile per dollar everywhere else.
• New cardmember welcome bonus: 20,000 bonus miles after spending $1,000 on purchases within three months.
• Travel and consumer insurance coverage including auto rental collision damage waiver, trip cancellation/interruption insurance, purchase protection, and extended warranty.
• No annual fee.

• Earns United miles rather than cash back.
• Earns only one mile per dollar on general purchases.

The Wells Fargo Autograph℠ Card offers three points per dollar on an expansive list of bonus categories, including gas, electric vehicle charging stations, travel, restaurants, transit, popular streaming services, and phone plans. In addition to rewards, when you charge your monthly cell phone bill to the card, you’ll benefit from cell phone protection with a low deductible of $25, meaning your phone is protected against accidental damage or theft.

• Earn three points per dollar on gas, electric vehicle charging stations, travel, restaurants, transit, popular streaming services, and phone plans.
• 30,000 point welcome bonus — worth $300 — after you spend $1,500 on the card within the first three months.
• Auto rental collision damage waiver insurance.
• Cell phone protection benefit with a $25 deductible.
• No annual fee.

• No extended warranty benefit.
• Points must be redeemed in 2,500 increments ($25 reward) online and by phone or in 2,000 point increments ($20 reward) at a Wells Fargo ATM.

Discover doesn’t offer a welcome bonus on its Discover it® Chrome card. Instead, as a new card member, you get all of the cash back rewards you earn doubled at the end of the first year. This turns an otherwise middling rewards offering into market-leading rewards on gas and dining — at least during the first year you hold the Discover it® Chrome card. 

Discover’s unlimited cashback match means the Discover it® card’s 2% rewards on up to $1,000 in combined restaurant and gas station purchases each quarter becomes 4% rewards during your first year of having the card. Plus, you’ll earn 1% cash back (doubled to 2% in your first year) on all other purchases.

• 2% cash back on up to $1,000 in combined purchases each quarter at gas stations and restaurants.
• Cashback is matched dollar-for-dollar at the end of your first year of card membership.
• Get cash at purchase at select retailers with no additional fees.
• No annual fee.

• No substantive benefits beyond the cash back rewards.
• Effective rewards of the card drop after the first year.

The Citi Premier Card gives you three ThankYou Points per dollar spent on purchases in a long list of categories, including gas stations, supermarkets, restaurants, air travel, and hotel purchases. Plus, through 6/30/2024, you can earn 10 points per dollar spent on hotels and car rentals booked through Citi Travel.

Transferable points like Citi ThankYou Points are the holy grail of travel rewards — they can be converted into miles with a variety of airline frequent flier programs. Savvy users of frequent flier miles can often parlay transferable points into business and first class international airline tickets. The Citi Premier Card earns more transferable points on a wider variety of categories than any other card.

• Earn three ThankYou Points per dollar spent at gas stations, supermarkets, restaurants, hotels, and airlines.
• 60,000 point new cardmember welcome offer after spending $4,000 in the first three months.
• Limited time offer of 10 points per dollar spent on hotels and car rentals with Citi Travel through 6/30/2024.

• Citi ThankYou Points does not partner with any major U.S. domestic airlines.
• The Citi Premier Card lacks the travel insurance benefits common on competing cards.

The Citi Custom Cash card offers 5% cash back on your top eligible spending category on up to $500 spent each statement cycle. If you use the card mostly for gas purchases, that means you can be earning 5% on gas on up to $500 of purchases each month—the highest rate of cash back available on gas purchases on any credit card.

But if you decide to add another card that earns rewards on gas to your wallet, you can shift your spending and earn 5% cash back in another category. And you have plenty to choose from: In addition to gas stations, restaurants, grocery stores, select travel, select transit, select streaming services, drugstores, home improvement stores, fitness clubs, and live entertainment are all eligible categories. The flexibility to earn 5% rewards across so many categories makes the Citi Custom Cash a must-have card.

• 5% cash back on your top eligible spend category (including gas stations) on up to $500 spent each month.
• $200 cash back welcome offer after spending $1,500 on the card in the first six months.
• 5% eligible categories include restaurants, gas stations, grocery stores, select travel, select transit, select streaming services, drugstores, home improvement stores, fitness clubs, and live entertainment.
• No annual fee.

• No notable benefits beyond the card’s cash back awards.
• Only 1% cash back on all other eligible purchases.

If you spend a lot on gas and travel, paying an annual fee for increased cash back rewards on your purchases can be a smart move. The U.S. Bank Altitude Connect Visa Signature Card offers four points per dollar — equivalent to 4% cash back — on travel, at gas stations, and on EV charging for a $95 annual fee.

If you spend more than a combined $10,000 in these categories, you’ll earn enough to offset the card’s annual fee, compared to a card with no annual fee that earns 3% in these categories (like the Wells Fargo Autograph Card). For road warriors, fleet managers, Uber drivers, and anyone else who spends a five-digit amount of gas every year, the U.S. Bank Altitude Connect Visa Signature Card might be the most rewarding gas credit card available.

• Earn four points per dollar on travel, at gas stations, and on EV charging.
• New cardmember welcome bonus: Earn 50,000 bonus points when you spend $2,000 in the first 120 days.
• $30 annual streaming credit.
• Includes Priority Pass Select membership with four free airport lounge visits annually.
• Cell phone protection.

• Rewards only offset the annual fee if you have a large amount of gas and travel spending.
• $95 annual fee.

No list of gas credit cards is complete without a mention of the Costco Anywhere Visa Card by Citi. The Costco Anywhere Visa offers 4% cash back on eligible gas and EV charging for the first $7,000 you spend per year. Many gas cards exclude gas purchases at warehouse clubs from earning increased rewards. This makes the Costco Anywhere Visa Card the card to get if you buy your gas primarily at Costco. 

• Earn 4% back on eligible gas and EV charging, including at Costco, on the first $7,000 spent per year.
• Earn 3% on restaurants and eligible travel.
• Earn 2% on all other purchases at Costco and at Costco.com.

• No extended warranty benefit included.
• Cash back is awarded as an annual credit card reward certificate, which is issued in February each year and must be cashed at Costco.
• Requires an annual Costco membership, which starts at $60 a year.

In most cases, when someone refers to a gas credit card they simply mean a credit card that earns additional rewards on gas purchases.

Some gas stations offer store credit cards that can only be used for payment at participating stores. Additionally, some national gas stations may issue a fleet card to businesses that can only be used for gas purchases.

Having credit cards that earn increased rewards in categories where you spend the most can help you maximize the rewards you earn on your everyday spending. If you spend a lot on gas, a gas credit card can turn some of the dollars you spend at the pump into cash in your wallet.

According to J.D. Power, the average American family spends $5,000 per year on gas. With a gas credit card that earns 3% cash back rewards on gas purchases, that family can earn $150 each year in cash back on gas alone.

Not only is it safe to use a credit card at the gas pump, but credit cards are one of the safest ways to pay. When you use a credit card at the gas pump, you have more protections against fraud than you do if you use a prepaid gift card or a bank debit card. It’s one of the reasons you should use a credit card for almost every purchase.

Generally, you are not liable for unauthorized charges made to your credit card. Only in cases where your credit card is stolen and is used before you report it missing, are you liable for up to $50 of unauthorized charges, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Many credit cards offer further protections in their cardmember agreements — most mainstream cards guarantee cardmembers $0 liability for unauthorized uses of their account, even if they occur before they report a stolen card.

When you have a credit card account, your payment history gets reported to the consumer credit bureaus every month, contributing to your credit history. Your track record of on-time payments is one of the biggest factors in your credit score — every month your card is open and paid on time helps your credit score. Even if you have a $0 balance and don’t make charges on your card during the month, your account still gets reported as “paid on time,” strengthening your credit history.

Having a card for gas purchases can also help another factor in your credit score: your credit utilization. If you use a credit card primarily for gas purchases, chances are you are using only a fraction of your available credit. The amount of credit you are using as a proportion of the total amount of credit extended to you is your credit utilization and also factors heavily into your credit score. Credit scoring models favor lower credit utilization, so using a credit card solely or mostly for gas can help you build your credit over the long-term.

Getting a gas credit card works much like getting any other credit card. 

Before you apply for a gas credit card, you might want to check your credit reports to be sure that there are no errors that might cause a bank to deny your application.

If you’re new to credit cards, you’ll want to learn how credit cards work. Make sure you understand that credit cards generally have high APRs, which means you’ll want to pay off your balances every month in full. 

When you’re ready to apply, you’ll fill out an application, the bank that issues the credit card will pull one or more of your credit reports, and you’ll receive a decision about your application. If all goes well, you’ll be approved and get your new credit card in the mail within a matter of days.

Whether it’s worth it to add an additional credit card to your wallet ultimately comes down to how much you spend on gas and the value you might get from a gas credit card.

First, consider the marginal rewards you would earn by using a gas card. Even if you have one of the best cash back credit cards in your wallet, you can probably earn more rewards with a gas card — adding a gas credit card to your wallet might get you as much as an additional 4% cash back on your gas purchases.

If you spend $5,000 on gas each year and can earn 5% on your gas purchases with the Citi Custom Cash, that’s $200 in additional rewards by using a gas card instead of a card that earns 1% cash back rewards. 

Finally, don’t forget about the value of the other rewards, perks, and benefits of the card you’re considering. The American Express Blue Cash Preferred is a great gas card, but its rewards on groceries may prove even more valuable than the rewards it offers on gas, for example. Cards with perks like extended warranty and cell phone protection can also pay off if the laptop you bought stops working or if you shatter your phone screen.

Editorial Disclosure: All articles are prepared by editorial staff and contributors. Opinions expressed therein are solely those of the editorial team and have not been reviewed or approved by any advertiser. The information, including rates and fees, presented in this article is accurate as of the date of the publish. Check the lender’s website for the most current information.

This article was originally published on SFGate.com and reviewed by Lauren Williamson, who serves as Financial and Home Services Editor for the Hearst E-Commerce team. Email her at [email protected].