The Ultimate Gas Card Trifecta

[longtimelurker]

---

@Josh2942 wrote:
But that's only on Exxon Mobile. They may not have one around him. The cap is low though

---

Whats only on Exxon Mobile?

[takeshi74]

---

@Omnias wrote:

And what combo of cards would you use?

---

I use the PenFed Platinum Cash Rewards.  5% on gas no limit and no AF with qualifying product and automatically credited each month.

---

@csryang wrote:

How much money do you spend on gas each month/year? Is it really worth it to apply for 3 cards just for gas?

---

Especially if the OP wants no more than 3-5 cards total.

---

@Omnias wrote:

I wanted to know what other people though about this type of strategy out of curiousity.

---

Each needs to determine a strategy that works for the individual.  The stategy in the OP is convoluted for gas rewards IMO (especially when it comes to justifying a card with another card) and a single 5% card for gas works for me which is why I use that solution.  Even having 10 total cards I can't see having 3 cards for gas rewards but, again, YMMV.

[Themanwhocan]

---

@longtimelurker wrote:

---

@Josh2942 wrote:
But that's only on Exxon Mobile. They may not have one around him. The cap is low though

---

Whats only on Exxon Mobile?

---

I think they are confusing the two different Sallie Mae credit cards. The Sallie Mae Upromise.com card gives 3% cash back only at Exxon or Mobile locations.

Whereas we are discussing the Sallie Mae Rewards Mastercard, which gives 5% cash back at all Gas Stations, capped at $250 Gas Station spending per card per month. Plus 5% on grocery Stores capped at $250/month and 5% cash back on bookstores (like amazon.com purchases) capped at $750/month.

[xerostatus]

I am not sure if this is widely-known, but I was mildly surprised when i realized that Home Depot sells gift cards, including gas cards (i was in a hurry to do some other shopping, so cant confirm which stations but i definitely spotted/recognized the shell cards). Just something to keep in mind, as i do believe you'd get 5% with a discover this quarter (Q2). Seems like plenty of ways to sustain 5% gas throughout most, if not the entire length, of the year, so I see cards like BoA rewards or whatever it is unnecessary. 3% is good, but youre leaving a lot of money on the table.

Also, I haven't yet seen it mentioned but the Ft. Knox CU card gives 5% gas throughout the entire year, with what appears to be no caps;

Seems like based on some feedback on the forums, that eligibility is sketchy, but i myself did confirm with a CSR that a non-member can indeed apply, and membership is not a requirement to obtaining the card. YMMV, of course.

[milkshakes]

Hi OP:

from the sound of it, it doesn't seem like you currently have much spend. so here's what i'd go for in your situation:

1st: BofA Better Balance - this is a good $100 per year ($120 if you have a bofa checking or savings) that isn't dependent on money at all

2nd: Sallie Mae card - as others have mentioned, 5% gas (up to $250 monthly), 5% groceries ($250 monthly), 5% books (Amazon and collge textbooks, $750 monthly). this will come up in the clutch throughout your college years, and since they have a student version you'll stand a better chance of getting accepted earlier on.

this leaves 1-3 cards (since you said 3-5 long term) for playroom for other categories, like when you decide that you want to travel and start setting goals for that. These cards will also allow you to hit all major networks, get EMV goodness, flashy / pretty cards, and all the other pros you mentioned before.

chase freedom vs Discover IT

Both are good, but you'll notice that a lot of their categories tend to overlap. I think Chase has better & more categories than Discover, but Discover has a better mall for bonuses. Chase Freedom synergizes well with CSP and/or Chase checking account.

you're right - it is interesting to consider how one can offset an annual fee using the BofA Better Balance. I know some people who have a BofA Better Balance and have only their netflix account on it to pick up the $100. You mentioned that although 5% sounds good, the value you get from it is marginalized because of your low spend. If you think about this the other way, the incredibly high spenders ($50k+) accumulate so much spend and points that it's actually more work for them to keep track of another card for just $100. The best way to think about the Sallie Mae card is being able to run around with 5% off all the time, regardless of how much you spend (since it doesn't sound like you'll be hitting the top end).

[milkshakes]

---

@xerostatus wrote:

I am not sure if this is widely-known, but I was mildly surprised when i realized that Home Depot sells gift cards, including gas cards (i was in a hurry to do some other shopping, so cant confirm which stations but i definitely spotted/recognized the shell cards). Just something to keep in mind, as i do believe you'd get 5% with a discover this quarter (Q2). Seems like plenty of ways to sustain 5% gas throughout most, if not the entire length, of the year, so I see cards like BoA rewards or whatever it is unnecessary. 3% is good, but youre leaving a lot of money on the table.

Also, I haven't yet seen it mentioned but the Ft. Knox CU card gives 5% gas throughout the entire year, with what appears to be no caps;

Seems like based on some feedback on the forums, that eligibility is sketchy, but i myself did confirm with a CSR that a non-member can indeed apply, and membership is not a requirement to obtaining the card. YMMV, of course.

---

good point on Home Depot, but MS can be a dangerous game and there's a ton of people who get reckless with MS chasing sign-up bonuses, eventually ruining their relationship with their bank. he was also talking about BofA Better Balance, not Cash Rewards.

[longtimelurker]

---

@milkshakes wrote:

---

@xerostatus wrote:

I am not sure if this is widely-known, but I was mildly surprised when i realized that Home Depot sells gift cards, including gas cards (i was in a hurry to do some other shopping, so cant confirm which stations but i definitely spotted/recognized the shell cards). Just something to keep in mind, as i do believe you'd get 5% with a discover this quarter (Q2). Seems like plenty of ways to sustain 5% gas throughout most, if not the entire length, of the year, so I see cards like BoA rewards or whatever it is unnecessary. 3% is good, but youre leaving a lot of money on the table.

Also, I haven't yet seen it mentioned but the Ft. Knox CU card gives 5% gas throughout the entire year, with what appears to be no caps;

Seems like based on some feedback on the forums, that eligibility is sketchy, but i myself did confirm with a CSR that a non-member can indeed apply, and membership is not a requirement to obtaining the card. YMMV, of course.

---

good point on Home Depot, but MS can be a dangerous game and there's a ton of people who get reckless with MS chasing sign-up bonuses, eventually ruining their relationship with their bank. he was also talking about BofA Better Balance, not Cash Rewards.

---

Buying retail cards at a place like Home Depot isn't really manufactured spend or at least the "bad"  type (which involves buying things you can turn into cash to repay the credit card, allowing endless repeats).   It's really just buying stuff early, like prepaying utiliites, rather than generating new spend that wouldn't have happened otherwise.

Chasing sign-up bonuses certainly isn't either.  It can get you a bad reputation with a lender if you do it often and obviously enough, but the banks are cutting down on opportunity anyway.

I agree with xerostatus there are many good ways to get 5% on gas:  Penfed, Fort Knox, Amex BC for uncapped year round, $1500 a quarter Discover and Freedom for various quarters, and buying gas cards at the right kind of store for some of the other quarters

[xerostatus]

---

@milkshakes wrote:

good point on Home Depot, but MS can be a dangerous game and there's a ton of people who get reckless with MS chasing sign-up bonuses, eventually ruining their relationship with their bank. he was also talking about BofA Better Balance, not Cash Rewards.

---

I dont think that can be considered MS, in the sense that you aren't artificially generating a "spending" amount just to churn rewards and/or sign up bonuses, only to turn around and liquidate into cash to pay the card back. 

Buying a gas card (particularly with the sole intent of actually using it for gas) at a retailer (whose transaction is coded to give you a category bonus) isnt MS, and considering further that most of these scenarios generally involve a spending cap, shouldnt be a problem.

[milkshakes]

good point on the clarification between the two. i was moreso referring to the part when he mentioned that home depot sells gift cards, not exclusively gas cards. i completely agree that buying gas cards with the intention of using it for gas isnt really MS; you're simply purchasing the gas via home depot rather than directly from the station.

when i mentioned people getting reckless, i meant that the the risk of getting deeper into debt than they thought they would largely increases. so they're at risk of ruining their relationship with their bank in multiple ways.

definitely sorry about that. i should reread my posts and make sure im conveying my thoughts clearly and properly