topic Re: Gas Card Suggestions in Credit Cards

Gas Card Suggestions

Anonymous — Sun, 10 Feb 2019 02:40:17 GMT

Currently using my Amex BCE for 2% on gas ....wondering if there's a better card that may be within my reach in the nearish future or if I should just upgrade to the BCP since I'm prequalified and it's a soft pull.

Scores and current cards in sig, INQS 8 or TU, less on EQ and EX, UTL 18%, 8/12

Re: Gas Card Suggestions

Anonymous — Sun, 10 Feb 2019 03:33:37 GMT

until you get to 700, BCE or DC, and DISC IT are decent cards for gas.

I don't know if you want to pay that AF for BCP, seems unnecessary.

Re: Gas Card Suggestions

Anonymous — Sun, 10 Feb 2019 03:40:15 GMT

How much do you spend on gas?
Are you a Sam's Club or Costco member?

For 5% cashback on gas there are Ducks Unlimited, Fort Knox Credit Union, USAA Amex, Sam's Club MC. Discover it and Chase Freedom also have 5% for certain quarters.

Re: Gas Card Suggestions

Anonymous — Sun, 10 Feb 2019 03:45:37 GMT

Spending about $80/week, sometimes more on gas since I commute for school 2x and my car is a gas guzzling V6. No Sam's or Costco in town or near enough to justify joining. Under a year history and over 5/24 so Chase won't touch me for a while. Expecting scores to rebound back to the low 700s over the next couple of months though as UTL decreases and newer accounts age a bit.

Re: Gas Card Suggestions

HeavenOhio — Sun, 10 Feb 2019 04:28:35 GMT

Your score isn't going to matter if you want to PC to the BCP. What matters is whether your spending will justify the annual fee.

Let's say you use the card only for gas. If you spend $4,000 in a year, you'll earn $80 at 2% and $120 at 3%. That's only a $40 difference, and you're still $55 from breaking even.

What's your grocery spending like? If you spend enough on groceries, you might justify the fee.

Re: Gas Card Suggestions

Anonymous — Sun, 10 Feb 2019 04:43:13 GMT

Grocery is pretty high spend for me but I do most of my grocery shopping at Walmart which doesn't code as grocery for Amex. Luckily BBVA does code Walmart as grocery so I get 2x with that card or 2% with my Citi DC. What little grocery shopping I do at the actual grocery store in town wouldn't justify the AF on the BCP :/

Re: Gas Card Suggestions

Anonymous — Sun, 10 Feb 2019 13:57:09 GMT

Grocery.walmart.com codes as groceries on Amex, check if the local grocery you shop on has their location available, and you can do most of your shopping in app while you walk around in store and be ready to pick it up in an hour outside the store. That should help you offset your gas points.

The ducks card is probably better for just gas if you qualify.

Re: Gas Card Suggestions

Anonymous — Sun, 10 Feb 2019 15:48:43 GMT

Oh man! That's good to know! My store doesn't do grocery pick up yet but they are currently doing a huge remodel and the store a couple towns over started offering pick up after their remodel so I'm hoping its going to happen for us too! Thanks for the tip!

Edit: Just found an article on a local news blog announcing pick up to be available this spring! yay!

Re: Gas Card Suggestions

HeavenOhio — Sun, 10 Feb 2019 16:33:20 GMT

@Anonymous, the way an AMEX transaction "codes" isn't necessarily enough to guarantee a reward. You need to see if a reward has actually been earned. Just as an example, I just earned a 1% reward buying gas at Meijer's. Another poster here who buys gas at a different Meijer's location has confirmed that he gets the 3% grocery reward at the pump.

The old way to see if your anticipated reward had been earned was to hit the Bonus Details button. The button used to appear on online statements a little over a month after the statement posted. Amex took that button away starting this past fall. You can still find that button on older statements.

The new way to check up on your rewards is a whole lot better, but it's only available in the preview version of AMEX's site. To switch to this view, hit the Statements & Activity link in your account. Near the top and on the right, there should be a button to switch to the preview version. Once you do that, you can click on any transaction that's been posted for more than a day or two, then view the reward it earned.

Here's a screen capture showing the new rewards details. Note that this example "codes" as a fuel purchase, but it doesn't qualify for the 2% "US Gas Stations" reward.

@Anonymous, the moral of the story would be to test walmart.com on your BCE before considering a BCP upgrade.

Re: Gas Card Suggestions

Caardvark — Sun, 10 Feb 2019 16:32:14 GMT

Do you live in the proximity of a Publix? They have, in my opinion, the best promos on gas available. Every few weeks they run a promo to Buy a $50 gas gift card for $40 (with the condition that you buy at least $50 of groceries).

They usually run the promo every other week (approx.). We normally buy two gift cards each weekend the promo runs. In short, it's a 20% savings on gas which is hard to beat. Plus, in Q1 I'm buying them with my Discover and getting an additional 10% back (Paying $36 for $50 gas gift card).

Re: Gas Card Suggestions

Anonymous — Sun, 10 Feb 2019 16:43:00 GMT

Ooooh thanks for the tip! That's super helpful! I'll have to give the grocery pick up a little test run when its available. I'm super stoked about it in general for those days when I need to swing by after school. Order before I leave campus and pick up on the way home! My commute time is an hour and a half...so after a long morning commute, 9 hours of class and long commute home, the last thing I want to do is fight through Walmart. Ugh! If online ordering codes as grocery....maybe the increased usage on my Amex will finally convince them to give me a CLI instead of just preapproving me for 3249 other cards I don't need.

Re: Gas Card Suggestions

Anonymous — Sun, 10 Feb 2019 17:11:09 GMT

@HeavenOhio wrote:
@Anonymous, the way an AMEX transaction "codes" isn't necessarily enough to guarantee a reward. You need to see if a reward has actually been earned.

@Anonymous, the moral of the story would be to test walmart.com on your BCE before considering a BCP upgrade.

Yes it isn’t enough, as I have attached on my previous post Amex did credit me 4X for grocery purchase on my December statement for the gold charge card. This is only through grocery.walmart.com or through the Wal-Mart grocery app, which is totally different from the Wal-Mart regular app. I’m not sure how the everyday card would trigger it as I don’t have any Amex personal revolvers, but I’d just assume it’s the same under Amex network so long as the location remains the same.

Re: Gas Card Suggestions

Yeliaba1 — Sun, 10 Feb 2019 17:45:03 GMT

BOA Cash rewards gives you 3% back on gas with 10% more if deposited into a savings or checking account. They also give 2% on groceries and warehouse purchases. My Walmart purchases have been recorded as grocery.

Re: Gas Card Suggestions

Anonymous — Sun, 10 Feb 2019 17:49:05 GMT

No Publix! Man I miss Publix. We've got Walmart and Brookshire's and that's it. Small town life! Gotta love it!

Re: Gas Card Suggestions

UncleB — Sun, 10 Feb 2019 18:34:30 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@HeavenOhio wrote:
@Anonymous, the way an AMEX transaction "codes" isn't necessarily enough to guarantee a reward. You need to see if a reward has actually been earned.

@Anonymous, the moral of the story would be to test walmart.com on your BCE before considering a BCP upgrade.
Yes it isn’t enough, as I have attached on my previous post Amex did credit me 4X for grocery purchase on my December statement for the gold charge card. This is only through grocery.walmart.com or through the Wal-Mart grocery app, which is totally different from the Wal-Mart regular app. I’m not sure how the everyday card would trigger it as I don’t have any Amex personal revolvers, but I’d just assume it’s the same under Amex network so long as the location remains the same.

As long as the dedicated Walmart Grocery app (and not the 'regular' Walmart app) is used or the dedicated grocery.walmart.com site (not walmart.com) any Amex should earn the grocery rate regardless of where the store is, since the billing is out of Bentonville, AR.

There was another thread on this a month or so back and the data points were consistent (including my own with the BCP).

Where things tend to be YMMV is with how Walmart neighborhood market stores code... those can be hit-or-miss. Occasionally I'll see someone post that their 'regular' WM codes as grocery on Amex, but those cases are the exception and definitely not the rule.

Re: Gas Card Suggestions

Andypanda — Sun, 10 Feb 2019 20:20:17 GMT

If you are willing for your score to go up, and are a Costco member, Costco visa gives 4% back, and at least for me the gas price at Costco is cheaper than anywhere else. I do not even plan on using Disco during the 5% gas quarter.

Re: Gas Card Suggestions

HeavenOhio — Sun, 10 Feb 2019 21:23:08 GMT

Both Sam's and Costco are too far from home for the OP to benefit.