Is it reasonable to get a gas store card (not gas co-branded Visa/MC)? Or is it better to focus on Visa/MC Cards?
In the past, I liked having gas cards because I don't have huge limits on my bank cards and didn't want to have that credit taken up on gas... particularly when I go on vacation where I drive 2500 miles round trip.
Do underwriters "look down" on them, at all?
It really depends on your fuel consumption, the type of fuel you purchase, fuel prices in your area, and fuel prices in general at the time of purchase. Most fuel cards have a set "cents off per gallon" which may be great for someone in Missouri to save 5¢ per gallon on $1.25 regular unleaded but rather abysmal for someone saving 5¢ per gallon on $4.50 premium unleaded in California. All
of those factors have to be considered and they do fluctuate with gas prices in general.
Usually most will find that a general travel card that includes gas, a card with gas as a bonus category, or even a general purpose 2-3% cash back card will be better. And of course any of those can be combined with a fuel chain's loyalty programs for further savings.
As for underwriting, as long as a card is kept current there are no issues specific to fuel cards. Store cards can affect insurance industry credit scores and potentially impact auto insurance rates (except for CA, HI, and MA) but that is not specific to fuel cards.
@K-in-Boston wrote:It really depends on your fuel consumption, the type of fuel you purchase, fuel prices in your area, and fuel prices in general at the time of purchase. Most fuel cards have a set "cents off per gallon" which may be great for someone in Missouri to save 5¢ per gallon on $1.25 regular unleaded but rather abysmal for someone saving 5¢ per gallon on $4.50 premium unleaded in California. All
of those factors have to be considered and they do fluctuate with gas prices in general.
Usually most will find that a general travel card that includes gas, a card with gas as a bonus category, or even a general purpose 2-3% cash back card will be better. And of course any of those can be combined with a fuel chain's loyalty programs for further savings.
As for underwriting, as long as a card is kept current there are no issues specific to fuel cards. Store cards can affect insurance industry credit scores and potentially impact auto insurance rates (except for CA, HI, and MA) but that is not specific to fuel cards.
Absolutely everything K said! In my early days, I got a gas card as my first non-secured credit card...because I thought I needed it (I really didn't). Besides the initial signup bonus, it (Chevron Texaco MC) never amounted to a valuable rewards model. A travel card or general spend card is almost always better than most of these gas-station tied cards. Some smart guy in this forum calculated the potential rewards on my specific card some time ago and I was left dumb-struck. That he would even take the time to do it but also by how bad the rewards were for me, specifically as someone in a major metropolitan area paying ~$3.00 per gallon.
OP, you asked if lenders look down on these cards, I would say they view them the same as any store card. Some gas cards let you use them outside of their gas station and these are not treated or viewed any differently than any other standard credit card.
Must garden until 2/1/2022 to hit my goal AAOA. 
There are a lot of variables and there's no one-size-fits-all answer, but I think most people would be better off with a bank card instead. Questions I'd ask myself to help decide if I would benefit from a brand-specific store card:
- Do I nearly always buy gas from a particular station/brand or do I buy from multiple brands depending what is convenient?
- If I mostly buy from a particular brand, what kind of discount does their card give? Remember that cents per gallon is not the same as percent per dollar. A 10-cent discount per gallon may not be as good as a 4% discount (depends on price).
- Do I tend to buy a lot of stuff inside convenience stores, and if so, is it usually a particular brand? If so, does that brand's card give a good discount on the stuff I buy?
There are plenty of people who live or work in an area where one specific store/brand becomes the go-to, and it may make sense for people in that situation to get that card. Otherwise, I doubt it's worth it.
Gas station cards are not looked down on, but like all store cards, they are calculated a bit differently (not quite as favorably) as bank cards. Also, the limits tend to not get very high, since nobody needs to buy $20,000 of gas at one time ...
And a stray comment I'll add is that I think many people greatly overestimate the value of a discount on gas. Mainly because I think many people greatly overestimate how much they spend on gas per year. The price stares at you in the face while you stand at the pump, so it seems relatively more meaningful than it actually is. JMO.
@Loquat Not trying to change the subject but how did your Lowe's card assist you with all that stuff?! Am I missing a secret?!
