Gasoline credit cards can you - save money Or Big

Credit cards offer a rebate on gasoline purchases are the latest marketing push by most major credit card companies. More than 20 million direct mail pieces touting the benefits of the gasoline rebate credit cards are their way into the mailboxes of American consumers will find this year. Television, radio and print publicity for the voucher campaign is also expected to be much higher this year.

Are these gasoline credit cards are a good deal for consumers? IfBite at the latest discovery or Chase Perfect Card offering discounts? Probably yes, but only if you pay off the entire credit card balance on time each month.

When you fill a 20 gallon tank once a week at $ 2.90 per gallon with a 5% discount card that the actual cost per gallon to about $ 2.76 per gallon would bring. But that's only if you pay off the entire balance.

Interest on these gas credit cards range anywhere from about 14% to 34%. Most are set tothe prime rate and could even climb even higher if the Fed began its current trend of rate increases. Even at the lower end of the scale, if you carried the balance of one month for gas purchases for one year, the actual cost per gallon for that month would have been approximately $ 3.30 per gallon. If you missed the credit card company is the payment date, month and got whacked with a late fee, the cost per gallon for that month would have been approximately $ 3.79 per gallon. If the sum of $ 39 EndFee on the account balance to limit yourself on the credit policy of the card and it goes to $ 35 over limit charge, the cost per gallon this month to about $ 4.23 per gallon.

With credit card offer the fine print is all. The grace period for paying credit card bills, now around 20 days, is getting shorter. The universal default provision deep in the credit card company could contract language so that credit card companies to raise the interest rate on your credit cardCard account with them if you have a check at the supermarket, or late or miss a payment on another, completely independent, credit card or maybe even bounce your energy bill.

Many of these gas rebate cards offer attractive introductory rates, which less after three months, or limit, the best discounts on certain brands of gasoline, or charge an annual fee if the card is not used often enough. Almost all the petrol discount card offers a joint venture with the specificGasoline retailers. Shell and Citibank, Chase, and Marathon, RBS National Bank and Kroger, to name a few. Not every dealer has a petrol station on every corner. Verify that the rebate offer is limited to a specific geographic region. For example, the Citi AAdvantage card offers double miles on gasoline, but only for card holders in Miami and New York tri-state area.