How To Use A Gas Rebate Card To Your Best Advantage
A gas rebate card is becoming much more popular as the price of gas has been increasing. It is important to understand the terms of the gas rebate cards as many times what is advertised in the introductory offer and what is detailed in the fine print can be quite different. Gas rebate cards tend to offer a percentage discount or rebate on any gas purchased.
However the large rebate tends to only be available for the first few months, generally at about 90 days. For example Chase's MasterCard has a 6% rebate on all gas purchases but only for the first 90 days and then after this time the rebate drops to around 3%. As with many credit cards the terms and conditions can change drastically. There have been cards in the past that offered rebates on gas but when the card issuer discovered that people were only using that card to purchase gas and not other items they quickly changed the policy.
Gas rebate cars also tend to be paired with specific gas stations so you will only receive a gas discount if you purchase gas from the specified dealers. Many times this is not a problem but determine if that dealer is one you would regularly go to or if you have to drive further. The extra driving may add more gas onto your drive, which would erase any savings. Additionally gas rebate cards tend to have very high interest rates so you do not want to carry a balance on those cards.
Many times you will have to make a request for the rebate and if you do not request it then you it can disappear after about 6 months. It is possible to be creative and save quite a bit on gas but this can take some time to figure out.
A great example is when an individual purchases a prepaid gas card that is on sale, such as a $50 gas card for $48. They use their gas rebate card to purchase the prepaid card, as they receive a rebate on all gas station purchases. So depending on your rebate it is possible to get a savings of up to 8% on gas.
