gas credit card rebates

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					Rewards credit card can pay off if you follow basic
You've stopped going out to eat, canceled your cable TV service and learned to cut your
own hair. But you still have to buy groceries and gas. And the kids have promised to stop
making fun of your hair if you take them on vacation this summer. Will rewards
programs help you stretch your tattered dollars during these tough economic times?

Perhaps. But while the idea of earning money each time you shop is appealing, many
rewards programs offered by retailers and credit card issuers are encumbered by complex
rules and limits on how much you can earn. High interest rates and annual fees could
wipe out your savings. And you might be tempted to spend more than you would
otherwise, says Amanda Walker, senior project editor for Consumer Reports. "Lots of
studies have shown that people who use reward cards tend to spend more" than those who
don't, she says.

That doesn't mean you can't save money with rewards programs. Curtis Arnold, founder
of, says he and his wife earned more than $1,000 last year by using
cash-back credit cards. Arnold isn't a typical credit card user. He uses the cards for most
purchases of more than $5, pays the cards off every month and sticks to a budget. In
addition, he and his wife have five children, which means they charge an unusually high
amount for groceries.

Still, figuring out how to take advantage of rewards programs isn't rocket science, Arnold
says. You just need to follow some basic guidelines, including these:

•Don't use a rewards card unless you pay off your balance every month. Rewards
cards typically carry higher rates than non-rewards cards do. Some of the most generous
rewards cards charge rates of nearly 20%, according to Consumer Reports. If you carry a
balance, even occasionally, forget about rewards programs and look for a card with a low
interest rate. Otherwise, you'll end up paying more in interest than you'll earn in rewards,
says Bill Hardekopf, chief executive of

Make sure you pay your bills on time, too. Some cards will scrap rewards you haven't
used or stop adding to them if your payment is late.

•Avoid cards with annual fees. Depending on how much you spend and the amount of
your rewards, you could end up ahead, even with an annual fee. But as competition has
grown, it's become easier than ever to find a rewards card with no annual fee. Only four
of the 30 rewards cards analyzed by charge annual fees. (You can find the
surve y at
•Find a card that matches your spending patterns. Some cards increase the size of
your cash-back rewards rebates after you've spend a certain amount. For example, the
American Express Blue Cash card says it offers "up to 5% cash back" on groceries,
drugstore items and gas (known as "everyday purchases"), and up to 1.5% cash back on
other purchases. Those generous rewards don't kick in, though, until after you've spent
more than $6,500 a year. Below that threshold, the rebates are limited to 1% for everyday
purchases and 0.5% for everything else.

If you charge more than $1,000 a month, tiered rewards programs can pay off, Arnold
says. Otherwise, you're probably better off with a card that pays a flat rate for all your
purchases, no matter how much (or little) you spend.

In selecting a rewards card, you should also consider where you spend your money. Some
rewards cards don't count purchases at warehouse stores, such as Costco, according to

•Choose cash over merchandise. Many retailers reward you with points that can be
redeemed for travel, merchandise, gift cards or even donations to charities, according to
Consumer Reports. But you could end up with lots of points for stuff you don't need, or
find out, after the fact, about restrictions on how your points can be used, Hardekopf

"Cash is good for everything, whether you're buying tires or books or NASCAR
merchand ise," he says. In addition, cash-back cards tend to offer more generous rewards
than points cards do, according to Consumer Reports.

A cash-back card may also be a better choice than an airline rewards card. Cards that
reward users with airline miles are more likely to charge an annual fee than other types of
rewards cards, Hardekopf says. In addition, rising fuel costs have forced airlines to cut
back on flights. That's reduced the number of seats available to consumers looking to
redeem their airline rewards miles.

Airline rewards cards may still pay off for consumers who travel frequently on the same
airline, Arnold says. But for most consumers, airline rewards programs have "too much
red tape," he says. "I'm a big believer in keeping it simple, and cash-back is simple."

Best gasoline rewards cards
Card          Reward basics               Drawbacks

            6% on gas purchases for
Chase                                                                                10.99%
            the first 90 days, 3%
PerfectCard                         Maximum 3% monthly rebate is $15.                to
            thereafter, 1% on all
MasterCard                                                                           19.99%
            other purchases.
                                      5% rebate applies to first $100 in
            5% on gas and auto        purchases a month. You must spend       10.74%
            maintenance, up to 1%     $3,000 on other purchases annually to   to
Open Road
            on all other purchases.   earn 1%. Otherwise, you get 0.25% to    18.74%
                                      0.5% back.

           5% on Shell gas, 1%     $20 annual fee after the first year;
           back elsewhere given as waived if you made nine or more Shell      12.99%
           Shell credit.           purchases in the previous year.

Sources: Consumer Reports,

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