I commute to work a few days a week- an hour each way- and every time I fill up my gas tank, I think the same thing: gas. is. too. flippin. expensive. So, I’m wondering what card is going to give me the best deal- whether that be cents off per gallon, accumulated points that you can buy something with.. getting ANYTHING back for all this money I spend on gas would be amazing! Here’s what I found:
What it is: The Speedy Rewards card is card that you’ll swipe at the pump before you fill up. You’ll earn10 pts. for every gallon of gas you buy, or 20 pts for every dollar you spend on store merchandise like food (a few things are excluded from this). Lastly, they run promotions from time to time that will earn you more points. For instance, right now, if you buy gift cards from Speedway (excluding gas cards- they have all sorts of gift cards for restaurants, clothing stores, etc.), you’ll get 1000 extra points for every $50 worth of gift cards you buy. Sign up is free, and can be done online or in the store. A second option at Speedway is a Pay Card, which is the exact same system as the Speedy Rewards above, except the card is linked directly to your checking account, so the money will come directly out. Additionally, you’ll save 5 cents per gallon on gas for the first 90 days you use the Pay Card
The Rewards:
Food, drink, and gift cards. A $10 SpeedyCash gift card is 9850 points, which means it would take me about 2 months of filling up my 12 gallon tank once per week to earn it, ie $240 spent = $10 back (that’s less than a 5% cash back card). There are also a variety of $25 gift cards available, most at around 25,000 points. Here’s the full list.
I know that a lot of people don’t want to go to BP because of the oil spill earlier this year- I felt that way until I realized that the stations are owned locally; I think of myself in that situation- a franchise I’m associated with makes a big mistake, and now I’m in trouble- and I feel some serious empathy. Anyhow- what BP has right now is a “thank you” program. Each time you buy 8 or more gallons in a single fill-up between now and 3/1/11, go inside and request a loyalty card from the cashier. Once you have five cards, you can enter the codes here and you’ll get a $10 BP gift card. Limit of 3 rewards cards. If you do the math, this deal is better than the Speedway deal ($10 back every 5 fill ups, as opposed to every 8, if you’re following my fill-up pattern). You might want to only fill up to 8 gallons when you do this- then you’ll get your three rewards cards out of it before March (though, yes, you will have to fill up more often in our cold, snowy Michigan winter).
I was really surprised to see that Meijer doesn’t actually have a loyalty program for gas; they do offer 5 cents off per gallon with the Meijer credit card, but I don’t want another credit card.
What I Think:
For now, I’ll be filling up at BP, but probably only until the loyalty plan expires. After that, might as well use Speedy Rewards; at least you’ll be getting something back for all that money spent on gas. Truthfully, the prices between gas stations only vary by a few cents here and there.
Worth Mentioning: I tend to think that credit cards, especially cards that are specific to stores, are dangerous. Though the sales and perks look like a great deal to begin with, almost everyone I know ends up with a late payment, or not being able to pay it off at the end of the month, which cancels out all savings and often ends up costing you more. That said- if you are superhuman and religiously pay things off, the SpeedwayMastercard might be worth looking in to. You’ll get 40 points for every dollar spent at Speedway, along with 10 points for every dollar spent elsewhere with the Mastercard. Lastly, you’ll get 10,000 bonus points the first time you use it. So you could get a lot out of it. IF you pay things off immediately. In other words, know thyself. I won’t be getting it, or any other credit card for that matter, because I know how my brain works with things like that.
What rewards card do you use? Has it been worth it?