Saturday, December 13, 2008

Gasoline Service Station Credit Cards Reward Customers With Discounts

More and more often when people pull up to the gas pump to fill up their cars, they cringe at the total that racks up so quickly in this day and age of high gas prices. As a result, most everyone is looking to save money at the pumps and trying to get better mileage out of each gallon they buy. There are many articles and reports that talk about ways to increase gas mileage, but there is one form of saving on gas expenses that is overlooked frequently, and that is to take advantage of the discounts and rebates you can get when you use certain gasoline service station credit cards.

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A gasoline credit card that is issued by one of the major gas station chains works just like any other credit card but the difference is that these cards are designed to encourage brand loyalty. In most cases, they can only be used at gas stations that are owned by the same chain and in the convenience stores that they operate. Gas and oil companies have been offering these types of credit cards for many decades and the primary reason was to encourage people to only buy their gasoline from that particular brand.

Several years ago, a couple of the gasoline service station companies added a new twist to their gasoline credit cards and started to offer rebates. This further encouraged people to stick to using one particular brand of gasoline so that they could rack up enough purchases to qualify for their rebate.

These days, almost all of the national brands of gas stations now offer a credit card that has some type of rewards program or rebate to their customers when they use them. With the high gasoline prices today, it makes even more sense to take some time to find out exactly what is being offered by each of these companies and determine which can provide the best benefit for you.

It can be a good idea to go ahead and apply for more than one gasoline service station brand of gas credit card. This way, consumers still have a choice and can check to see which gas station is offering the best gas prices at the pump, but they can still take advantage of the rewards that come with the card. At the same time, if you travel a lot, having two or three different gas cards is an even better idea because some brands of gas stations are not as prevalent in some areas as others.

Some of the gas credit cards that are issued by the gasoline companies will sweeten the deal for new customers and will offer a higher percentage of the purchase as a rebate during the first three to six months after opening a new account with them. After that initial period, the rebate percentage will drop, so it is a good idea to check and compare both the initial offering and the long term rebate plan in order to make the best decision.

If you want to save the maximum through these gasoline service station credit cards, then it is imperative that you pay the full balance every month and always pay the bill on time. If you end up carrying a balance, then you will be charged interest and it is likely that the interest charges will eat up any savings you might have enjoyed through the rebate program.

Soaring gasoline prices are on everyone's mind these days. At one time you may have been able to fill up your tank for less than $50 but those times are long gone and no one knows if gas will ever reach those prices again. But there are ways that you can save your budget. There are alternative fuels and driving practices that can keep you away from the gas pumps. It is going to take some reading on your part but it is well worth it in the end.

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