Fuel rewards credit cards.

J

JOhnH

Touchdown! Greaser!
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I have only used one credit card (Visa) for many years. I do carry a second card (MC) just in case there is some sort of glitch. That has happened about once a year, which is good because that's all it takes to keep the card active.

But I finally broke down and looked for a no-fee/low-fee credit card that pays rewards for fuel. I found that a Samsclub MC pays 5% for gas. It has no direct fees but you have to maintain your Sam's club membership.

The card came today. There is an 8-page small-print account agreement. About halfway down page 5 it describes "gasoline purchases" as not including aviation fuel
:mad:

I'm not sure if I should cancel it or just stick it in a drawer.
 
My Costco card gets the 4% on avgas and because of the way my airport is set up, I get the 4% on hangar rent as well. @JOhnH, you might try to buy avgas with the Sam's card once just for giggles and see if the discount comes through. There's a new Costco in Daytona, which I think is not far from you.
 
Hang 4 said:
My Costco card gets the 4% on avgas and because of the way my airport is set up, I get the 4% on hangar rent as well. @JOhnH, you might try to buy avgas with the Sam's card once just for giggles and see if the discount comes through. There's a new Costco in Daytona, which I think is not far from you.
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That's my plan. I joined the new Costco before it opened. I'll try the Sam's card and see what happens. If not I'll get a Costco card.
I don't buy much auto gas, but I do sometimes and the Costco gas is top tier whereas Sams gas is NOT top tier. And the Sams card does not work at Costco, so I may be better off with the Costco card anyway.

Speaking of Costco (and this is major drift) but the first thing I went to buy was their Kirkland vodka because I heard so much about it. When I got there they had two choices: American and French. Being the decisive kind of guy I am, I bought both. The American was very good but the French tasted spoiled or contaminated or something. I took it back and they would not refund or exchange it because it was open. Other liquor stores around here have done so.
 
I generally prefer cash-back rewards credit cards. There may be some fuel rewards that work out, financially, over a 2-3% cash back scenario, but it takes more consideration. Every purchase I make gets done on a cash back credit card, if able. If I'm going to be spending the money, I may as well get it at a discount. Take the cash back as a statement credit and it's better than paying cash (as long as you're paying off the statement each month). Credit card companies don't make any money off of me, so I'm happy to take their handout.
 
I have an American Express card cash back 3% on fuel including 100Ll.
 
There's an AOPA card that will give you 2% back on FBO purchases. Not much but more than nothing.

It seems like these days there is a rewards card for almost everything- I have a few for things I spend a lot on but I've held back on signing up for more. It wouldn't take long to have a dozen cards to sort through for every purchase and to review the statements on each month- seems unwieldy to say the least.
 
Charlie Golf said:
If you're a Costco member, their Visa pays 4% cash back on gas---including avgas.
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It depends on what it is coded as. I've found the self serve pump coded as 'Automated Gas Dispenser' gets the 4%, but when it is 'Fuel Dealers - Fuel Oil, Wood, Coal, Lp Gas' it gets the 1% everything else category. I forget what another coding was I've seen, but it fell into the 3% travel category.

Unfortunately, you don't know what they have the pump or truck coded as until the charge clears.
 
JOhnH said:
That's my plan. I joined the new Costco before it opened. I'll try the Sam's card and see what happens. If not I'll get a Costco card.
I don't buy much auto gas, but I do sometimes and the Costco gas is top tier whereas Sams gas is NOT top tier. And the Sams card does not work at Costco, so I may be better off with the Costco card anyway.

Speaking of Costco (and this is major drift) but the first thing I went to buy was their Kirkland vodka because I heard so much about it. When I got there they had two choices: American and French. Being the decisive kind of guy I am, I bought both. The American was very good but the French tasted spoiled or contaminated or something. I took it back and they would not refund or exchange it because it was open. Other liquor stores around here have done so.
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John, can you elaborate on the top tier and not top tier? Curious as I buy fuel from both but in AZ.
 
focal_plane said:
John, can you elaborate on the top tier and not top tier? Curious as I buy fuel from both but in AZ.
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www.toptiergas.com

TOP TIER - High-quality Fuel Performance Standard - TOP TIER™

TOP TIER is developed and enforced by some of the leading automotive manufacturers and supplied by participating fuel retailers.
www.toptiergas.com www.toptiergas.com

Top Tier is a branded additive package; logo’d dealers have to allow random sampling to ensure the additive package is being distributed thru the labelled pumps.

I buy it when possible but many of our local gas stations participate in the program.
 
Yep, looked it up. I hadn’t heard the term top tier before. Additional detergent above the min required. Ok.
 
I wish I could get the fuel dealer who delivers avgas to our hangars at our airpark to take credit cards. It’s only check or cash. I’ve gotten to the point where the fuel trailer in the hangar is now a reserve supply and the regular fillups are at self-serves so I can get the cash back. In this case the money outweighs the convenience.
 
focal_plane said:
Yep, looked it up. I hadn’t heard the term top tier before. Additional detergent above the min required. Ok.
Click to expand...
I sometimes buy gas that is not top tier, but if given a choice and if the price difference is not too great and if the convenience is important at the time,
but given a choice I prefer top tier gas for my engine. Since Sam's and Costco are similarly priced and both fairly convenient to me, I'll choose Costco when possible. Both Costco and Sam's are about a dollar/gal less than the closer Shell/Mobile/Sunoco stations so I save almost $20 per tank and I'm often in that area anyway.
 
Charlie Golf said:
If you're a Costco member, their Visa pays 4% cash back on gas---including avgas.
Click to expand...
I’ve had maintenance shops coded as fuel. Not complaining about getting some cash back on that and I’ve maxed the reward two years running.
 
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