Gas Credit Cards: Ideas to Double Your Points

When it comes to maximizing the value of any credit card that offers rewards, one of the best ways to get the job done is by pursuing opportunities for double points. The most common way to earn double points is by focusing on opportunities at local gas stations. Many cards, offered both by the gas stations themselves and by national issuers, rotate promotions throughout the year that allow for double points on every gallon of gasoline purchased. In some cases, the double points opportunities also extend to purchases made within convenience stores operated by national gasoline retailers. That adds an extra layer of smart spending that can truly maximize points earning opportunities. Here are a few ideas that will help credit card customers maximize their points on gas purchases.

1. Find a “Rotating Categories” Card with Gas Included

One of the best ways to earn double points on filling up the car is to find a credit card that offers rotating rewards categories throughout the year. Chase and Discover both offer such cards, and each one features at least three months of double points on fuel purchases. When used together, these cards give customers the opportunity to earn double points throughout half the year. This is due to the gas promotions occurring at different times of the year. Smart use of Chase and Discover credit cards can mean double point for both the busy summer travel season and the chaotic winter holidays that often convince consumers to add hundreds of miles, and quite a few gallons of fuel, to their agenda and family budget.

2. Shop at Gas Station Convenience Stores

Both national credit cards and those credit cards offered by each individual gas retailer typically allow customers to earn points on convenience store purchases. While it’s true that these convenience stores offer little in the way of product selection and variety, they do typically carry staples like milk, bread, eggs, sodas, and snacks. Customers can do a significant portion or their most basic grocery shopping at a convenience store instead of a supermarket and earn double points on the things that they would be buying each week. Whether it’s during a “rotating category” period or throughout the year, stacking gas purchases with food purchases is a great way to increase a card’s annual spend and maximize the value of points earned.

3. Meet Minimum Spend Requirements on Gas Cards

Some gas cards only allow consumers to earn double points if they meet a certain threshold for spending in a given month. Typically, customers who meet this minimum spending requirement will get double points as an end-of-month credit to their existing points balance, and they can then use those points to redeem a statement credit, order a gift card, or select other merchandise items up to the value of their existing points balance.

There are two ways to make this happen. For “store” cards that can’t be used on a major payment network, cardholders can by gasoline and basic grocery items at the gas station’s convenience store as a way to meet the minimum spending requirement. For Visa and MasterCard gas credit cards, however, customers can spend almost anywhere and inch closer to their minimum monthly spending requirement for double points.

4. Purchase Gift Cards

Looking for a quick way to double points without going on a shopping spree or filling up every vehicle in the driveway? Consider purchasing gift cards from the local gas station with that company’s own credit card. In almost all cases, gift card purchases are simply counted as a “retail” purchase from that location. This means gift cards earn double points. Whether as a gift or simply as a personal “reserve” used to purchase gas for the morning commute, gift cards are a creative way to maximize the value of double points on gas credit cards and national credit cards during promotional periods.

Four Great Ways to Maximize Points

By following quarterly, rotating promotions, and spending creatively at gas stations that participate in double points opportunities, customers can easily maximize the value of their credit card and earn more points over time. These points, which can be redeemed for cash and merchandise, can actually help to reduce the cost of gas purchases and other shopping throughout the year, making them a hot commodity no matter where or how they’re earned.