Discover Card 5% back on Gas purchases

[kinev]

Just thought I'd pass this info along. Discover is doing their special 5% Cashback program for Gas and automotive purchases.

5% Cashback

Helpful if you don't have another, better gas card. At $2.75/gallon, you get almost 14 cents back per gallon. That brings it down to ~ $2.61/gallon. Not too bad. Signing up is easy online or you can call 1-800-347-2683 to sign up. The 5% is good at Gas stations, Car washes, Autozone, Pep Boys, Firestone, Sears auto center, and Midas.

Offer is good through June 30, 2006.

 

[skruffy]

Great, thanks OP. Too bad I didn't see this before my $40 fill-up today, but I still have plenty more gas to buy

 

[slashbinslashbash]

The Shell Mastercard from Citibank (http://www.877myshell.com/) gives 5% back on all Shell gas purchases. Unlimited amounts and it will never expire. The 5% back is in the form of a rebate on future purchases of Shell gas (automatically applied on your future statements). Also gets 5% back at Jiffy Lube. 1% back on other purchases. Annual fee is waived if you use it to make 9 purchases of Shell gas within the calendar year.

It's a great deal if you have a lot of Shell stations in your area. In my neighborhood, they actually tend to be cheaper than most competitors. I found myself usually buying gas at Shell, so applying for this card was a no-brainer.

Sorry, I really didn't mean to thread crap. I do have a Discover Card and sometimes I find myself away from a Shell station. I will definitely remember to use my Discover Card when I buy gas at other places. Thanks for the heads-up, OP.

 

[darksine2003]

Why not get the citibank dividend card, you get the same 5% but it applies to any gas station at which you pay at the pump. You get 5% at grocery stores and drug stores as well and 1% everywhere else. This way you aren't locked into any one gas station. There is a limite though, I believe its $300 refuneded a year if I am not mistaken which means you would have to purchase almost 6000 dollars worth of gas alone to hit that limit and of course way more of the 1% back items. Get checks at 50 dollar increments or more.

 

[toneman]

Thanks OP! This may make you go "Huh?" but...the Discover 5% gas deal will come in handy since I typically gas up at Sam's Club (their gas is on average about 10 cents cheaper than the surrounding branded gas stations in my area), and since Sam's Club takes Discover (I believe that it is the only CC--other than their own--they accept at their gas pumps...at least here in CA), I can get cheap gas AND get 5% for it.

 

[GeneValgene]

Originally posted by: darksine2003
Why not get the citibank dividend card, you get the same 5% but it applies to any gas station at which you pay at the pump. You get 5% at grocery stores and drug stores as well and 1% everywhere else. This way you aren't locked into any one gas station. There is a limite though, I believe its $300 refuneded a year if I am not mistaken which means you would have to purchase almost 6000 dollars worth of gas alone to hit that limit and of course way more of the 1% back items. Get checks at 50 dollar increments or more.

i have the citibank dividend card, as well as teh shell mc. the reason i use the shell is that it applies to the next statement. the dividend you have to accrue before you can cash out. so, for shell, i use the shell mc, and for all other stations, i use the citi dividend

does the discover apply every statement?

 

[robsdeals]

Over $3 a gallon now

 

[slashbinslashbash]

toneman, actually Sam's Club will let you use any major credit card at their gas pumps (at least here in Texas). If you look on the screen it flashes the logos of Visa, Mastercard, Amex, etc. Kind of funny because they will only let you use Discover in the store. But I've used my Mastercard at the Sam's Club gas pump several times.

GeneValgene, Discover Card's Cashback Bonus is only applied when you have built up enough ($20 minimum) and you usually get it in the form of a gift certificate or just apply it to your credit balance. Usually it's a better deal to do the gift certs since you can use the $20 CB to get $30 or $40 worth of gift certs.

One last thing to note, You do not automatically get the 5% Cashback on gas. You have to "sign up" for it at the site. It's kind of stupid -- "signing up" basically means clicking on a button, but I had to go through it.

 

[middlehead]

Originally posted by: darksine2003
Why not get the citibank dividend card, you get the same 5% but it applies to any gas station at which you pay at the pump. You get 5% at grocery stores and drug stores as well and 1% everywhere else. This way you aren't locked into any one gas station. There is a limite though, I believe its $300 refuneded a year if I am not mistaken which means you would have to purchase almost 6000 dollars worth of gas alone to hit that limit and of course way more of the 1% back items. Get checks at 50 dollar increments or more.

Does the Citi card's 5% apply only when you pay at the pump, or are you just saying you prefer paying there?

If it's only at the pump, that wouldn't do me any good. Most of the local stations here pre-charge upwards of $100 when you pump-pay, and I'm not going to encourage that behavior.

 

[ECartman]

Originally posted by: middlehead

Originally posted by: darksine2003
Why not get the citibank dividend card, you get the same 5% but it applies to any gas station at which you pay at the pump. You get 5% at grocery stores and drug stores as well and 1% everywhere else. This way you aren't locked into any one gas station. There is a limite though, I believe its $300 refuneded a year if I am not mistaken which means you would have to purchase almost 6000 dollars worth of gas alone to hit that limit and of course way more of the 1% back items. Get checks at 50 dollar increments or more.

Does the Citi card's 5% apply only when you pay at the pump, or are you just saying you prefer paying there?

If it's only at the pump, that wouldn't do me any good. Most of the local stations here pre-charge upwards of $100 when you pump-pay, and I'm not going to encourage that behavior.

I have Citi 5% card...it only applies if your charge is to a certian "code" and they claim that the proper "code" for gas purchases comes only from pay at the pump. If you pay at the window (winder for that guy in Texas? ) then the charge is not properly coded and you won't get the 5% -- only th 1%. Grocery/drug store purchases are a little more liberal since I can buy a lot of different stuff at the "drug store" and get the 5% back.

as to the $100 pre-charge it really is benign, as it only applies for a few days after the purchase at most. If you pay off the card every month and aren't limiting out it really isn't a problem worth worrying about.

 

[middlehead]

Originally posted by: ECartman
as to the $100 pre-charge it really is benign, as it only applies for a few days after the purchase at most. If you pay off the card every month and aren't limiting out it really isn't a problem worth worrying about.

Yeah, it's definitely not a problem for me, it's just something stupid that I won't support. None of the stations warned people when they started it, so I know a fair number of college students who got overdraft charges because they used their debit card at the pump and wound up $20 under. You'd think the bank staff would realize "Hey, this is just an auth charge, he didn't really buy that much. We shouldn't anally rape him this time", but no, they're not that bright.

 

[weepul]

as many others have said, the citi divdends and the chase cash rewards card has already been giving 5% off gas for quite some time. it doesn't matter if you pay at the pump or inside. the location is marked as a gas station and would appear so on your bill.

//krunk (^_^x)

 

[Tu13erhead]

Originally posted by: slashbinslashbash
One last thing to note, You do not automatically get the 5% Cashback on gas. You have to "sign up" for it at the site. It's kind of stupid -- "signing up" basically means clicking on a button, but I had to go through it.

Any reason not to sign up?

 

[emjem]

There is no cash back reward for Discover Card purchases at Sam's (Wal-mart either). Don't know if that rule applies to gas.

 

[slashbinslashbash]

Originally posted by: Tu13erhead

Originally posted by: slashbinslashbash
One last thing to note, You do not automatically get the 5% Cashback on gas. You have to "sign up" for it at the site. It's kind of stupid -- "signing up" basically means clicking on a button, but I had to go through it.

Any reason not to sign up?

Not that I could tell! It was a completely pointless process!

Originally posted by: emjem
There is no cash back reward for Discover Card purchases at Sam's (Wal-mart either). Don't know if that rule applies to gas.

From the Cashback Bonus Terms and Conditions:

3. Except as provided below and in paragraph 4 below, the accrued amount of a Purchase Cashback Bonus award is calculated by multiplying the total qualified purchases at the end of each billing period by:
.25% (.0025), if the purchases are part of the first $1,500 in purchases during the anniversary year, and

.50% (.0050), if the purchases are part of the second $1,500 in purchases during the anniversary year, and

1.0% (.01), if the purchases are part of the purchases in excess of $3,000 during the anniversary year.

In addition, any purchases made at select warehouse clubs or discount stores including grocery stores affiliated with these stores, will accrue a fixed Purchase Cashback Bonus award of .25% (.0025) of the amount of the purchases. However, these purchases are included in the total amount of purchases made during the anniversary year and are used to determine the applicable percentage rate listed above for other purchases.

http://www.discovercard.com/discover/data/cashback/cashbackinfo.shtml

For Cardmembers who participate in the Cashback Bonus® or Cashback Bonus Plus Programs, the reward percentage applied to calculate the accrued Cashback Bonus for purchases made at BJ's Wholesale Club, Costco and Sam's Club, including any purchases made at these warehouse clubs' Internet sites and Wal-Mart (including any Wal-Mart Internet sites and Wal-Mart Neighborhood Markets and Supermercados Amigo stores), will be a fixed rate of .25% (.0025). However, purchases made at gas stations at these locations will not be subject to this fixed rate.

 

[Zap]

DOH! I kinda knew about this in the back of my mind, but.... Thanks for the reminder, kinev. Would have helped me Monday when I spent over $40 to fill up my compact car at $2.99/gal, would have gotten $2 back. Well, I'm signed up now.

 

[MrC4]

Thanks OP! I just signed up.

 

[Wolverine27]

Cool. Thanks OP!!!

 

[Foghorn]

Just remember the fat ass Exxon chairman who makes $142,000 A DAY when you tank up.

 

[JuryDuty]

Thanks!!!

 

[kwo]

In on it yesterday - after hearing from a friend.

I agree with "slashbinslashbash" that it's kind of silly that we have to "sign up"...but, good nonetheless....

 

[marvdmartian]

Thanks for the post, Kinev. Just signed up for the 5% back, which will be especially handy, since I'll be on vacation next month and doing some driving across a couple states.

 

[toneman]

Originally posted by: slashbinslashbash
toneman, actually Sam's Club will let you use any major credit card at their gas pumps (at least here in Texas). If you look on the screen it flashes the logos of Visa, Mastercard, Amex, etc. Kind of funny because they will only let you use Discover in the store. But I've used my Mastercard at the Sam's Club gas pump several times.

I'm guessing that it's probably different in TX; FWIW--I believe you can use a Visa/MC debit card at Sam's Club gas stations (again, I can only speak for CA).

 

[overclock]

I've even seen different cards for different Sam's in the same state. In Santa Fe, NM only accepts Discover while in ABQ everything goes.

 

[Winchester]

Originally posted by: toneman

Originally posted by: slashbinslashbash
toneman, actually Sam's Club will let you use any major credit card at their gas pumps (at least here in Texas). If you look on the screen it flashes the logos of Visa, Mastercard, Amex, etc. Kind of funny because they will only let you use Discover in the store. But I've used my Mastercard at the Sam's Club gas pump several times.

I'm guessing that it's probably different in TX; FWIW--I believe you can use a Visa/MC debit card at Sam's Club gas stations (again, I can only speak for CA).

Im in Texas and use my Discover all the time at Sam's Club to fill up.