Thursday, January 31, 2008

Discover Platinum Gas Card

The Discover Platinum Gas Card is another credit card that offers gas rebates, as well as rebates on other purchases. You can use this credit card to earn cash back at any gas station anytime. Every purchase you make with this credit card qualifies for cash back.

They claim a "Full 5% Cashback Bonus® on Gas purchases throughout the year*" and "Up to 1% Cashback Bonus on all your other purchases.*", but you have to read the fine print:

"Each year, earn a full 5% on your first $1,200 in gas purchases. In addition, earn a full 1% on other purchases in excess of $3,000; your first $1,500 in other purchases earns .25% and your second $1,500 in other purchases earns .50%. Gas purchases in excess of $1,200 earn Cashback Bonus at the same rate as other purchases."

So you actually only get 5% on your first $1200 in gas purchases each year. If you don't have your calculator, that is $60 in cash rebates at 5%. After that your rebate percentage drops a lot. Depending on your spending habits, that could average out to only about 2% cash back through the year.

This credit card could be a good option for someone looking for a second credit card to use combined with an existing card with similar introductory bonuses. By using multiple credit cards and watching your spending, you could be averaging 5% or higher cash back throughout the year. Maybe you even have a different rewards credit card to use after your first $1200 in gas purchases. Another limit of this card is "Purchases made at select warehouse clubs, discount stores and their affiliates earn .25%." So if you frequent such stores, don't expect 5% or even 1% cash back.

There are no limits on the cash rebates you can earn and the rebates never expire. You can increase your bonuses by redeeming for gift cards or certificates from their partners. You do have to redeem your cash rebates in $20 increments. As rebates do not expire, the only way you would lose rebates is if you do not have card activity for 36 months or you close the account.

The Discover Platinum Gas Card has no annual fee and a 0% introductory APR on purchases and balance transfers for 12 months. With credit cards from Discover, you can qualify for a regular APR rate as low as 10.99%. You also get $0 Fraud Liability.

Overall this is a very good credit card, but I do recommend using a secondary card once the yearly gas purchase limit has been met. It is a great card for someone looking for cash back everywhere and a low interest rate.

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