Gas station credit cards or
rewards credit cards?

Gas station credit cards usually give a gallon-based discount not a percentage of the total cost of a purchase transaction. So, when the gas prices go up, your earnings will actually go down if you use gas only credit cards. For example, the Sinclair Green Card allows you to save 5 cents or more on every gallon but only at participating Sinclair gas stations. When you pay more for gas but buy the same amount of gas as usually, you won't save more. Gas rewards cards work differently. They reward you for each dollar spent meaning the more you spend, the more you earn. Best gas rewards cards give from 2% to 5% rebates on gas purchases and at least 1% rebate on everything, which is much higher that co-branded rewards only.

When you use a gas station credit card, you either get instant discount or earn rewards that can be later redeemed as fuel credits or statement credits towards gas purchases only. Everything you earn with a gas branded credit card can be redeemed towards gas only. A gas rewards credit card can offer more redemption options and won't require you to redeem all earned rewards for gas purchases. With a gas rewards credit card, you can choose to redeem for cash, gift cards, statement credits, merchandise or travel, depending on what options are offered with the card.

Gas-branded credit cards may have easier approval but have high annual percentage rate (APR). The reason behind this is that they are often approved to people with fair credit who are looking to rebuild their credit. People with good credit are not approved for lower APRs, they are also given high interest rates - gas branded credit cards make no exceptions. Carrying a balance on these credit cards is very expensive. So, if your credit is good and if you do not have a habit of paying off the card balance in full each month, you may want to get a better credit card that will give you a lower interest rate.