While this was occurring, businesses small and large were using this to their advantage; offering customers free and discount gas incentives. Many stores would entice you with a free gas card for large purchases. Meanwhile car manufacturers like Chrysler were guaranteeing buyers gas at “only” $2.99/gallon. However the most prolific of these marketing gimmicks were the gas credit cards, which offered higher cash back on fuel purchases. But now that gas is cheaper, are they still worth the hassle?

Not what they used to be…

A few years ago, there were several credit cards that gave 5% cash back on gas. The most popular were the Citi Dividend, Chase Cash Plus Rewards, and Discover Open Road card. When gas starting climbing, they all cut back their rewards. Today, these cards only give double or triple points on fuel purchases. In fact, the only 5% gas card left is the Discover More card. However, there’s a big catch – they only give the 5% on gas for one quarter out of the year, plus there’s a cap on the amount of spending that will qualify. So, basically, the credit cards that had a 5% rebate on gas are now extinct.

Are they still worth the hassle?

Unfortunately, the gas cards currently on the market are nothing to write home about. Most credit cards give the same percentage on gas that they do on other purchases (typically 1%). The Discover Open Road card is still in existence, but as mentioned, it only gives up to 2% on gas these days. The “Premier” version of the American Express Gold card gives double points on gas, but it also carries an extremely high annual fee of $175! As far as business cards go, the American Express Simply Cash card used to give 5% on gas, but today it only gives 3%. In a nutshell, these cards may not be worth the hassle unless you drive a lot.