I'll preface this by saying I am NOT affiliated with this program in any way; I'm simply sharing what has worked for me and my husband. I also recognize that this won't work for everyone because of location or maybe money management skills.

For a few years we've been buying our gas and diesel almost exclusively at Marathon stations using a Marathon-branded VISA credit card. We receive rebates based on the gallons purchased (not the $ spent). The rebates accrue and when they reach $25, you are automatically sent a $25 Marathon gas card. No redemption process; it really is automatic.

We were used to paying cash for gas, so we just save the cash and pay off the credit card in full every month, so there truly is no cost to us.

The program has changed a few times. The current program is a bit more confusing but now there's no limit to how many gas cards you can receive. We average one a month right now but once my husband goes back to work (he drives an hour one way), we'll probably be getting 3-4 in a 2 month period. That's at least $25 a month in free gas!

Here's how it works:

Spend over $1000 a month and get a $.25/gallon rebate (they figure it based on your Marathon fuel purchases divided by the cost of a gallon of gas based on the national average).

$500-$999 gets $.15/gallon rebate

Less than $500 gets $.05/gallon rebate.

But here's the nice thing.....that $1000 a month doesn't have to be all fuel purchases! So we use the card for groceries or absolutely anything we'd pay cash or use a debit card for, and of course gas/diesel, to get us over that $1000 mark to earn the $.25/gallon rebate.

We save our gas cards and use them exclusively for our F250 diesel, the truck we take when we travel together. No aruging about who gets the free card, lol.

One thing I don't like right now is that EVERY MONTH I have to go online and schedule a payment. I wish I could tell it to pay it in full every month. Small inconvenience though.

There's an iPhone app for locating Marathon stations. I have an iPod Touch though so the app is not very helpful to me when travelling. But I now have a list on my iPod of Marathon stations along our route from Indiana to Florida. I'll soon have one from another trip we take from Indiana to Pennsylvania. I am seeing more and more Marathon stations, but yeah, they may not be in your area. If you have a cash-back credit card already, maybe this isn't for you, but it sure works for us.

Here's the link for more info: Marathon Visa Card

 

Any type of credit card with a rewards program is going to be worth it as long as you pay it off in full.

I would easily say that instead of going just for a gas card, you could find a card that offers cash back. It's basically free money as long as you never let a payment sit and get interest charged.

Everyone should definitely look into doing something like this if they want to not carry cash around, but also not accrue debt.

 

ahh yes a cash back credit card i got one of those things lol. i bought over $6,000 in parts for the monte and as soon as the bill came i paid it off and collected the cash back points.... bet the credit card company wasnt happy about that one

 

Ya Discover and Chase does up to 5% cash back for gas on certain months - you earn cash back and you can go to any gas station.

 

damn i need this bad ....i sometimes drive my truck all week andn easily spend 250 a week...**** in 2 days spend 100 on gas alone

 

I kept accumulating the Cash Back Rewards on my Discover card for a few years, it paid for about half the cost of the new rims/tires I got on the Monte last year. Not BAD with "free money"!!