Right now, we're still in the midst of a credit crisis or credit crunch, which causes some problems for those looking for credit card gas rewards for themselves to save on their spending and consumerism. Of course, there are still many opportunities to get credit card gas rewards, although it may not necessarily as much as previously, back with gas rewards could be obtained plentifully, and the credit card and loan industry was thriving.
Now, our main focus with this post today, is not about the credit crisis, although that's what I've begun this post with. I want to illustrate something that's being largely shown through this credit crisis, and that's that situations can and will change frequently. I recently stumbled upon a relatively old article (from March 2008), that has some interesting points brought up about how the industry has been changing. Here's some of that, taken from smartmoney.com:
Many card issuers put caps on the amount you can spend each month or year, and still receive rewards. This isn't a recent fine print addition, but because drivers hit these caps more quickly as gas prices rise, it's worth comparing how much you typically spend on gas a month against these limits before selecting a card, says Scott Bilker, founder of DebtSmart.com. The Discover Open Road Card, for example, offers a generous 5% rebate on gas purchases — but that's only for the first $100 spent in each billing period. After that, you'll earn 0.25% to 1%, depending on your overall spending. Someone driving a Honda Accord in Los Angeles, where gas is averaging $3.57 a gallon, would hit the cap during their second fill-up in a given month.They also talked about how "...a growing number of savvy customers start taking advantage of the savings that gas rebate cards offer at the pump, credit-card companies are making it tougher for them to reap the cards' benefits."
Even with $4 gas expected to arrive within the next few months, you may still not spend enough to get the full reward. Some cards assess rebates based on your total charges on the card, with bigger rewards only taking effect after you've done some big spending. Blue Cash from American Express offers 5% back on "everyday purchases" including gas, but only after you've charged $6,500 on the card in a given year. Prior to reaching that point, such purchases only earn 1%, while all others earn 0.5%.
Yes, the economy is quickly changing, and more people are beginning to realize the potential of credit cards and gas rewards. What does this mean? Well, like they said, the average percentage of return on your gas reward card has gone down from 5% to 3% so that these greedy companies can be more profitable.
But don't feel as if the companies are really smartening up and taking away more of your money. You can still combat them by playing them against each other, and taking advantage of competition. You don't always need to get a great deal right away, because chances are, you won't get one anyway. It's better to negotiate, and how better to do so, by plotting "smart" credit card companies against each other for the best gas rewards?
There are basically several areas of main concern on these gas reward credit cards right now, so let's list them clearly.
1. A capped amount of rewards
2. A prerequisite of a large amount of spending
3. Low rebate percentages or low rewards in general
Each of these problems should be closely examined, and then we must decide on the best way to combat them. The first problem can be addressed quite easily, whereas the second two are stronger problems. The biggest issue here is probably that your gas rewards simply are not rewarding enough anymore, thanks to the way the industry has changed. To tackle these problems, I'll be adding another post later on, to address each of them individually. As I have previously stated, this will involve plotting credit card companies against themselves by taking advantage of their competition, and gaining both quality and quantity, in order to sustain, or even increase your gas reward gains. But it doesn't stop there, as many advisers would tell you, using some of these same techniques will also get you lower interest rates and such. Our main goal is to get a better deal in general. Whether that means to get rebates, or save on interest rates while getting those rebates doesn't matter. The overall goal of having a gas reward credit card, is to get gas rewards, and we want that because we want to save.
However, I won't forget the current state of the economy either, so in time, I will also provide further information concerning how to save in this credit crisis, and continue to make good choices regarding getting gas rewards from your credit cards.
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