Best Credit Cards for Gas and EV Charging

Many people now drive EVs, and quite a few credit cards now offer strong rewards on EV charging. Looking through the options, gas and charging usually show up together, so I’m covering them in one article. Of course, some cards still haven’t caught up with the times and only bonus gas, not charging, and I’ll point that out clearly below.

With gas prices rising recently, it’s worth taking a look at how to save the most on fuel purchases.

AMEX Buesiness Gold (6%)

This card automatically gives 4x Membership Rewards (MR) on your top two spending categories. If you spend a lot on gas, this card can be a great fit. After all, 4x MR can be worth about 6%.

Citi Custom Cash (5%)

The Citi Custom Cash credit card has no annual fee. You can effectively “choose” gas as your 5% cash back category, since the card earns 5% back in the category where you spend the most each month. So if you mainly use it for gas, that works perfectly. The limitation is that only the first $500 each month earns 5%, but that should be enough for most households’ gas spending.

Unfortunately, this card does not earn 5% on EV charging.

Synchrony Sam's Club (5%)

The Synchrony Sam's Club credit card is a no-annual-fee card that earns 5% cash back on gas, on up to $6,000 in spending. In addition, it earns 3% back on dining and Sam's Club purchases if you have a Plus membership. You must be a Sam's Club member to apply for this card. Also, Synchrony may issue one of two versions depending on your profile: one version earns 5%/3%/1% cash back, while the lower-tier version earns no rewards, so be sure to watch out for that.

Unfortunately, this card does not earn 5% on EV charging.

AMEX Everyday Preferred（约 4.5%）

The AMEX EveryDay Preferred has a $95 annual fee and earns 2x Membership Rewards (MR) on gas. If you make more than 30 purchases per month, you get a 50% points bonus. That means gas effectively becomes 3x MR. MR points cannot be redeemed directly for cash, but they can be used through AMEX Travel for flights or hotels at a value of 1:1. The best use of MR is usually transferring to airline miles for domestic U.S. flights or international U.S.-China flights; business class redemptions in particular can provide very high value. We generally value MR at around 100 points = $1.5. So 3x MR on gas is roughly equivalent to 4.5% back. In addition, this card can earn up to 4.5x MR at supermarkets, so it is also a good fit for people who spend a lot on groceries. As an AMEX card, benefits like AMEX Offers, extended warranty, and a free credit score are also nice to have.

Unfortunately, this card does not offer bonus rewards on EV charging.

This card is currently only available via upgrade and cannot be applied for directly.

Citi Costco (4%)

The Citi Costco credit card is a no-annual-fee card if you already have a Costco membership. It earns 4% cash back on gas and EV charging, with no cap. In addition, it earns 3% on dining, 3% on travel, and 2% at Costco and costco.com. If you spend a lot at Costco and already have a Costco membership, this rewards structure works well as a one-card setup. The downsides are that you must have a Costco membership to get the card, and there is currently no welcome bonus. You can do the math on how long you’d need to spend to match someone else’s $500 sign-up bonus.

US Bank Altitude Connect (4%)

The US Bank Altitude Connet has a $95 annual fee, waived the first year. It earns 4% back on gas and EV charging, and redemption is very simple since you can just cash out directly. It also earns 4% back on travel-related purchases such as airfare, hotels, car rentals, and transit, so it is a good fit for people with a lot of travel spending. If you do not spend much, though, the annual fee may not be worth it.

Note: starting on September 9, 2024, the $95 annual fee will be eliminated. At the same time, the streaming credit will be removed, and 4x on gas and EV charging will have a $1,000 per quarter cap. So if you apply now, you may never actually have to pay an annual fee. After the refresh, it looks pretty suitable for people whose gas and charging spending is not that high.

Citi Premier Strata (3.9%)

The Citi Premier is a $95 annual fee credit card that earns 3x ThankYou Points (TYP) on gas and EV charging. TYP can be transferred to programs such as Singapore Airlines and Avianca, which can be useful for Star Alliance award tickets. TYP can also be used through Citi Travel for airfare at 1.25 cents per point. TYP are worth about 1.3 cents per point, so 3x TYP is effectively about 3.9% back. In addition, this card earns 3x points on airfare, hotels, car rentals, public transit, cruises, and parking, so it is also a good option for travel. However, Citi TYP cards are subject to a 24-month rule: if you have opened or closed a TYP card within the past 24 months, you cannot receive the sign-up bonus, so pay special attention to that.

Bank of America Alaska (3.5%)

The Bank of America Alaska credit card is a $99 annual fee airline co-branded card. It earns 2x miles on gas, EV charging, streaming, and public transit. In addition, if you have a BofA bank account, you can get an extra 10% mileage bonus. So on gas and charging, that works out to 2.2x miles. Alaska miles are quite valuable; for the same trip, they often require fewer miles than programs like UA or AA, and are worth around 1.6 cents per point. That works out to about 3.5% back.

In addition, this card currently has a pretty good sign-up bonus, so it may be worth considering if you haven’t applied yet.

Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards (3%-5.25%)

The BofA Cash Rewards is a no-annual-fee credit card that lets you choose gas and EV charging as your 3% cash back category. If you have a BofA checking account or especially high deposits with BofA, you can also get a 10%-75% rewards bonus. That means gas rewards can go as high as 5.25%. Cash back is also easy to redeem, since you can simply apply it as a statement credit. In addition, the card earns 2% back at grocery stores and wholesale clubs such as Costco, Sam's Club, and BJ’s. BofA credit cards also provide a free credit score, and on the first weekend of each month you can get free admission to certain museums with a BofA card, which is a nice perk. It also has a 12-month intro APR on purchases, which is useful too.

Wells Fargo Autograph（约 3.6%）

The Wells Fargo Autograph credit card is a no-annual-fee card that earns 3x points on gas and EV charging. After its refresh, the points can now be transferred to airline miles. Transfer partners include Avianca LifeMiles, British Airways, and Air France KLM Flying Blue, so there is at least one partner from each major airline alliance. There is also Choice Hotel. The points are worth about 1.2 cents each, so 3x on gas and EV charging works out to roughly 3.6% back. That is pretty solid for a no-annual-fee card.

AMEX Blue Cash/Blue Cash Preferred 3%

Both AMEX Blue Cash Everyday and Blue Cash Preferred offer 3% cash back on gas. The difference is that the annual-fee Preferred has unlimited 3% back, while the no-annual-fee Everyday only earns 3% on the first $6,000. If your average monthly gas spending is under $500, there is no real need to apply for the annual-fee version just for gas rewards.

Neither card offers bonus rewards on EV charging.

Barclays AARP Essential 信用卡（3%）

The Barclays AARP Essential Credit Card is a no-annual-fee credit card that earns 3% cash back on gas, with no cap. In addition to gas, drugstores also earn 3% cash back with no cap. Although AARP (American Association of Retired Persons) is a US organization for retirees, this credit card is open to everyone. That said, people who know what AARP is might give you a slightly odd look when you use it~

Unfortunately, this card does not offer any bonus rewards on EV charging. Not too surprising, since relatively few seniors drive electric cars.

Other Credit Cards

In addition to the cards above that offer fixed cash back on dining, there are also some credit cards that offer 5% cash back or 5x points on gas during one quarter each year. Common examples include:

• Chase Freedom Flex: no annual fee, and every year there is one quarter in which gas earns 5x Ultimate Rewards points. If you also hold a premium Ultimate Rewards card, that is equivalent to about 8% cash back. In addition, there is currently an extra 5x gas offer for new applicants.
• Discover it: no annual fee, and every year there is a quarter where gas is a 5% cash back category. If you just got the card, the first-year cashback match effectively makes that 10% cash back.
• Citi Dividend (no annual fee, no longer available for new applications, only by product change): every year there is one quarter in which gas earns 5% cash back.
• See also: 2026 Quarterly 5x Cash Back Summary

In addition, some business credit cards also offer strong rewards:

• Chase Ink Cash business credit card: 2x points on gas, worth about 3% cash back, no annual fee
• BofA Customized Cash Rewards business credit card: you can choose gas for 3%, no annual fee
• Citi Costco business credit card: just like the personal card, it also offers 4% cash back on gas
• US Bank Triple Cash Rewards business credit card: offers 3% cash back on gas, no annual fee
• Marcus GM Business business credit card: 3% cash back on gas, no annual fee

In addition, some small-bank credit cards offer relatively high rewards, but benefits from smaller banks are usually less stable, so we still recommend giving priority to credit cards from the major banks above.

• Cardless New Orleans Pelicans credit card: 4x on gas, no annual fee
• Cardless Miami Marlins credit card: 3x on gas, no annual fee
• PayPal debit card: you can choose gas for 5%, with a monthly cap of $1,000
• Shop Your Way 5321 card: 5% on gas and EV charging

Summary

High gas rewards usually do not appear on a credit card by themselves; they are typically paired with elevated rewards in other categories. So when choosing a card with strong gas rewards, you should also consider the rewards beyond gas, the card's other benefits, and whether those benefits are enough to justify any annual fee. In addition, if you are interested in points, points generally have more upside than cash back, since good redemption strategies can produce outsized value. But if you do not want the extra hassle, then a cash back card is the better choice: redemptions are simple, and you do not have to worry about points devaluation.

Gas

Credit Card	Cash Back	Annual Fee	Notes	Apply
AMEX Business Gold	6% (4x MR)	$375	Only earns 5% if gas purchases are in your Top 2 spending categories,	Apply
Citi Custom Cash	5% (excluding EV charging)	$0	You only earn 5% on gas if gas is your top spending category,	Apply
Synchrony Sam's Club	5% (excluding EV)	$0	5% on the first $6000 in purchases per year; requires a Sam's Club membership; you need to be approved for the Mastercard version	Apply
AMEX Everyday Preferred	4.5% (3x MR, excluding EV)	$95	You only earn 3 MR/$ after making 30 purchases each month	Apply
Citi Sears	4% (5x points, excluding EV)	$0	You earn Sears points, which have limited redemption options	Apply
US Bank Altitude Connect	4% (including EV charging)	$95	Will be refreshed to no annual fee in September 2024; quarterly cap of $1000 on bonus gas rewards	Apply
Citi Costco	4% (including EV)	$0	Requires at least a $55 Costco membership	Apply
Citi Premier Strata	3.9% (3x TYP, excluding EV)	$95		Apply
BOA Alaska	3.2% (2x miles, including EV)	$99	If you have a BOA account, you can get 10% more	Apply
BOA Customized Cash Rewards	3% (including EV)	$0	With a BOA account, rewards can be boosted by up to 75%	Apply
Wells Fargo Autograph	3.6% (3x points; including EV)	$0		Apply
AMEX Blue Cash Everyday	3% (excluding EV)	$0	Annual cap of $6000	Apply
AMEX Blue Cash Everyday	3% (excluding EV)	$95		Apply
Barclays AARP Essential	3% (excluding EV)	$0		Apply
Detailed analysis: Best Credit Cards for Gas Stations

* All point valuations are based on: Estimated Value and Analysis of Miles and Points

** All welcome offers listed are the public offers available when the article was published. For the latest updates, please check the credit card review links.