Gassing up your vehicle is the great equalizer — no matter the weather, when you pull into a gas station, you’re likely to see folks of all kinds standing next to their cars, nozzle in hand. There’s one way to make your gas purchases safer, more rewarding, and more convenient: paying with a credit card.
Here’s why I always buy gas with a credit card and why you should follow my lead.
Fraud protections
Credit cards are perhaps the safest way to pay for anything you buy, for one simple reason: They’re not tied to your personal bank account like a check or debit card. And unlike cash, if you lose your credit card, you’re not out of luck — you’ll just need to report the loss to your card issuer, which will disable the lost card and issue you a new one.
Speaking of lost cards, most of the best credit cards available come with $0 fraud liability. So if you accidentally drop your credit card at the gas pump and drive off without realizing it and some thief grabs your card and uses it, you won’t be responsible for any of the unauthorized charges.
There’s another notable risk to using your debit card to buy gas instead of a credit card. Gas pumps are a frequent target for scammers who install “skimmers” on the payment equipment. These machines steal your card information, and since your debit card is linked to your bank account, if a thief gets access to your account info, they can steal your money quite easily. You do get some protection from your bank, depending on when you report the problem (ideally, as soon as possible).
But even if your bank returns your lost cash to you, you could still face financial issues and struggle to cover your bills and expenses until that happens. Credit cards have the advantage, since they give you access to borrowed money that you must pay back, rather than a direct line to your own funds. It’d be a bummer to wait on a new credit card to arrive in the mail if yours was compromised, but it’s likely not a financial catastrophe that prevents you from paying rent on time.
Rewards
Gas is a pretty common expense for most Americans. Research assembled by Motley Fool Money shows that the average American spent $225 a month on gas and oil in 2023. Thankfully, using the right credit card can help defray these costs by offering cash back or rewards points on gas purchases.
Even though I don’t drive a ton (or buy anywhere near as much gas as the average American), I still use a gas rewards card that pays me 3% cash back on fill-ups. You can find the same rate or better from the range of cards we’ve reviewed — click here for our picks for the best cards for gas purchases.
Convenience
Finally, I always use a credit card to pay for gas because I love how convenient it is. I can pay right at the pump in most cases, without needing to leave my car, go inside, and potentially wait in line to pay. (And hey, there’s no having to remember my gas pump number to tell the gas station clerk, either.)
Admittedly, this is surely my silliest reason for using a credit card to buy gas, but as a self-employed person, my time is literally money. If I can shave 10 or 15 minutes off my weekday morning errands, that’s time I can use to work and earn more.
An exception
Some gas stations will cut you a break on the price of fuel if you’re paying with cash instead of plastic, and this makes sense — credit card processing fees can add up quickly for merchants, and if you pay with cash, they don’t have to cover that extra expense. So if you’re fueling up at such a station, see what the difference between the cash price and credit price is, and make the choice accordingly.
If it’s a smaller difference than the percentage of rewards you’ll earn from a credit card (perhaps 2%-5% depending on your card), you might want to stick with plastic. I rarely carry more cash than $20 or so, and since I aim to entirely fill up my gas tank from close to empty on every trip to the gas station, I’m likely to just pay with plastic anyway (remember, I also value the convenience and time savings, which translate to more time to earn money).
Credit cards offer a lot of advantages for purchases in general, gas and otherwise. If you drive often and frequently find yourself fueling up, it’s worth choosing a credit card that’ll reward you for those gas station trips — and enjoy the convenience and fraud protection, as well.