We have had some relief from the gas crunch of late but you never know what is going to happen. Often it is a good idea to have a gas credit card to help you with your gas needs especially when you have a large vehicle or truck.

Gas credit cards usually give you cash incentives and rebates for using their cards but they are specific to the gas company. You will find that often having a gas card will help you ease the difficulty when you need to get gas but are short on cash.

If you are someone who generally pays off your balance each month on your credit cards then a gas reward card can be perfect for you. They are designed for people with good credit and who have this type of credit card behavior. If you carry a balance it is better to use a regular credit card.

The reason this is so is because on a reward card if you do not pay your balance each month it will cost you more money. Statistics show that about 60% of people who have gas credit cards actually carry over a balance and the credit card companies use this money to pay the rewards to those who pay off their balance.

To decide whether you need a gas credit card or not it is a good idea to look at your driving habits. Do you drive a lot or a little? Do you drive locally only or do you have long distance driving for travel? Another thing to do before you choose a card is to make sure it has a number of available gas stations all over the country.

There is nothing worse than having a gas card that only works locally or that you have to drive out of your way to find a station. If you find a card like this it may not be worth the hassle. Most of the gas credit cards are underwritten by banks instead of the gas companies themselves. 

As an example, Shell, Chevron and Mobile offer credit cards but you must use one of their gas stations in order to take advantage of the rewards or benefits. When you find a card from Citibank, Chase or Discover you can use the cards at most gas stations.

The type of rewards you receive will be directly related to your credit report and your credit worthiness. It is a good idea to get a copy of your credit report with your credit score before you purchase a gas credit card so you know how easy it will be to get a gas credit card.

You should also compare benefits of these credit cards before you decide to sign up. You will generally see rebates on regular credit cards for cash back that are between 2% and 5%, some will offer cash back on purchases. Gas credit cards will offer thing like discounts for hotels and travel, car repairs or rebates on groceries with certain stores.