Best Credit Cards for Gas Station Purchases in Canada

Gas is an essential purchase in most households here in Canada’s car-centric cities. Yes, most major cities have some form of public transit, but whether it’s any good is a post for a different day. Hence, it’s worth taking a look at what the best credit cards to use for gas station purchases and making sure you’re earning at least a 3% return every time you’re at the pump

Notably, unlike grocery stores (cough, Loblaws, cough), all the major gas stations take all forms of payment, so there’s no need to use different cards based on where you buy gas, and you can simply pull out the highest-earning card for every gas station purchase (exception is Costco, more on that below).

The Best Overall Options

RBC Ion+ Visa

I continue to maintain that the RBC Ion+ Visa is the most underrated credit card in Canada for earning on everyday spend, as it earns 3 Avion points per dollar spent at gas stations and on EV charging.

OK, 3x might not sound like much, but keep in mind that these Avion points can be transferred to Avion’s entire suite of airline transfer partners, such as British Airways Avios, Cathay Pacific Asia Miles, and American AAdvantage, as long as you also hold an Avion card like the RBC Avion Visa Infinite.

The welcome bonuses for the RBC Ion+ Visa and the RBC Avion Visa Infinite were recently increased as follows:

• RBC Ion+ Visa: 7,000 points upon approval and 14,000 points upon spending $1,500 in the first six months for a total of 21,000 points
• RBC Avion Visa Infinite: 35,000 points on approval and 20,000 points upon spending $5,000 in the first six months for a total of 55,000 points

These two cards are my favourite wallet combination at the moment, especially as many of my most frequented establishments (not just gas stations) do not take Amex.

You can boost your return by holding the RBC Avion Visa Infinite Privilege, which lets you redeem at 2 cents per point directly towards the cash price of any business or first class flight.

Amex Cobalt

As a surprise to absolutely no one, my second-favourite favourite card for gas station purchases is the Amex Cobalt. While it doesn’t earn 5x as it does on grocery store purchases, 2x is still a very respectable earn rate given how valuable Amex MR points are. Unfortunately, EV charging is not a recognized multiplier spending category.

Amex MR points are the most flexible currency in Canada, with the most airline partners to transfer points to, and I personally value MR points at 2.2 cents each. With a 2x earn rate at gas stations, this is a 4.4% return, and I know I can score even higher returns when using my Amex MR to book business or first class flights.

Note you can also purchase gas station gift cards at grocery stores to earn a 5x return, but Amex is not fond of gift card purchases.

Costco Gas

My entire family pumps gas almost exclusively at Costco. Fun fact: gas prices fluctuate throughout the day and drop significantly in the evening, around or after Costco’s warehouse closing hours.

As the CIBC Costco Mastercard functions as both a Costco membership and a regular Mastercard credit card, it’s hard to beat the convenience of tapping once and filling up your tank. In this case, it’s not a bad card either as the CIBC Costco Mastercard offers a cash back return of 3% on Costco gas purchases on the first $5,000 in spending per year.

However, note the CIBC Costco Mastercard is not the best card to use inside the actual Costco warehouse as it earns only 1% cash back there. Use the Rogers World Elite Mastercard for an effective 3% return as a Rogers, Fido, or Shaw customer, and redeeming it against your Rogers, Fido, or Shaw wireless bill. For non-Rogers customers, a flat 1.5% return still beats the 1% from the Costco co-branded CIBC card.

Best Cash Back Cards for Gas Purchases

If you want to earn rewards in the form of cold, hard, cash, that is an absolutely fair take because cash is the most flexible currency of all. 🙂

There are actually multiple fantastic cash back options for gas purchases and the top recommendation is the SimplyCash Preferred Card from American Express for an industry-leading 4% cash back on gas station purchases up to $30,000 in spending annually before going down to the base rate of 2%.

Where Amex is not accepted, the CIBC Dividend Visa Infinite Card stands out with a 4% cash back rate on gas purchases and a fairly high spending cap of $20,000 before the rate drops to 1%. For electric vehicle owners, note EV charging is an eligible categoriy for 4% cash back.

CIBC also partners with Ultramar, so you can save 3 cents per litre at Ultramar and at Ultramar-owned gas stations (like Pioneer or Fast Gas Plus), and don’t forget to earn Journie points on your purchase.

Gas Station Loyalty Programs

On the topic of Journie Rewards, it is worth noting that many gas stations have their own loyalty programs, and there’s no harm in signing up and earning some points if you are getting gas there, anyway.

My favourite would be Shell because they are partnering up with Scene+, my favourite fixed points travel program, as Scene+ makes it easy to redeem at 1 cent per point towards any travel purchase.

Esso uses PC Optimum, so you can combine these points with the PC Optimum points you’re earning at Shoppers Drug Mart and Loblaws-owned grocery chains.

Petro-Canada uses Petro-Points Rewards, their in-house rewards program, and these points can be redeemed for e-gift cards like Uber and Apple, if you don’t want to redeem them for Petro gas.

Takeaway

The best credit card for gas station purchases in Canada is the RBC Ion+ Visa. Pair it with any Avion credit card, and you’re well on your way to flying Etihad A380 apartments!

Backup options include the Amex Cobalt or other cash back cards, such as the Amex SimplyCash Preferred or the CIBC Dividend Visa Infinite.

For those with electric vehicles, the RBC Ion+ Visa and the CIBC Dividend Visa Infinite both offer the same elevated earning rates on EV charging.