Is the Marathon Oil credit card truly a good way to combat high gas prices?

There a tons of gas cards on the market, but not all of them are a good deal. Here’s what you need to know about the Marathon offers.

There are actually 3 different cards…

1. Regular Marathon Card

• Not a major credit card – can only be used at Marathon gas stations.
• The interest rate depends on which state the cardholder lives in. The application states that the APR in 48 states ranges from 12% to 21%. The two states with lower APRs are Arkansas at 5% and Texas at 10%.
• Ohio-based customer service, which is a plus
• There is no rewards program and no annual fee

Verdict: For those with bad credit that can’t qualify for a regular card, this might be worth considering to use as a tool to rebuild credit. For everyone else this Marathon credit card is a bad idea.

2. Commercial Marathon Card

• This is a credit card for businesses that can be used only at Marathon gas stations
• The APRs on this Marathon business card are the same as what you will find on the regular consumer card.
• Provides a commercial billing statement each month that provides the date, location, and dollar amount for each transaction.
• This business card has no annual fee and offers no rewards.

Verdict: This card doesn’t appear to offer any unique benefits. As an alternative, there are a handful of major business cards on the market that give 3% cash back at all gas stations, including Marathon. In my opinion these business credit cards with gas rebates make more sense.

3. Chase Marathon Credit Card

• This is a MasterCard so it can be used anywhere MasterCard is accepted
• There is no annual fee
• The rewards on the Chase Marathon credit card are as follows: 1% on normal purchases and 5% on Marathon purchases

Verdict: If you buy all your gas at Marathon – and – they are always the cheapest gas station in your area, then the Chase Marathon card makes sense.

However the drawback here is that in order to get the higher gas rewards you are forced to go to Marathon stations. This isn’t a very flexible option, especially if you ever drive outside your area. As an alternative, there are actually a few gas credit cards that give 5% cash back at every gas station, including Marathon. To find out more check out this page about the top gas rebate credit cards.