There are many gas cash back rewards programs available.
  All you need to do is to type that search term into Google and you will get thousands of search results.
  Looking at them can be very overwhelming.
  How can you find the best one for you?  Are they all created equal or are there some big differences between them? There are three basic types of cash back rewards when it comes to gas rebates.
  There is the cash back gas reward card that is issued by the usual credit card companies.
Those are companies like Chase and BankAmerica.
  The second type of gas cash back rewards are cards that are issued by or on behalf of the gas companies themselves.
  The third cash back reward is called a customer loyalty reward.
  Let's look at the differences.
The first kind of rebate card is a bank card.
  This card is very much like any other credit card except that it is specifically tied to a program where you will get a certain percent back for all of your gas purchases.
  This card can be used other places as a conventional card and sometimes there is a small rebate for other purchases but the big rebate on the card is for gas.
  When you buy gas, you will get a credit back from the card company equal to whatever percentage they stipulate is the plan percentage.
  Most are about 5 percent.
  Usually the large incentive lasts only for a few months.
After that, there is some smaller percentage amount that you will get back for your gas purchases.
  Usually it drops down to about 2 percent.
  The gas company issued card is a little different.
  First of all, most gas cards only allow you to use the card to buy gas and merchandise from their own stations.
  It is not a general card.
  So you can only use it at limited outlets.
  To compensate for this though, the gas issued cards usually have higher rebate amounts.
  There are gas cards that have introductory rebates up to and sometimes exceeding 10 percent.
  Like the general market cards, the gas cards also reduce the percentage that you get back after the introductory period.
  Usually, the gas reduced rate is still higher than the general market card.
  The biggest problem with both those cards is, they are credit cards.
  You have to apply to get them, go through the usual credit check and ultimately in order to get your reward, you need to incur debt by charging your purchases to the cards.
The third alternative reward, the customer loyalty reward is a little different.
  This program is structured to reward customers for being loyal and sticking to one brand or company.
  This program requires you to save receipts and mail them in to get your cash back.
The biggest overall difference with the customer loyalty program is that you do not have to apply for or get another credit card.
  You do not have to incur any debt under the customer loyalty program.
  The other difference with the customer loyalty program is that the reward is generally the highest of the three.
  Most customer loyalty programs will send you back $25 for buying $100 worth of gas each month.
  That is a 25 percent rebate as opposed to the 5 or 10 percent with the cards.
  If you want to use a general credit card that pays you back, then your best bet is the general market card issued by the banks.
  If you want a larger rebate but still want to use a credit card then the gas company card could be your choice.
  If you don't want to use a credit card at all and you want to get the largest rebate then the customer loyalty program will be your best choice.