Lukoil Credit Card Review

The Lukoil Credit Card is designed for those who use Lukoil as their main gasoline station when they fill up their tank with gasoline. Let’s take a closer look at this card.

Rewards – The Lukoil credit card pays cardholders 4% rebates when they fill their gasoline at Lukoil and Getty stations. Other other purchases, you’ll earn the standard 1% rebates. For the first 60 days, new cardholders earn 8% rebates on gasoline purchases with Lukoil and Getty and 2% on regular purchases.

Fees – There is no annual fee for this card.

The big question is how does Lukoil compare against it’s peers? There are really two sets of peers. The first is dedicated station specific cards like Lukoil and the second set of cards are those where you can earn reward points at any gas station.

The 4% rebates that Lukoil pays out to card holders puts in at the upper end of the range among it’s peers. There are cards like Shell, BP and Marathon where members can earn 5% rebates. So Lukoil loses out to these cards just in terms of the rebbates paid. But it also beats other cards like Hess (which only pay 3%).

Lukoil versus Discover OPEN Road – As as we will see, the Lukoil has better comparisons against cards that let you earn rebates in any station. The first comparison we will make will be against the Discover OPEN Road Card. The Lukoil beats Discover because the 4% rebate is better than the 2% rebates that Discover holders can earn on gasoline and restaurant purchases. Furthermore, Discover caps the rebates you can earn on these two category of expenses at $250 monthly spend. So in my opinion, Lukoil is better (if you only fill your gas at Lukoil) than the Discover OPEN Road card.

Lukoil versus Blue Cash Everyday – The Blue Cash Everyday from American Express pas 2% on gasoline, while the Lukoil’s 4% is double that amount. In for gasoline, we are talking double the rebates versus the ability to earn half that at any station. But the Blue Cash does pay 3% rebates on groceries and 2% on department store purchases.

Lukoil versus Costco – The Costo credit card is issued by Amex and it has both a consumer and a business version (which pays different rebates on gas purchases). The consumer version pays 3% rebates on gas, 2% on travel and restaurant expenses. Hence, it loses out to Lukoil on the gas rebates but offers consumers the chance to earn extra rebates for travel and dining expenses. However, the Costco business version allows to earn 4% rebates on gasoline (though capped at $12,000 in annual gasoline spend), 3% on dining and 2% on travel expenses. So I think at the margin, the Lukoil card is bested by the Costco business credit card because 4% for the costco card applies to any gas station. Furthermore, you also get extra rebates on dining and travel purchases.

Lukoil versus PenFed – PenFed has a Penfed Gas and Cash Rewards Card that allows you to earn 5% rebates on gas and 2% on groceries. Finally, the Lukoil has met it’s match. The Penfed card beats it in gasoline and also in the grocery rebate area.

Firstly, let’s look at the pros and cons of this card.

Pros – This card gives you 4% rebates for Lukoil gas purchases. While 4% is not at the top of the class (which happens to be 5%), it is still better than the 2% to 3% that most cards offer on gas rebates.

Cons – The major disadvantage of this card (and it applies to all stations specific gas card) is that you can only use it at Lukoil! And I guess you can argue that not having 5% rebates on has is a big negative?

Opinion – The Lukoil credit card will appeal to folks who use Lukoil and Getty exclusively for their gasoline needs. If you are one of those, then this card is made just for you and you can save quite a bit by using this card. I personally find that Lukoil stations tend to charge higher prices (I have BP and Sunoco around the corner as well). If you use other gas stations as well, then you should consider a card that pays you rebates for any gasoline purchases. Below are some suggestions.

The first to consider is the TrueEarnings(R) Business Card from Costco and American Express, especially if you are a Costco member. (Note: you do not need a business to get this card. Use you SSN and you will be considers a sole proprietor). Though you get the same rebates on gas purchases from the Costco card, you can earn them at any gas station. Perhaps the better card to get is the Penfed Gas and Cash Rewards Visa because you can earn more for gas rebates (5% versus 4%). However, you do need to be a Penfed member to get this card.