When you think of gas rebates, you probably think of gas rebate credit cards. Those are the credit cards that pay you anywhere from 1% to 5% against your gas purchases. What many people don’t know is that there may be a much better alternative that can pay you back for gas faster, simpler and bigger.

The alternative is called customer loyalty rebates. Those programs are designed to reward customers for using only one brand or one company. The cash back for gas program is this type. The premise is that companies want to create brand loyalty and they will give up some of their profits to get it.

There are a number of reasons you could find customer loyalty rebates more advantageous to you than a rebate card. The biggest advantage is they tend to pay more. An average driver will spend about $1500 on fuel during a year. That will result in an average reward of about $60 in a 4% rebate program.

Contrast that to the most popular customer loyalty program which pays $300 cash back for gas purchases for a year. So the first difference between the programs is that one pays you $60 and the other pays you $300.

Based on the $1500 annual expenditure for fuel, the $300 equates to a 20% reward. Compare this to the 4% card reward. So the second difference is that the effective reward in the customer loyalty program is 20 percent and the card reward is only 4 percent.

The third difference between the two programs is that in the loyalty program there is no credit card to deal with. That means no credit report, no card application, no increase in your debt, no late charges, nothing that has to do with all the problems that come with credit cards.

The customer loyalty program is a registration only program. You obtain a certificate or a PIN number that allows you to register for the program. You register, decide which gas company you are going to use and you start. You save receipts, send them in and each month you meet the program goals you get a prepaid Visa card sent to you in the mail.

There are some specific program rules you have to follow in order to get your monthly rebate. Before you join a program you should make sure you know what it is you are expected to do to meet the program guidelines. They are generally straight forward and are found on the certificates and on the registration website.

When you are looking for ways to reduce your gas costs, know that gas rebate credit cards are not your only alternative. Customer loyalty programs may be a better choice.

Scott Siegel author of Beat The Gas Pump 143 pages about saving gas and money at the pump. You can get $300 cash back for buying gas. Go to http://www.beatthegaspump.com. A better alternative to gas rebate credit cards beatthegaspump.com.