BP Visa Credit Card Review

Full Review of BP Visa Credit Card

Pros Explained

• 10 Cents Per Gallon Off Fuel From BP and Amoco: The BP Visa gives you 10 cents off per gallon at participating BP and Amoco gas stations, and it does so at the pump, with the discount applied after you choose to pay with your card. The immediacy of those savings is in contrast to most other cards, which make you wait for rewards to post to your account or to accrue to a certain amount before you can redeem them. The discount per gallon is automatically applied at the pump, which is an additional plus. 
• 3% Cash Back on Groceries: With its 3% cash back rewards on groceries, the BP Visa is more rewarding at the supermarket than even cash-back cards that offer a universal 1.5% or 2% on all purchases. And there’s no limit on these earnings, or on any others with the card. By contrast, some similar competitors restrict eligible spending. For example, the Shell Fuel Rewards limits its 2% rewards on dining and groceries to your first $10,000 in annual purchases. 

Cons Explained

• Application Process Could Result in Receiving a Less Appealing Card: Your application for the BP Visa could result in your receiving a different credit card. The fine print says that if you’re approved, you may get not this card but the BP credit card. It’s a lesser choice. Not only does the BP credit card offer lower savings on gas, it’s what’s known as a closed-loop card. That is, it can be used only to make purchases at participating BP and Amoco stations. It’s a poor fit, then, if you’re seeking a gas card you can also use it to make purchases elsewhere.
• Minimal One-Time Offer: Rewards credit cards often advertise relatively large one-time offers to get new customers to apply. Unfortunately, the value of this card’s one-time offer is very low: an additional 20 cents a gallon off gas bought from BP and Amoco in the first 30 days after opening a card account. Even if you were to purchase 100 gallons of gas in the first 30 days—a significant stretch for most drivers—that’s only a $20 savings. Worse, 5 cents of the 20 cents in bonus savings are withheld unless you use the BPme app linked to the BP Visa card to make your gas purchases. That extra requirement is a hassle for those who don’t like using mobile payments, especially if they also have to download and learn to use the BPme app. 
• Using Apple Pay Invalidates the Card’s Gas Rewards: If you link your BP Visa credit card to your Apple Pay account and then use Apple Pay to make BP or Amoco gas purchases, you won’t get the 10 cents-per-gallon savings. Instead, you’ll earn a low 1% cash back on these fuel purchases. That all but rules out getting this card if you want to use Apple Pay for your cash purchases.

The BP Visa is best suited to those who often visit a BP or Amoco station to fill up. The 10-cents-a-gallon rebate on gas could really add up over a year. The card should have special appeal to those whose vehicles have especially large gas tanks, since there’s no limit on the number of gallons per fill-up eligible for the discount. By contrast, the similar Shell Fuel Rewards restricts the discount to the first 20 gallons. That cap could deprive someone who fills up a Ford F150, with its 23-gallon tank, of receiving the discount on the final few gallons they buy. 

The BP Visa is also a decent option if you have no other card that provides strong rewards on grocery purchases. The card’s 3% in cash back meets or exceeds what you’d earn at supermarkets with a better cash-back card. However, since the rewards you earn can only be used for BP or Amoco fuel purchases, those who purchase gasoline elsewhere will not likely find enough benefits to consider this card.

BP Visa Credit Card One-Time Offer

The BP Visa offers a one-time offer in the form of cents off per gallon of fuel purchases for the first 30 days from opening your account. You get 15 cents off in additional bonus savings when you charge purchases to the card at BP and Amoco stations. A further 5 cents a gallon in savings is available if you load your BP Visa into the BPme mobile app and use the app for your fuel purchases.

Rewards Earning Details

Bonuses aside, this card provides 10 cents off per gallon on fuel purchases made at BP and Amoco stations. The discount is reflected in the price that’s displayed after you swipe the BP Visa card at the pump. The only exception comes if you link the card to Apple Pay, and then use the app to pay for the gas transaction. In that case, you will receive only the card’s default reward rate on all purchases, which is 1% in cash back.

Grocery purchases provide 3% in cash back, All other purchases, other than BP or Amoco fuel, provide 1% cash back. You receive rewards in the form of credit statements.

There is no limit to the rewards you can earn. 

Rewards Redemption Details

Redeeming your rewards takes no effort on your part. The 10 cents off per gallon is applied at the pump when you use your BP Visa credit card. With all other transactions, including those for groceries, the cash back you earn is applied as a statement credit within 2 billing cycles after the period in which they are earned.

How to Maximize Your Rewards

The simplicity of the BP Visa credit card makes it easy to maximize your rewards. First, make sure to take full advantage of the introductory one-time offer of up to 30 cents off per gallon at BP and Amoco stations in the first 30 days from opening your account. If you’re comfortable with using mobile payment apps, consider getting the BPme app and using that to pay for your BP and Amoco fuel. That arrangement will earn you an extra 5 cents in bonus savings during the first 30 days.

After the introductory period, try to make fuel purchases at BP and Amoco stations, assuming that one is convenient, of course, and its price is no more than 10 cents more than nearby competitors. 

You’ll likely also benefit from using your card to make grocery purchases, since it’s not likely that another card in your wallet provides more than the 3% cash back the BP Visa provides on these purchases. and all other purchases (except BP and Amoco fuel purchases) to earn 1% cash back. Since the cash back is automatically applied as a statement credit, there’s nothing you have to do to redeem or maximize your cash back. That said, you could earn more cash back on all other purchases with a credit card that offers 2% cash back.

Cardholder Experience

The BP Visa is issued by Synchrony Bank, whose record for serving credit-card customers is mediocre. The bank received a score of 800 out of a possible 1,000 in J.D. Power’s 2020 U.S. Credit Card Satisfaction Study which was below average. This score placed the bank at seventh out of 11 national card issuers.

Customer support is available at 1-866-419-4096. The hours at which this line is answered are not specified.

Security Features

This card’s security features are standard for the credit card industry.

No Annual Fee

This card doesn’t charge an annual fee but it does charge a 3% foreign transaction fee. Otherwise, the fees are in line with industry standards for this type of credit card.

Our Verdict

BP and Amoco customers could find ongoing value with the BP Visa credit card. The 10 cents off per gallon on BP and Amoco fuel purchases combined with 3% cash back on groceries and 1% cash back on other qualifying purchases offer quite a few ways to benefit from this card. The fact the card doesn’t have an annual fee and that gas savings aren’t limited to a certain number of gallons makes this card especially attractive for those who own vehicles, such as pickups, that have notably large gas tanks.

You can earn even more cash back if you pair this card with a credit card that offers a higher overall cash back rate on all other non-grocery and non-BP or Amoco gas purchases, such as the Citi Double Cash credit card.