gas charge cards
 

can you use u.s.a. gas credit cards, like shell, citgo, etc. in italy leaving thursday so any help is appreciated thanks for everybodys help on this site.

No

Hi fp,

I suggest that you stick to MC and Visa.

((I))

With my german gas credit card at least, I get a 3% rebate on ALL gas purchases at ANY gas station worldwide. Thanks to "Lidl" grocery stores the card came totally free with no obligations :-). Why is it different with US cards?

because some of them are different and only allow you to use them at that particular company's station. I don't know why people get those kind of cards, but some do. However, there are many variations of credit cards, and some can be used abroad. I don't have gas credit cards, so don't know if they give you cash back, but I have a AAA Visa that can be used anywhere and it gives you a rebate on all gas purchases from any station (I think it's 3 pct right now, it used to be 5 pct before prices went up a lot). YOu can get plenty of cards that aren't tied to a specific gas station, but some are.

I think if fpsoley is asking about a regular credit card (like Mastercard), it will work abroad, why not. Some gas cards are only for paying at the pump, but they also have credit cards.

If fpsoley was asking about a visa/MC, that is what he would have said. Shell, Citgo, Chevron, etc. cards are for use in those stations and affiliated businesses. They are more like Department Store charge cards than visa/MC -- i.e. usable only in that store and branches. You can't use a Macy's card (as opposed to a Macy's visa) to buy things in Italy, Just like you can't use a Shell card.

I don't have one of these cards, so I really don't know, but....

why couldn't you use a Shell credit card at a Shell station in Uk, Italy or???

Cuz they aren't reciprocal. Just like you can't use a UK BP card in the States.

Be careful if you're expecting to use your gas rebate credit card overseas; the wording that I've seen says something like "at stand-alone gas stations". If you fill up at a station that's connected to a larger store (like hypermarkets in France), the merchant code attached to the transaction may not indicate that it was a gas purchase.