No tricks my friends. One can earn real cash for all the miles that we drive in our car for everyday use. Sometime in October last year one of us obtained a Citi Driver's Edge Platinum Select MasterCard. Apart from the great rewards explained below, at that time they were also running a one time bonus of $75 gas card for promotion. We could not locate the same offer anywhere currently. Anyway it is still a great deal giving us some free money.
Rewards
- 6% rebates on gas station, supermarkets and drugstores for 12 months, 3% after that
- 1% rebates on all other purchases
- $0.01 for every mile driven on the automobile registered with the card
Analysis
Let us run some numbers and do a reality check on the offer. On an average most of us drive 15000 miles on our car annually. So for driving alone we would earn [15000 * 0.01 =] $150 per year. Assuming 15 miles per gallon and $3 per gallon we would get [(15000 / 15) * 3.00 * 0.06 =] $180 for gasoline expenses.
For a modest $300 per month for supermarket and drugstore purchases we would be eligible for [300 * 12 * 0.06 =] $216. This includes groceries as well. Finally and frugally, let us add another $100 for all other purchases each month. This gives us [100 * 12 * 0.01 =] $12.
Thus at the end of first year we would earn [150 + 180 + 216 + 12 =] $558! And this is totally free money for all the necessary purchases and driving that we do anyway. For subsequent years assuming the same expenses the free cash inflow would be [150 + (180 / 2) + (216 / 2) + 12 =] $360. We feel it would be wiser to shop around for cards again towards the end of first year. Who knows there could be better offers out there.
How to register a car?
Call customer service at 1-800-967-8500 and ask to register a car. Only one car per card is allowed.
How to earn Drive Rebates for the miles driven?
Within a few weeks of any oil change or repair or service on the registered car call the driver's edge rebate hot line 1-800-308-4158 and ask for a Miles Submission form to be mailed to your address. Fill out the form and mail it along with a copy of the detailed invoice of the service highlighting the odometer reading. The form needs to be mailed within 90 days of service.
How to redeem the Drive Rebates and get credit?
Within few weeks of any repair or service on the registered car call the driver's edge rebate hot line 1-800-308-4158 and ask for a Service Redemption form to be mailed to your address. Fill out the form and mail it along with a copy of the detailed invoice of the service highlighting the odometer reading and total cost. The form needs to be mailed within 90 days of service.
Please note though we have 90 days from the day of service performed to submit the forms, we would recommend doing it within 30 days or asap.
