Chase Marathon Mastercard Review

Update:Marathon has ended it's relationship with Chase and their cards are now being issued by World Financial Network Bank (WFNNB. We will be updating our review soon.

Rebate Formula - The Marathon MasterCard pays you 5% cash back at their gas stations and this puts them at the top end of the rebate range for gasoline purchase. You can only earn 5% rebates at their stations. So should you get this card? Let's find out.

Rebate Formula - The Chase Marathon credit card pays a 5% rebate on any purchases at Marathon gasoline stations and 1% rebate for other purchases. Your rebates are applied automatically to your Marathon purchases the following month. Rebates expire in twelve months. As a signing bonus, you will earn 10% rebates for any purchases at Marathon gasoline stations for the first 60 days.

Annual Fees and APR - The Chase Marathon credit card has no annual fee. The apr is either prime rate plus 9.99% or 11.99%. You get a 0% introductory apr for both purchases and balance transfers for the first six months.

We'll now set out to compare the Marathon MasterCard with its's peers (both specific gas station credit cards and all stations gas cards). To start off, the 5% rebates that Marathon pays is at the upper end of the range. This is comparable to the Shell and BP, whose credit cards also pay 5% rebates. It is better than the Shell MasterCard (even though they both pay 5% rebates on their respective gasoline purchases) because while the Shell card pays 0.5% on other purchases and puts a $20 cap on the rebates you earn a month, the Marathon credit card pays 1% for non Marathon purchases and does not impose any caps on rebates you earn. But compared to the BP Visa, it loses out because though they both pay 5% rebates on their gas purchases, BP Visa also pays 2% rebates on travel and dining expenses.

Vesus the Costco Credit Card - The Marathon MasterCard beats the Costco credit card on gasoline rebates (5% versus 3%) though one has to bear in mind that 5% only works at Marathon stations. The Costco card is better in that they offer 2% rebates for travel and dining.

Versus Amex Blue Cash EveryDay - The Marathon credit card also beats the Blue Cash EveryDay in the gasoline area (5% versus 2%). But the Blue Cash pays 3% on groceries, 2% on department stores as well, so this is a perk that Marathon does not have.

Versus Discover OPEN Road Card - The Discover OPEN Road Card offers 2% rebates on gasoline and restaurant purchases. Discover also caps you at earning these rebates for up to $200 in monthly spend on gasoline and dining (which may be a problem for those who own a gas guzzler!) So in the area of gasoline rebates, the Marathon card comes out ahead. Discover, however, has an online shopping portal where you can earn between 5% and 20% with their online merchants.

Verus PenFed Gas Rebate Card - The PenFed VISA Platinum Gas / Cash Rewards Card is the only card that can go toe to toe and in fact, beat the Marathon MasterCard. And that is because it pays 5% on gasoline for any gas stations, 2% on groceries and 1% on everything else. Though they both pay 5% rebates on gas, with the PenFed card, the 5% applies to any gas station and not just Marathon stations. You also get 2% rebates on groceries which the Marathon does not have.

Pros - 5% rebates on gas is at the upper end of the range for gas cards.

Cons - The only negative aspect we can think of is that you can only earn the 5% at Marathon stations.

Summary - The Chase Marathon credit card will appeal to those who frequently use Marathon gas stations. The 5% rebate payout is the top end of the range for gas credit cards. There is also no annual (whereas previously, Chase charged a $20.00 annual fee unless you used your card at Marathon stations nine times in a calendar year). If all you only use Marathon stations for your gasoline needs, then this is a good card to get. But if you use other gas stations as well, then the PenFed VISA Platinum Gas / Cash Rewards Card is the better card to get.

Update - It appears that this card is no longer marketed and any online application form cannot be found on the internet.