Overview

Who is Marathon Visa Designed For?

Marathon's Visa credit card is designed for people with not-so-great credit who regularly shop at Marathon gas stations and want to receive rewards for their credit card purchases. Marathon has over 5,300 locations in 19 states throughout the Midwest and Southwest.

What are the Rates?

The regular rate on purchases ranges from 18.49% APR to 26.49% APR. The balance transfer and cash advance rate is 27.49% APR.

Although high, these rates are common for a rewards card targeting people with fair credit. At least there isn't a penalty rate so rates don't go up when members are late making payments.

What Are the Fees?

There is a $38 late fee, a 3% or $10 cash advance fee, whichever is greater, and a 3% foreign transaction fee. However, Marathon Visa doesn't have an annual fee, so as long as you stay current with your monthly payments, never carry a balance, and only use it within the United States, you can get free cash rebates just for buying gas and snacks at your local Marathon station.

What Is the Rewards Program Like?

Marathon Visa has a complicated three-tier rebates program that gives you rebates ranging from $0.05 to $0.25 on your Marathon purchases. Although you only earn rebates on your purchases at Marathon locations, the rate at which you earn rebates is determined by the total of your Marathon Visa purchases.

If you spend less than $500 in a calendar month, you only qualify for $0.05 per gallon on Marathon purchases. Spend between $500 and $999 and you will receive $0.15. Members who spend more than $1000, qualify for the highest rebate rate of $0.25 per gallon. Confused yet? Don't worry, it gets more complicated.

Once your tier is determined for a given month, Marathon divides your total purchases at Marathon locations by the national average price for a gallon of gas. This gives you the equivalent number of gallons purchased which is multiplied by your rebate rate to give you the total rebate earned that month.

To illustrate, if your total purchases in January 2018 with your Marathon Visa amount to $1,000 and you spend $500 at Marathon stores, your monthly rebate would be $47.49.

Once you reach $25 in rebates, Marathon will send you a cash card you can only use at Marathon stations. Members can earn unlimited rebates but they expire after two years.

How Is It Better Than Other Credit Cards?

Marathon Visa gives people with modest credit scores who shop at Marathon locations a chance of earning higher than average rewards on gas station purchases. Although there are prime credit cards that offer higher cashback rates of up to 5% on gas station purchases, usually only people with good to excellent credit qualify for them.

Also, Marathon Visa is a real credit card, not just a merchant loyalty card, and has lower credit requirements than similar cards. This makes it a useful credit building tool, if used correctly.