If you live in the Midwest and fill up your gas tank only at Marathon stations, the Marathon Platinum MasterCard would be the card just for you. Designed for consumers with good credit scores, the Marathon Credit Card awards cardholders with a whopping 10% rebate on all purchases made at Marathon. However, there is also a catch to this - the 10% rebate is only applicable for the first 60 days from the time the credit card account is activated.

While 60 days may not seem long, rebates are applied directly to the cardholder's account, so savings are apparent right from the get-go. After the 60 days is up, cardholders are still eligible for a nice 5% rebate on purchases made at any Marathon location. Cardholders are also eligible for a 1% rebate on all other purchases.

In terms of the interest charges, the Marathon Credit Card imposes an above average interest rate. However, as finance charges are calculated with the 'Two Cycles Average Daily Balance' method, the resulting interest charges will be higher as compared to other credit card companies that utilize the more common 'Average Daily Balance'.

This disadvantage outweighs the attractiveness of the 10% rebate for the first 60 days of usage and also the 6 months interest-free introductory period. Cardholders who plan to carry their outstanding balances more than a month will face a sudden hike in interest rate charges once the 6 month introductory period is over.

In short, in order to make the most out of this card, use it for the 10% savings on gasoline within n the first 60 days and continue on for the 5% savings until the introductory period is over. Ensure that all your outstanding balances are paid for within the first 6 months, and pay off your credit card charges on time each month after that. With discipline on payments, you will then benefit from the 5% rebates given for Marathon charges.