What is "gas card"?
I don't know specifically what is being referenced here as I usually don't use that term, but the cultural reference is to pre-paid gasoline cards that look similar to a credit card and can be used for purchase of motor fuel and snacks at a fuel refilling station. Sometimes they may be more widely recognized with other business establishments too, depending on how they've been marketed.
In terms of something to use in America, I was thinking perhaps something like a Wal-Mart gift card might be a bit more universal. The nice thing is that you could use the money for nearly anything you might want, at least if you are interested in buying cheap Chinese goods or want to buy some groceries. There might be some resistance as there is sort of a cultural meme fighting Wal-Mart too in terms of some who don't want that store to take over all retail business in America (a perceived if not actual threat) but it at least would be a realistic way to convert bitcoins to dollars without having to go directly through credit cards or services like PayPal. As far as I know, you can't do a "charge back" on a Wal-Mart gift card, unless you purchased it with a credit card in the first place. That becomes Wal-Mart's problem, not yours.
The one down side to gift cards is that they are "backed" by the company who operates the store that you purchase them from. Then again, if Wal-Mart files for bankruptcy, America is screwed and unemployment nationally will go up a percentage point or two. They are a large enough company that at least in the short term that shouldn't be a major concern.
I did briefly think how cool it would be to buy gift cards and fill them directly with bitcoins. From a technology viewpoint it would be a trivial exercise, but any merchant doing that directly would certainly have to buy in to Bitcoins as a currency and have something to do with them once they are received.
