How To Save Hundreds of Dollars Per Year on Gas
For many Americans, the price of gasoline is a significant structural expense in their everyday lives… and one that we have little control over. The price at the pump seems to rise and fall without warning. While we’re currently experiencing a dramatic surge in gas prices, it most definitely isn’t the first time… and it won’t be the last.
When I moved into a converted camper van full-time, I effectively removed the largest structural expense from my life up to that point: a mortgage or rent. That left my monthly gas bill as one of the biggest places that I could potentially optimize. I decided to apply myself to the problem, and I discovered a few incredible tactics that go a long way toward cutting down my monthly gasoline expenditure, plus plenty of bonus tactics that you can use depending on your particular life situation. Some of these you might have heard about, but others may be brand-new.
While you can’t control international oil markets, you can take a few vital actions that will dramatically reduce the amount of money that you spend on gasoline. Start saving hundreds of dollars per year on gas with these hacks:
How to Save Money on Gas
1. GasBuddy App
If you've never used the GasBuddy app, pull out your smartphone and download it right now. This is the quickest and easiest way to save money on gas no matter where you are in the nation.
GasBuddy allows you to see (almost) real-time gas prices as reported by customers across the country. You can see the prices and stations overlayed on a map to find gas stations close to you, you can sort by lowest price, and you can easily get directions to the cheapest gas stations.
Many people know that gas prices differ dramatically depending on the state and region of the country you're in, but many people don't realize that gas prices are often radically different across town, or even between two different gas stations on opposite sides of the street. For example, gas stations right off the interstate will routinely crank their prices up, assuming that you won't do enough research to realize just how much you're gouging you for the convenience of an easy fill-up.
How Much Can You Save?
I routinely save $0.20-$0.25 per gallon by simply choosing the cheapest gas station close to me. But I've saved as much as $1.75/gallon and have had many experiences where I've saved well over $0.50/gallon.
If you drive a larger-size vehicle with a 20-gallon tank, that's about $5 per tank on the average fill, but as much as $35 per tank on the high end.
A few anecdotes:
After spending three days camping in and driving around Mount Rainier National Park, I had to head out of the park to refill the tank. I chose the closest gas station about 20 miles away. I rolled up, and the price was a whopping $5 per gallon. I also needed to buy groceries, and the general store didn't look promising either, so I looked up gas stations close to major grocery stores in the nearby city, another 20 minutes of driving away, and saw that gas prices were just $3.25. On almost an entire tank of gas, that was a massive savings!
Just two weeks ago, I was driving around Scottsdale, Arizona, and saw gas prices consistently sitting at $3.97/gallon. I had resigned myself to the increasing prices, but decided to check the app first. Behold! Just across the highway, there was a Walmart gas station selling for just $3.16 per gallon—a massive $0.81/gallon savings just by driving across the highway.
Finally, when it comes to interstate price gouging, I recently was driving through Camp Verde, Arizona, and noted prices at $3.55 per gallon—not bad compared to Scottsdale. But as I turned onto the interstate, the sole gas station at the interstate exit, just a few miles from town, was selling for $4.29—a massive $0.74/gallon markup!
2. US Bank Altitude Connect Credit Card
While I've been travel hacking for years with the primary goal of earning free flights to Europe, when I moved into a van full-time about nine months ago, I decided to do some research to see what credit card would offer me the best rewards on gas purchases. While my initial research yielded a wide range of results, I wasn't too satisfied with the rewards I found. They weren't much better than a standard 2% cashback that I already had on several credit cards.
Then I discovered the US Bank Altitude Connect credit card.
This card offers a whopping 4x bonus points on gas stations and travel, which can also be redeemed for cash back—essentially 4% cash back. That's double what you'll get on most other credit cards. For other expenses, the Altitude Connect offers 2x points on grocery stores and dining and 1x points on all other categories.
The card is also offering a 50,000 point sign-up bonus if you spend just $2,000 in the first three months. The annual fee is $0 for the first year and $95 every year after that.
While I was able to find a few credit cards that go as high as 5% cash back on gas purchases, the few that did had a max amount that they would reward you for per month. If you have a long road trip in one month and go over that cap, it drops from 5% down to 1%. There's no limit on the US Bank Altitude Connect credit card.
How much can you save?
The beauty of finding a credit card that offers such fantastic gas rewards at all gas stations is that you aren't tied to just one brand, and you can stack these cash back savings on top of any other savings that you get via GasBuddy or another program.
But just by using this credit card alone, if gas is $4 per gallon, you'll save $0.16/gallon with the US Bank Altitude Connect. For a 20-gallon tank, that's another $3.20.
3. Fuel Rewards Program
The Fuel Rewards Program is one of the most powerful brand-specific rewards programs in the USA. This program is specifically connected to Shell gas stations, which are spread all around the country. It's easy to sign up, but the massive benefit is that you can connect your account to your credit card, so all you need to do is swipe your card to save money at Shell stations. And of course, you're going to be stacking this reward on top of what you're already saving with the US Bank Altitude Connect card above.
How much can you save?
If you fill up at least five gallons of gas at Shell stations six times every three months, you'll save $0.05/gallon right off the top, or $1 per tank. If you drop below that level, it's down to $0.03/gallon.
However, Fuel Rewards often runs additional promos that can yield much higher savings. PennyHoarder.com writes that you can also save "5 cents off per gallon for every $50 you spend shopping online, 10 cents off per gallon for every $50 you spend on live event tickets and 10 cents off per gallon for every $50 you spend on dining at participating restaurants. You can earn additional savings for booking rental cars (25% off base rates for rental cars and earn 10 cents off per gallon for every $50 you spend)." The Fuel Rewards website claims that you can easily stack rewards to earn $0.75/gallon off your gas.
Finally, I’ve even read reports of point hackers working hard to maximize their Fuel Rewards savings, and reportedly saving over $1,000 per year through this program alone. I haven’t personally seen savings that steep, but they are out there if you optimize for them.
Taking Stock: How Much Have We Saved So Far?
All three of these strategies can easily be stacked on top of each other. If you add all three together, you can easily save $0.45/gallon, or $9 every single time you fill your tank! And of course, you could potentially save much, much more.
The next series of recommendations could also be beneficial, but if you want the quickest and easiest way to save money, simply utilizing the top three tactics above will get you a very long way!
4. Gas Station-Specific Credit Cards
This bullet point is a catch-all nod to gas station-specific credit cards. If you have one brand of gas station that you visit religiously, this could be a good choice.
That said, based on my research, you're almost always better off just getting the US Bank Altitude Connect card. For instance, the Shell credit card and BP credit card only offer $0.10/gallon on most purchases (with some special promotions also available that temporarily provide better benefits). Many others don't even offer that much. Remember, at $4/gallon gas, the US Bank card effectively gives $0.16/gallon in cash back, and you won't be limited to a single brand of gas station.
5. Grocery Store Rewards
If you always shop at the same grocery store and that grocery store offers rewards that can be used toward gasoline, this is potentially one of the most powerful ways to save money on gas. I've read stories of people filling up their gas tanks for free because they've maximized their grocery store savings so well.
However, this tactic takes serious strategy. It requires that you remain in the same area of the country, shop the same brand of grocery store, and use their associated gas station brand. This is impossible if you travel full-time, but if you live a more rooted life, this tactic could save you massive amounts of money.
Grocery store brands to consider include:
Kroger, which includes City Market, Fred Meyer, Fry's, King Soopers, and many more.
Albertsons, which includes Safeway
...and you likely have a local grocery store chain that offers similar rewards.
6. Additional Gas Station-Specific Programs
Whenever possible, try to see if the particular gas station that you're filling up at offers a loyalty rewards program. While the Fuel Rewards program mentioned above easily connects to your credit card, there are many more loyalty rewards programs that you can utilize, most of which just require you to type in your phone number as your member ID. For instance, Exxon Mobil Rewards+ provides a baseline $0.03/gallon savings, but you can also earn more savings by buying things in the convenience store, car washes, and more. Sinclair's Dinopay App can save you up to $0.10/gallon if you pay with the app, but only at select locations. BPMe offers $0.05/gallon off if you spend at least $100/month at BP gas stations.
There are so many more programs out there that it's well-worth checking each gas station brand to see what kind of offers you can redeem.
$300 Back in Your Pocket
While we can't control what happens in the world today, we can control how we respond to it. With these tactics at your disposal, you can easily save hundreds of dollars per year on gas.
The average American buys 656 gallons of gas per year, but those of us who travel full-time buy many more. By simply using the first three tactics mentioned in this article you can save a massive $0.45/gallon, which adds up to $300 per year back in your pocket. And that number could easily be much, much higher with a few critical GasBuddy searches.
What could YOU do with an extra $300?
