Introduction

This is one in a series of money-saving tips. For more information, please visit my home page.

Gasoline

As gas prices continue to go up and up I have stepped up my efforts to find ways of not paying more than necessary. It's really a challenge to find the lowest price because of the constant fluctuations. A gas station that had the lowest price in the area last week may not have the lowest price this week. What's a person to do? Well for starters, check out the gadget at the bottom of this page.


Gas Station I also researched a dizzying array of credit cards that trumpet 3% to 6% rebates on gasoline purchases. Some were for specific brands while others were more general and could be used most anywhere. What I found when I read the fine print was that there were typically a number of conditions and restrictions. Some only gave the highest percentage rebate after some fairly large minimum amount had been charged in the year. Others limited the highest percentage rebate to the first $100 of gas purchases in the month or were only a teaser rate good for two or three months.


But, I found that the True Earnings® Card from Costco and American Express will give you a rebate of 3% for purchases of automobile gasoline at Costco Gasoline and domestic stand-alone gas stations, excluding gas purchased at warehouse clubs other than Costco, superstores or supermarkets. There is no annual fee if you have a Costco membership. The card also provides rebates for other purchases at rates of 1%, 2% or 3% depending on what is purchased.


Here in the Chicago area it is also generally cheaper to buy gas outside of Cook county as it has the highest sales tax around. But don't make a special trip to another county! If you have to travel 10 miles each way that'll use up a gallon of gas, more or less. If you put 16 gallons of gas in to fill up your vehicle you'd have to save at least 25 cents a gallon just to break even.


In my neck of the woods the stations that frequently have the lowest prices are Thorton's, Speedway and Costco, which requires a membership. Speedway has a frequent buyer program they call "Speedy Rewards". You can sign up for this program and earn points when you buy gas or other merchandise at their locations. The points can be redeemed for merchandise or, in most states (Michigan, West Virginia, and Wisconsin excluded), discounts on gas. This is over and above any rebate you might get using a credit card.


Here's a money-saving tip from Roy, a friend of mine. "I was told by a very educated senior mechanic that premium and mid grade users of gasoline CAN use a lower grade in cold weather (under 40) because the lower grade burns hotter. I've tried it and had no problems. I don't fully understand the logic, but whatever works."


Here's a handy dandy way of finding the lowest gas price in your area. Just set the ZIP for your locale.


Helpful Books