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It seems every day, gas pump prices hit another record high. The latest record national average for regular unleaded, as of June 17, was $4.08 per gallon, up 36% (or $1.07) over the past year.
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But don't let $80.00 fill-ups pump the fun out of your warm summer days. Here are five ways to score solid savings when you pull into the service station.
1. Find the Lowest Gas Prices
Search GasBuddy.com or GasPriceWatch.com by zip code or city and state to get the lowest prices in your area.
GasBuddy links you to 181 local websites, each focused on a U.S. state, metro area, Canadian province or city. For example, search for St. Louis, Mo., on GasBuddy.com and get sent to MissouriGasPrices.com, where results reveal a price range from $3.66 to $3.99 within that area. (The Show Me State sports the lowest prices on average, coming in at $3.83, according to AAA, versus the national high in California at $4.60.)
Prices are updated constantly and are dropped from the site after 72 hours -- it's assumed spotters will have updated information by then. And with the site's 124 million registered users keeping an eye out for you, you're bound to benefit.
GasPriceWatch.com hosts data from only about 166,000 volunteer tipsters. But it collects pricing info directly from fuel providers and gas station companies. The site plans to roll out a certified pricing program, which will guarantee you a specific price if you get to the station within one hour of seeing it on the site. Additionally, it offers a tool called MyPage that allows you to track prices at specific stations along your regular routes.
Both sites include prices from Costco and other big-box retailers that sell gasoline to customers at discounted prices. Brad Proctor, founder of GasPriceWatch.com, says Midwest retail supercenter Meijer is particularly "proactive about gas."
It provides text message alerts to customers' cell phones when gas prices are expected to rise -- promising to not raise Meijer prices until after 1:30pm. Proctor recently received one such alert when prices jumped one morning in Dayton, Ohio, to $3.25 from $3.03. He drove the extra block to Meijer and saved 22 cents per gallon.
2. Target the Best Time of Day to Buy Gas
The best time of day to fill up your tank is before dawn or late at night, when the sun and traffic volume are both down. Stations usually will raise prices during the day, especially for rush hour.
In some cities -- like Detroit, Minneapolis, and Toledo -- "Wednesdays are the best day of the week for cheap gas prices," says Jason Toews, co-founder of GasBuddy.com. "Stations tend to raise prices on the weekends and especially during the summer."
Also, don't wait until your gas gauge drops down to "E." Toews says it's not good for your car's fuel injection system. Better to fill 'er up when the gauge indicates a quarter-full tank. Thinking about a refill at that point leaves you some time to shop around for the best gas price. Proctor figures: "You'll see that cheaper price a day after you had to fill up, and it's like watching the ball rolling just off your pick on the roulette wheel."
Finally, check that the price on the pump matches what is on the sign. And be sure that the gas pump starts at the $0 mark.
POSTED BY: Mike (June 12, 2008 10:19 PM)
The reward card is a great idea, I did a quick search on google and a site like findgascards.com offers a lot of cards that allow you to save on gas. Just make sure you pay them off on time in FULL :)
POSTED BY: Nomen (June 17, 2008 08:58 AM)
To our Australian friend. Your minimum wage is twice as high as ours and more small fuel efficient cars are allowed there. While roundabouts are common in your country, we have stop signs and stop lights to waste our gas. We also have the problem that many of us live up to 50 miles from our work places. Car pooling and mass transit aren't yet practical for most of us. While there are many good comments here, conservation needs a little more emphasis. Trips and shopping for sale items can often be combined with a little advance planning...
POSTED BY: Corb (June 17, 2008 07:41 PM)
The advertised Citi Dividend Platinum Select card only gets you 5% cash back for the first 90 days. After that, you only get 2% back. Discover Card has a gas-card variation that always gets you 5% cash back up to the first $100 per month that you spend on gas. Unfortunately that's only 2 fill-ups a month. The best and ONLY way to permanently save on gas is to quit using it. To get off of our gas addiction we must find alternatives. Drilling in more places for oil is a short-sighted, non-solution.
