How to Save on Gas Purchases

Gas prices are just getting out of control. In Canada, we have surpassed $2 per litre in many parts of the country. What can we do to bring down the cost? Today, we will go over a few different strategies. We will start with some rewards related ways first. Then get into the non-rewards related ideas.

Meet Minimum Credit Card Spending

My favourite way to use any of my credit cards is to meet minimum spend requirements.

Often times, to qualify for the full sign up promotional bonus, the cardholder needs to spend a certain amount. Purchasing gas is a great way to meet those spending requirements.

Another scenario is if you do not have enough active expenses to meet the spending requirement in time, you can purchase gas gift cards (to meet minimum spend requirements) to be used at a later date.

Take it a step further and purchase gift cards at a discounted price. For example, purchasing a $50 gas discount card (i.e. reduces cost per litre) for $45.

Promotional Bonus Fuel Rewards

Most gas stations are partnered with a rewards program. Earning the regular rewards is great, but watch for bonus offers for spending a certain amount of money or filling up as certain amount of litres.

Take it a step further and diversify your portfolio by earning rewards with as many different programs as you can handle. This way you can take advantage of the different available bonus offers at any given time.

Credit Card Multiplier Bonuses

Certain credit cards give a higher earning ratio on gas spending. We recently wrote a post on this topic: Top Credit Cards for Purchasing Gas. There are many options to earn at least a 4% return on gas purchases.

Track Gas Prices

Watch for lower gas prices in your area at a specific time and day of the week. Personally, I use an App called GasBuddy to track gas prices. Waze is another popular App.

Depending on where you live, there could be trends. For example, in some places, gas prices drop daily towards the end of the day, before picking back up in the middle of the night. In other places, gas prices drops throughout the week before going back up on a certain day of the week (give or take a day or two).

Basically, learn the trends of where you live. Also, you can use the gas tracking Apps to see who has the cheapest gas in the area at the moment that you are filling up gas.

Other Gas Saving Tips

Aside from maximizing rewards, you can change some driving habits. These ideas are not related to the theme of this site (i.e. maximizing rewards for Canadians), but just for fun, let’s try. These are not intended to be super serious suggestions below, but anything you can do can probably help:

• Drive carefully, avoid aggressive driving (e.g. random accelerations, speeding, hard breaking)
• Reduce air conditioning consumption
• Minimize idling a car, reduce the amount of warm up time
• Minimize the weight of the car, don’t leave unnecessary things in the car
• Check tire pressure
• Buy the cheapest gas, instead of filling up premium (unless there is no choice due to the type of car)
• Car pool as much as possible
• Plan your route to drive more efficiently and to minimize detours (e.g. construction zones)
• Use cruise control when possible
• Buy a more gas efficient car
• Get an electric car instead

Did I miss any other gas saving strategies? Please let us know in the comment section below!