- Gas prices continue to put strain on the budgets of many Americans.
- If you can’t switch to a hybrid or electric vehicle, you’ll want to save every dollar you can at the pumps.
- Multiple apps and rewards programs offer ways for you find the cheapest deals on fuel.
Driving is expensive. When you factor in the car payments, insurance, license renewal, oil changes and other general maintenance, and the cost of fuel, you’re spending thousands of dollars every year for the privilege. These days, those gas pump prices are especially depressing. Record inflation rates, plus external factors like supply chain woes and Russia’s military conflict with Ukraine, have driven gas prices through the roof.
The good news, though, is that there are some ways you can fight back against the financial sting. If you can afford to upgrade to a hybrid or all-electric vehicle, that’s great. If that’s not an option for you, though, you’ll have to resort to finding the best deals on gas. Luckily, there are a number of great apps out there to help. Here are the best apps you can use to save money on gas in 2022.
Gas Guru
Gas Guru is a helpful free app that shows you gas prices in your immediate area. It can also use location services to check the prices when you’re travelling away from home. You are then able to filter your results by price, fuel type or grade, and distance.
The Gas Guru data is all sourced from the Oil Price Information Service (OPSI), a fuel pricing firm. They promise the gas prices are updated every 60 seconds, meaning you’ll never find an out of date price. The app is also owned by the Yellow Pages, meaning it comes with plenty of additional information for stores or restaurants near your preferred gas station.
ShutterstockWaze
At it’s core, Waze is a GPS navigation app. However, it operated a bit differently when it first launched. It relied on user-reported data to display things like accidents, traffic jams, speed traps, or construction zones. And yes, users can also input the gas price of their local pumps.
Waze was purchased by Google in 2013, but still operates as an independent app. Waze will show you the cheapest gas in your area and also give you directions to get there quickly. If you use ExxonMobil or Shell, Waze also features a contactless payment feature. You can pay for your fuel directly from your phone.
ShutterstockGasBuddy
GasBuddy is one of the most popular apps for fuel savings. Just pop in your ZIP code and you’ll get the gas prices for all the stations in your area. Unlike Gas Guru, though, GasBuddy relies on user-reported prices (along with information from the gas stations themselves). So the information may not always be totally accurate. However, it’s generally pretty good.
The real attractive feature of GasBuddy is the money saving debit card it offers. Once you apply (no credit check required), you’ll get up to 25 cents off per gallon. (It’s often less than 25 cents per gallon, but it’s still better nothing.) If you find yourself at the pumps frequently, you can pay for GasBuddy’s premium service. It saves you a guaranteed 20 cents per gallon (up to 50 gallons a month). It also saved you up to 40 cents a gallon, at certain times and locations. It costs $10 a month, or $100 for the year. Do some math and figure out if the cost would easily offset your gas savings.
ShutterstockMapQuest
Before Google Maps or Apple Maps, there was MapQuest. Some of you may even be old enough to remember printing out MapQuest directions before a road trip, since smartphones weren’t a thing yet when the company launched it’s turn-by-turn direction website back in 1996.
These days, MapQuest still offers a great GPS navigation app (with extra privacy features), but also lets you find gas stations and check their prices on your route. Like most other navigation apps, MapQuest can also give you information on traffic delays, toll roads, or detours. You can even make restaurant reservations directly in the app in some places, which is handy if you need to stop for a snack while you fuel up.
ShutterstockAAA TripTik Travel Planner
Those who pay for an AAA membership gets plenty of great services, like certain discounts, roadside assistance, free towing, free jumpstarts, and even payment towards a locksmith if you accidently lock your keys inside your vehicle. Their TripTik Travel Planner app used to also be a part of those paid benefits. Good news for non-members, though, as it’s now available to everyone, for free.
The app shows all the local gas stations and their fuel prices, as you would expect. It can also help you plan your road trip, as it boasts information on more than 85,000 gas stations across the United States.
ShutterstockFuelio
Fuelio is less of a gas station finder app, and more of a overall driving log app. It will still guide you to the nearest (or cheapest) gas station, like most of these other apps. What sets Fuelio apart, though, is how you can use it to track everything related to your car.
You can input your fill-ups and mileage and Fuelio will generate mileage logs for you. You can also use it to keep track of your vehicles services history. There’s even a spot for adding extra vehicle expenses, like tolls or parking fees. If you ever use your vehicle for commercial purposes, this is the perfect app to keep accurate records for your tax return.
ShutterstockUpSide
Like GasBuddy, UpSide offers to save you up to 25 cents per gallon on fuel. However, they don’t require you to get an additional debit card. Instead, you have to take photos of your receipt and submit it via their app. It’s a bit of extra effort, but it can definitely be worth it for the savings. They also have a “check in” feature that sometimes allows you pay directly via a saved debit or credit card within the app.
The best part about UpSide is that it does more than just gas. You can also submit receipts to get cashback on groceries or restaurants too. If you already have a PayPal account, you’re all set, since the cash back money gets paid out through that service. (Note that PayPal does charge a withdrawal fee if the total is under a certain amount.)
ShutterstockBPme Rewards
We’re now at the part of the article were we talk about specific-branded rewards programs. If you regularly use the same gas station (or at least live somewhere with a bunch of pumps owned by the same brand), you should definitely look into their rewards program. The first on our list is BPme Rewards, offered by BP and Amoco.
You’ll save five cents a gallon in your first month, no matter what. After that, you’ll keep saving that nickel per gallon as long as you spend at least $100 in fuel every 30 days. It also offers frequent bonus offers. For $0.99 a month, you can subscribe to Price Match. It’s a service that will see BP match the fuel price of any local competitors (with certain restrictions). That means you never have to search around for the best price on gas, because BP will always match it.
ShutterstockShell Fuel Rewards
The Shell Fuel Rewards program is pretty similar to BP’s offering. If you buy enough Shell gas, you qualify for Gold Status — earning you five cents off per gallon. You can then stack additional savings via other purchases, such as restaurants, rental cars, online shopping, or concert tickets. Then you can combine those for a super thrifty fill-up — up to 75 cents off, per gallon.
Even if you don’t jump through those extra hoops, Silver Status members (aka anyone who joins) will receive three cents off per gallon just for being a member. So if you always use the Shell station near your house and aren’t a member, you’re really just throwing money away.
ShutterstockSpeedy Rewards
Speedway has gas station and convenience store locations littered throughout the United States. That alone is a great reason to be a member of their Speedy Rewards program. It’s not an instant savings, though. Instead, you earn 10 points for every gallon of gas you buy and 20 points for every dollar you spend in the store.
You can redeem the points for products, which means you never actually get the money back. However, you can also use the points to earn rewards like 10 cents off per gallon on a limited amount of fuel. There are also frequent monthly promotions or offers, which can add to your savings.
ShutterstockSpecial Credit Cards
Some fuel brands offer their own credit cards (or partner with a major credit card brand) to provide additional savings. We’re talking way more instant saving or cashback than a regular rewards program. Remember though that these are full-fledged credit cards, with all of the pros and cons that come with owning and using one.
They likely won’t have the most competitive interest rates. However, they generally come with no annual fee and decent sized credit limits. The best advice? Get the card that will save you the most at the gas station you use the most. Only use the card for fuel purchases and pay it off promptly at the end of every month. Reap the rewards without ending up on the hook for those costly interest charges.
ShutterstockThe Bottom Line
While the move towards all-electric driving is slowly trudging along in this country, gas-powered cars aren’t going anywhere. Not for a long time, at least. So as long as the majority of Americans are driving a traditional car powered by dead dinosaur goo, we’ll be paying handsomely for it at our local gas station.
Fuel costs are probably a necessity for most of us. We need our cars to get to work, take the kids to school, run errands, or visit family. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t still try to save a few bucks along the way. Download one of the above apps, join a rewards program, or check out specialty credit cards that cater to those who drive lots of miles. Your budget will thank you, especially as gas prices continue to rise.
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