Gas: Ways to save $ (Speedpass promo's back!)
 

With the price of gas today, I hope this will be a very active forum!

I am driving across the country in a few weeks, so I am looking to find as many ways as possible at saving gas. Do you know of any rebates, offers, membership programs or gas programs which can help us save at the pump?

NEW- (3/26/06)

The Exxon/Mobil Speedpass 5¢ Discount Promotion is back!

Sign up for a Speedpass and for the first 90 days you have it, you'll receive a 5¢ discount on every gallon of gas you buy at Exxon/Mobil. Plus, you can link any credit card to to the Speedpass. I would suggest one of those credit cards which earn 5% back on Gas purchases. If you do that, you'll be saving in total about 18¢ per gallon or more! (assuming $2.50 posted price per gallon -5%, -5¢). $20 is the max you can get back.

What is Speedpass? It is a little wand that fits on your key chain. When you request one, you link it to any credit card. Then, once you have it, when you go to fill up at Exxon or Mobil, just wave the wand infront of the special pad on the pump and your credit card is automatically charged.

The promotion's link is here. Sign up and activate your speedpass anytime before Dec. 31, 2006 to get the offer. Some have signed up to get several Speedpasses over time to extend the 90 day savings period. Residents of FL, LA, MA, NC, NJ, RI and SC will receive a $20 ExxonMobil Cash Card instead.

Some credit cards which give back 5% cash or reward points on gas purchases are Chase Cash (or Rewards) Plus, Citi Dividend or Diamond Preferred, and Discover Platinum Gas.

You can redeem mypoints for gas station gift cards (I think 1400 points=$10 gas card).

Discover Gas Rebate Card
 

The Basics
Save 12-30 cents per gallon or more by using your Discover Gas Rebate Card at ANY gas station. No annual fee. Save more as gas gets more expensive!

The Card
The card is accepted anywhere that accepts Discover, but the Gas Rebate Card has a different reward program than the normal Discover card. You must sign up for it specifically, or switch into the Gas Rebate program if you already have Discover. You earn up to 5-10% cash back on all of your gas purchases, the standard 1% on everything else.

How to Save
Just pay for gas using your Discover Gas Rebate Card and you will earn 5% cash back. Once you have earned a total of $20 in cash back (which is $400 spent in gas) you get a check for $20! With gas at $2.50 per gallon, you would essentially be saving 12 cents per gallon. Good deal. But, you can feasibly save even more than that…..

How to Save.... More!
6.25% Discount- Anyone can earn this as long as you plan on spending any money at Bed Bath and Beyond, Red Lobster, or Borders Books (plus others.) When it comes time to redeem your reward, rather than redeem the $20 reward in the form of a check, just ask for a gift certificate to one of those retailers. You redeem a reward of $20, but the gift certificate actually has a value of $25! Mathematically you would be saving 6.25% on your gas that way

10% Discount- Well, if you plan on shopping at the Sharper Image, staying at the Hyatt, or buying from FTD (plus others) you can save even more. Again, just ask to have your $20 reward turned into a gift certificate and the value of the certificate will actually be $40 with these retailers. Therefore, if you get back $40 for every $400 you spend on gas, you are saving 10%, or 25 cents per gallon at $2.50!

The Catch-
You only earn 5% cash back on gas during your first $1,500 in TOTAL purchases on the card PER YEAR*. Don’t waste part of that $1,500 limit on items like groceries where you are only earning 1%. Use the card only for gas. If you do reach the $1,500 limit, you then earn a respectable but not as good 3%. You can still double the reward using the method described above. If you love Discover and want to use it for more than just gas, try to sign up for one gas rewards card, and one basic rewards card.... that way you don't use up your spending limit.
* I was just told (Oct 1st) by a Discover Rep. that this limit may be upped or gotten rid of all together soon. Keep an eye out.

If you have a Discover card, just call them to switch programs (you can’t do it online) No new card, no credit application. If you don’t have one you can just call them or sign up online, but make sure you sign up specifically for the gas rebate card.

Ooh!....Sneaky!-
If you spend more than $1,500 on gas and want to keep earning 5% cash back beyond the $1,500 limit, then try this. Discover has no problem giving one person two different accounts (ie one Gas Rewards card, one normal Discover card) that way they keep you spending $ on more than just gas. So do that, and when you reach the $1,500 limit for the 5% reward on the gas card, call and switch it to the regular Cash Back rewards program, and swich the basic card into the Gas Program.... that way you have another $1,500 to spend on gas at the full 5% or more! (I haven't tried it yet, but it should theoretically work) You can switch rewards programs as much as you want, but remember the limit to earn the full rewards is annual and per account.

Sign up- https://www.novusnet.com/cardmembers...pply?card=CBBP
Details- https://www.novusnet.com/cardmembers...Info?card=CBBP
Redemption Partners-https://www.novusnet.com/discover/da...partners.shtml

If you like my idea bump this every once-in-a-while so others can read it. Do you know any other gas offers?
Cheers!

Thanks for the details, ClassCAir. I didn't realize that the 5% was only for the first $1500. I've been using my Discover Card instead of my AAA Visa for gas ever since Discover started the program. FYI, the AAA Visa also offered 5% cash back, but I believe that they are lowering this to 3%.

You can do some work on your car
 

1. Make sure the tires are properly inflated (between the # on the car and the tire)
2. Get a full tune up
3. Change your oil to a lighter weight. (5w30 rather than 10w30)
4. Drive slower (55-60 on most cars is the best range for fuel effeiency)
5. Use your crusie control when safe
6. Do not use your AC.
7. Do not roll down your windows
8. Make sure you purchase the proper fuel. (unless you have a sports car or luxury car, you do not need 92 fuel. Check with your owners manual to confirm)
9. Make your car go on a diet- remove bowling balls, spare books, extra floormats, etc)
10. Accelerate moderately

Just a few tips off the top of my head.

You are very welcome! Yeah, the limit is not the greatest, but using it just as a gas card minimizes the inconvenience. You can always sign up for a general Discover and the Gas Rebate Discover, but I don't find the basic card to be as rewarding as some mileage cards.

NOTE: The Gas Rebate Card is NOT the same as the "Get More, Get Out There" promotion which runs thru the end of this month. I don't think that had a limit. Also, note that the limit doesn't start until you switch into the program.

As for the AAA Visa, I looked into that too. I believe the catch is that you have to spend equally (or more) on things other than gas to get the full 5% rebate on the gas. If you spend more on gas than other items you get less of a rebate.

Sadly, I just discovered (no pun intended) that the "Get More, Get Out There" has a limit of $400 of gas purchases that qualify for the full 5% rebate. With today's prices, we hit that pretty quickly. I don't remember that in the fine print when I initially signed up but it was probably there.

I pump E85 ethanol for $2.39/gal :D

Do you think the switch of rewards w/Discover will work w/ Sams Club business Discover card?

I don't know. If the Sams Club Discover rewards program is the same as the normal one, I would think you could switch fine. If not, you can just get an additional account.

scooper, good info to know. Thanks! I didn't realize that.

CitiDividend Platinum Select Card offers a full 5% rebate on gas purchases as well as on groceries and drugstores, up to $300 per year ($6,000 in purchases) -- 4x the $1,500 purchase limit of the Discover Gas Card.

http://citi.bridgetrack.com/usc/Mult...2216D7E015D345

Yes, but any savings is eaten up in the emergency room as you're treated for heat stroke... ;)

11. Remove your side view mirrors (studies show you can save 2mpg by doing so) :D

I KNEW someone was going to write that...
 

All you need is an ice cold slurpee...and turn on the fan.

IN California
 

Just fyi, In California per the CVC, it is required that there be at least 2 mirrors. The drivers side and the center mirror. If the center is blocked, the passenger mirror is then required.