apps to save on gasoline

Gasoline is the easiest expense to save money on with apps. Here are different ways to get discounts or the best price.

Lowest prices

• GasBuddy
  

Gas Buddy is the go-to app to check gas prices before you get in the car. It’ll show you a map or list of gas stations in your area. It’ll tell you average gas price and the range from lowest to highest. It even lets you pick your favorites so you can quick glance at your most frequented stations. I have used this app for years, and think everybody should have it on their phone.
 

• Gas Guru

Gas Guru is owned by the Yellow Pages. It’s very similar to Gas Buddy. I like the vintage look to it. It also lets you select favorite gas stations. You can view the map or sort the list from lowest price to highest. I do think some of the prices aren’t updated recently. While I like the look of Gas Guru more, I think Gas Buddy is more reliable.
 

• Waze

Waze is similar to Gas Buddy, and they offer navigation. Waze is owned by Google.

Rewards cards

This is the easiest way to save on gas. Get rewards cards for all the gas stations you go to. You no longer have to carry around a physical card. Use the app and go with a digital card. With most of them, your ID number is your phone number. All you have to do is put your phone number in at the pump for points and/or discounts. Some companies give you cents off each gallon always and other companies make you earn points to get discounts on fuel.
 
Several gas stations offer higher discounts if you pay with the app by connecting your bank card.
 
A few offer credit cards specifically for their gas station that offer higher discounts.
 
Here are several examples of gas stations in my area and the discounts they offer if you have a rewards card.

• BP – 5 cents off always
• Casey’s – earn points (use referral code Leanno292 for 100 bonus points when you sign up)
• Circle K – 3 cents off for everyone, 5 cents off if you spend $500 in 365 days, and 10 cents off if you connect your card and pay with the app
• Kroger – 3 cents off each gallon with a Kroger grocery card
• Marathon – earn points to get 10 cents off to $1 off, and I will say it’s very quick to earn points that get 10 cents off each gallon
• Sheetz – 3 cents off always  
• Shell – 3 levels: silver level gets 3 cents off, gold level gets 5 cents off if you fill up at least 6 times in 3 months, and platinum level gets 10 cents off if you fill up 12 times in 3 months. If you connect your card and pay with the app, you get 10 cents off every gallon.
• Speedway – 7 cents
  
• Sunoco – 3 cents off if you use the app to pay
• UDF – 6 cents off if you have the app, 3 cents if you only have a physical card

Stores with gas stations

If you have a Sam’s Club membership, you can get gas at Sam’s Club which is often a lower price.
 
If you have a Walmart+ membership, you can get discounts on gas at Murphy’s.
 
Also, check your grocery stores that have gas stations. Buying groceries can earn points towards fuel discounts. Kroger and Meijer both do this. For example, at Kroger you earn 1 fuel point for every dollar you spend in store.

Discounts on gas

• rewards cards or loyalty cards with individual gas stations

As we talked about above, you can get discounts at the gas station every time off every gallon simply by having a free rewards card.

• GasBuddy card

Use referral code EHF2A2L when you sign up for the Gas Buddy card
The GasBuddy fuel card is free. It is a physical card they mail to you at no cost. They do offer plus and premium plans with monthly fees for higher discounts. If you get the free GasBuddy card, it takes off anywhere from 2 cents to 25 cents. You’ll pay with the card which is linked to your debit card. The savings come off automatically. You don’t have to wait for cash back. One of my favorite things with this is I can use it in combination with my rewards cards for double discounts. If I get 7 cents off at Speedway and then 20 cents off a Speedway location with this fuel card, I do actually get a 27 cent discount. You can also earn points in the app by reporting gas prices. Additionally, there are some cash back options on gas station merchandise, restaurants, and online shopping through the app.

Note: You can combine rewards cards discounts with GasBuddy fuel card discounts.

Cash back on gas

When it comes to apps to get cash back on gasoline, I have learned that they don't always work. I treat these as an extra bonus and I do NOT choose my gas station based on the cash back offers.

• Upside

Use referral code UKJ3M for an extra 15 cents off each gallon the first time you use the app.
It’s a cash back app that reminds me of Ibotta. You have to select the deal before you purchase. Then you have to purchase with a card that is connected to the app. When you’re done, you’ll confirm you purchased using a specific card. After a few days, you’ll get your cash back processed. You do have to hit $10 before you can cash out though. So, it may take a couple of times using this before you actually get the money back. Here is my experience with this app. I'm coming back to edit this blog to tell you my experience with Upside. It's November. I started using this app in July. It does NOT work most of the time. When I first downloaded it, the discounts were around 60 cents off a gallon, but it was only showing the more expensive gas stations. I used it with no problems. It took a few days for the cash to show up. Two days after I used it, the app was showing discounts around 72 cents a gallon. Of course, I didn’t need gas yet. I got so excited about this app. Then the app crashed. I started reading more reviews and a lot of people have had issues with cash back not going through or not being the amount it was supposed to be. When it came time to get gas again, the offers were only about 6 cents to 10 cents off. It does show offers for the more expensive gas stations. If it’s only around 10 cents off, it’s cheaper to go to the less expensive gas stations even without a discount. I have it used it or attempted to use it 3 times since then and all of the deals expire without giving me any cash back. For now, I still have the app on my phone and I try to use the deal BUT I do not choose my gas station based on this app at all. I will go to wherever is cheapest. I appreciate that I can use Upside with my GasBuddy fuel card and with rewards cards discounts combined.
 

• Checkout 51

You may know Checkout 51 as a grocery cash back app, but if you click under the “extras” tab they are now offering cash back on some gas stations. However, the fine print says you can’t use this with any other coupons or rebates. I think Upside has the better discounts between the two.
 

• Trunow

There is also a cash back app called Trunow, but I didn’t try that one because it has a lot of bad reviews.

• credit cards with cash back
  

There are some credit cards that offer a percentage of cash back when you use your credit card at a gas station. For example, get 2% cash back when you use your Amazon prime visa card. To do the math, a $40 gas purchase is 80 cents cash back. I personally don't mess with offers like that because the interest rates are not worth it.

Want more tips on saving money on gasoline?

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