One of my favorite sites and apps for saving money, GasBuddy, has announced their new payment option Pay with GasBuddy to help drivers save money every time they fill up their tank.
GasBuddy says when drivers use their payment card to purchase gas, they will save 15 cents per gallon off their first purchase upon using the card, and at least 5 cents off every gallon after that. By using their app or website coupled with their card, drivers can save up to $340 a year on gasoline.
What do you have to do for Pay with GasBuddy to help you save all that money? When you sign up for their card, you provide your checking account information and driver’s license number, and they will send you a card that you swipe at the pump that will deduct your purchases from your bank balance.
GasBuddy says their payment card is accepted at 95% of gas stations nationwide except for ARCO, BJs, Costco, Sam’s Club and H-E-B stations.
If you are currently using a gas station specific gas rewards card such as one from Shell, BP, or Sunoco that also offers 5 cents a gallon discount, switching to the Pay with GasBuddy card would seem to be a better choice. You would get the same amount of discount but with a wider selection of gas stations to fill up at.
However, if you pay off your credit card balance monthly to avoid interest fees, a better card to use is a rewards credit card that offers 3-5% cash back for gas purchases.
The below table shows the money refunded for gas at different prices per gallon and cashback percentages.
With a 5% gas rewards credit card, you will receive double the cash back per gallon of gas purchased compared to the Pay with GasBuddy card even with gas as low as $2 per gallon. As the price of gas increases, the amount of savings with the credit card also increases while GasBuddy’s rewards are a fixed 5 cents per gallon.
In 2015, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), Americans consumed about 385 million gallons of gas per day or 140 billion gallons of gas a year. The Federal Highway Administration estimates there are 218 million licensed drivers in the United States. When we divide total gas consumption by the total number of drivers, it comes out to 642 gallons of gas per person.
For the average person, the GasBuddy card will save $32.10 off the cost of gas a year. With the current average price of gas being $2.56 per gallon, their savings will be $82.18 if they used a 5% rewards credit card instead.
Another thing to consider is that the Pay with GasBuddy card is categorized as a credit purchase by gas stations. You will not receive the debit or cash price at stations that offer a discount for paying with those options.
Pay with GasBuddy is a good deal, but not the best deal when deciding which card to pull out of your wallet to pay for gas and save the most dough.
Have you used the GasBuddy website or app to find the cheapest gas in your area? Are you using a rewards card when you fill up? Which one?
I’ve seen a lot of negative things about GasBuddy. I can see it isn’t for everyone. Complaints range from, “All the stations in my area, charge more if I use a credit card. So I end up paying more for gas”! No! Not if you were going to use a credit card anyway. Yes you will pay more using the card, than if you paid cash. How is that GasBuddy’s fault? I even saw one, where a guy put his card in, figured out he wasn’t going to get a discount, so he decided to leave, AND LEFT THE PUMP RUNNING! The next person put $45 in their tank on his card. He feels it was GasBuddy’s fault. Nope! You were the one that left the pump activated! “GasBuddy get’s X.X% of the sale! And they only give me 5 cents a gallon off”! I’d have to ask… DO YOU WORK OR PROVIDE A SERVICE FOR FREE? Why would you care, if you are getting gas cheaper than the posted price? “Linking your bank account to an app is a really bad idea”! Well I would agree there. The card only works at gas pumps, and you need the PIN number. Just as with PayPal, I’ll open an account and keep no more than $200 in it. I can transfer money from account A to B from the comfort of my own home. There are still people out here that don’t live on credit. Far and few I would admit, but I don’t even have a credit score. Because I don’t buy anything on credit. It’s worse than having BAD credit. I am what they call a “GHOST” when it comes to credit, I don’t exist in the credit world! So for someone like me, this is a good deal. Twenty nickels make a $1, and it’s a dollar I didn’t have before.
So what you are saying is that twenty nickels was worth the sacrifice of your “ghost” status because you’ve indicated GAS BUDDY IS A CREDIT CARD?
Ghost.
lol
GAS BUDDY says “up to$.25 credit per gallon.” No where has the $.25 was mention.
Hi John, thanks for the feedback. Looks like the Pay with GasBuddy program has changed a bit since the post was originally published with the addition of the Deal Alert feature. I’ll go back and update this article when I have some time.
It says that on their website, I just came from there looking for more info.
I mistakenly (I guess) thought that with the “deals” I’d get that few cents per gallon back to my credit card. Please clarify whether the deal cents per gallon are only if I link to a checking account or if the cents get refunded to my non GasBuddy credit card.
Hi Charlie,
How the Pay with GasBuddy program works is you sign up via the GasBuddy app or website. You will then link a personal checking account with your GasBuddy account.
GasBuddy will then mail you their Pay with GasBuddy card, which you will use to get gas at the gas station. One to three business days later, the discounted purchase amount will be deducted from your linked checking account.
Your savings per gallon will not be refunded to your bank account. Instead, your savings are immediately applied before the amount is withdrawn from your checking account.
I don’t believe you can link a credit card unless you can provide more info? Are you talking about the “deal alerts” feature from GasBuddy?
You can find out how the program works by going to this page on the GasBuddy website.
Woaaaahhhh look into the privacy information when you get the gas buddy card.. as if we don’t have enough privacy concerns in general, gas buddy has some interesting ways it shares your information. Look into it before buying