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NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com)
-- Here are some top tips to help you find the cheapest gas around.
- Bring the prices to you
There are companies out there that will send you a text message with
the lowest gas prices to your cell phone. Go to
gasmob.com. You can sign up for
free text-messaging alerts that tell you when lower gas prices are
available.
Gasbuddy.com offers a similar
service. To get text messaging updates, send an e-mail to gas@gasbuddy.com.
A text message/email will be sent back to you shortly with the 5
lowest gas or diesel prices from the area that you requested.
Keep in mind that while you won't
pay for the services, if you don't have a text messaging plan on your
phone, cellular fees will apply.
- Use your mouse
There are some Internet sites that
track the cheapest gas in your area. Check out
gasprices.mapquest.com.
Just plug in your zip code and
you'll get information on the cheapest gas stations along with
addresses, directions and phone numbers. The gas prices are supplied
by the Oil Price Information Service.
And if you're going on a trip, you
can get an estimate of what your gas bill will be like on the site's
gas price calculator. You can also get information on cheap gas prices
in your area from
gaspricewatch.com.
Keep in mind, the difference
between the most expensive gas station and the cheapest gas station is
thirty to forty cents on average according to Jason Toews of
gasbuddy.com.
- Look for loss leaders
To find cheap gas, check out big
warehouse stores or discount retailers like Costco (COST, Fortune 500)
or Wal-Mart (WMT, Fortune 500). These retailers sometimes have gas
pumps with the lowest gas prices in town so that people are enticed to
spend more inside the store.
Of course, keep in mind that with
the warehouse stores you'll usually have to pay for a membership. And
that alone can eat up the savings.
If you don't want to buy a
membership, check out gas stations around the wholesalers or discount
retailers. Since there's a lot of competition, gas stations in the
area may have low prices too.
- Consider a card Gas Rebate
Credit Cards can lower the cost of
gas with rebates on your gas purchases. You want to look for a card
that has 5% cash back on your purchases with no restrictions or caps.
Blue Cash from American Express (AXP,
Fortune 500) is a good example of this, but keep in mind, you have to
spend $6,500 in order to get this rebate. Some gas rebate cards like
Chase Perfect Card, have teaser rates that can be 6% back on gas
purchases. But read the fine print. Make sure you know when the teaser
rate ends. And other cards will decrease the amount you get back the
more you charge.
Keep in mind, a gas rebate card is
good only at stand-alone stations. You may not be able to collect the
rebate if you go to a gas station affiliated with a Costco or a
Wal-Mart. You can compare the rates and terms of these gas rebate
cards at cardratings.com.
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