This morning I had coffee with a business buddy. I had forgotten that I was really low on gas and didn’t realize it until I parked.
When I left, I used my Waze app to get me to the closest gas station. Price was no object, but it turned out that an Arco station was the closest. I don’t usually use Arco because I can’t use a credit card, but proximity was the key factor.
This reminded me that I wanted to do an article on where to buy gas to save the most. And, I haven’t found Waze to be very accurate for gas prices so it is also a good time to find the best gas price app.
I created a spreadsheet to do a little analysis and comparison on gas prices.
The inputs are listed below and with examples for me, living in Southern California where gas is expensive:
- price per gallon of gas: Costco ($2.75); Arco ($2.79); Major Brands ($2.89)
- average miles driven per day: 40
- estimated miles per gallon: 18
- credit card rewards percentage. 4% (I used a Costco Citi Visa which pays 4% on gas!)
Here are the results of the annual gas cost after credit card rewards:
- Costco: $2,141.33
- Major Brands: $2,250.35 (best prices available)
- Arco: $2,263.00 (doesn’t accept credit cards)
Costco is the winner. Now, you may have a different club warehouse in your area that also sells gas and that would be your best choice. Of course, a Costco (or your club warehouse) isn’t always convenient when you need gas. I would fill up whenever you’re in the area.
Also, I selected the best prices available for the major brands, but they can vary widely if you’re not equipped with the right information, you will over pay for gas. In comes the Gas Buddy app which will give you the best pricing on gas from its community. So far, it’s much better than Waze for gas prices.
To save the most on gas, buy your gas at Costco (or your local club warehouse) and use your Costco Citi Visa card. If your local Costco is not convenient, use your Gas Buddy app to find the best price and use your Costco Citi Visa (you still get 4% rewards).
Copyright: dzimages / 123RF Stock Photo
