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The Gas Buddy App is one of the most popular gas apps.
Most people turn to the app when they need to find the cheapest gas in their area.
Did you know you can save money on gas with the app too?
With more partners than other apps, Gas Buddy is an app to have on your smartphone.
While gas prices are cheap now during the pandemic, who doesn’t want to save more money on gas?
Honestly, until recently I am ashamed to say I ignored gas apps.
Most promised to save at most 5 cents per gallon.
That comes out to $2-$3 per month for the average person.
Honestly, as much as I love free money, for the time and hassle I was not excited about this amount of money.
I decided to check these apps out more this year though.
I will be hitting the highway more and wanted to see if I could save a lot of money.
I discovered that people are filling up their tanks for free with these apps.
So, you will be seeing more reviews about gas apps.
Again, Gas Buddy is the most popular gas app.
What is Gas Buddy?
Gas Buddy is a free app that you can download on your smartphone.
Although you can use their website, the best way to use the service is to use the app.
Here are benefits of Gas Buddy:
- Sign up bonus: 10 cents per gallon on 1st fill up
- Rewards: $.05 per gallon, $.20 per gallon for Plus and Premium members
- Features: Gas Station finder, Outage Tracker, Gas Price Map, Trip Cost Calculator, Pay With Gas Buddy
I will focus on the Pay With Gas Buddy feature in this review.
Sign up here for Gas Buddy, get 10 cents off your first fill up
Pay With Gas Buddy
Although I use the gas finder in Gas Buddy to find the cheapest gas in my area, Pay with Gas Buddy is the feature that will save you money at the pump.
Pay With Gas Buddy is a debit card linked to your checking account that automatically applies savings.
To sign up, you connect your checking account and get the debit card in the mail.
As long as you have a bank account, you will be approved.
Generally, gas programs work in two ways:
- Give you a discount that is deducted before you pay
- Give you cash back with PayPal, check, gift cards
Gas Buddy works the first way.
For instance, if you pumped 20 gallons and paid $40, your saving at 5 cents per gallons would be $1, and you would pay $39.
A lot of people like this method.
Honestly, at first it was weird to link my bank account.
It was actually easy though.
Again, Gas Buddy is a debit card.
If you have a low credit score and can’t get a reward credit card, this is a great option.
Membership Tiers:
- Standard: Free
- Plus: $4.99 per month or $49 annually, gives you 20 cent off per gallon
- Premium: $6.99 per month or $69 per year, save $.20 per gallon as with Plus Membership but get roadside assistance
Gas Back
When you shop at participating retailers, you can save up to 10% at each retailer.
This savings is added to your Pay With Gas Buddy account and will take more off gas than the normal 5 cents per gallon.
This is the feature that shines and will save you the most.
I have not used this feature yet, but this is how some people are able to get almost free gas when combined with a fuel reward program like Kroger.
RELATED: Not Saving Enough On Gas: Here Are 12 Easy Ways To Save At The Pump
How to triple stack
Gas Buddy is separate from fuel reward programs like Shell and Kroger.
That means that you can stack with these programs.
Kroger and Shell both have programs that allow you to save up to $1 per gallon.
I will review both fuel programs later.
I will review other fuel programs like Mapco and Marathon too.
This means you should stack Gas Buddy with a fuel program.
So, in the earlier example, if you bought 20 gallons for $40 at $2 per gallon, you would pay $20 instead of $40 for a fill up.
The Kroger fuel program is rated as one of the top fuel programs as well as Shell.
Then, on the same purchase, Gas Buddy saves you at least 5 cent per gallon.
In the earlier example, you saved $1 again.
So, you are now charged $19 instead of the original $ 40.
Remember, using the Gas Back feature of Gas Buddy will save you more than 5 cents per gallon and is where the program shines.
This is where I see people getting free gas.
My example was for a week’s worth of gas.
Over a month, you would pay $76 instead of the average $200 per month for gas.
It may be a huge learning curve to learn programs like Kroger and Gas Buddy, but if instead of spending $200 a month on gas, you pay $76 or less, it is worthwhile.
A third app will allow you to do a triple stack: Trunow.
I have just started using this app.
You just take a picture of your receipt from a participating gas station.
You get .5%-1% back.
Honestly, this app is hit or miss.
It does not work everywhere, but is worth a try.
Gas Buddy vs Get Upside
These are the two popular gas apps.
You can stack both with fuel rewards programs like Kroger.
I liked both apps.
Gas Buddy deducts your savings from your final cost.
Get Upside gives you cash back.
Get Upside does not require linking a checking account which is what I initially liked.
Get Upside does not have as many participating gas stations in my area.
The only two stations in my area were Circle K and Raceway.
Checkout 51 had the same limitation.
On the other hand, Gas Buddy could be used at most gas stations (from Kroger to Shell) in my area.
So, I think I may use Gas Buddy more unless this changes.
Initially, Get Upside will get you over 20 cents a gallon off for the first fill up, so I would recommend using this initial offer.
It will probably be five cents or less after that.
If you refer your friends, you can get another twenty cent offer.
If you have Get Upside restaurants in your area, then you may want to use the app for that too.
You get money back on your restaurant purchases.
There are no participating restaurants in my area though.
On the other hand, if you are only going to get $.05 back with Gas Buddy (not use the Gas Back feature) and the stations you want in your area participate in Get Upside, that app may be best since it requires nothing but a debit or credit card may be better.
You can stack Get Upside with a gas reward credit card too.
Because you can use Gas Back and save more than $.05, Gas Buddy may still have the edge though.
Again, I have not used the Gas Back feature that gets you more than 5 cents per gallon.
I will in the future though.
RELATED: Get Upside Review: Save Up To 25 Cents Per Gallon
Gas Buddy vs Reward Credit Cards
When you use Gas Buddy, you can not use a reward credit card for gas.
You have to use the Gas Buddy debit card.
Is it better to use a gas reward credit card than Gas Buddy?
It depends.
If you are only going to save 1% with a gas reward credit card, then Gas Buddy may be better.
However, 3-5% back through reward credit cards will usually get you a better deal than Gas Buddy.
If you can get more savings with the Gas Back feature (like some people who get free gas), then Gas Buddy definitely wins.
Pros To Gas Buddy
- Free to join
- Partners with most gas stations
- Easy to use
- Gas Back saves you more per gallon that $.05
- Features like Gas Finder, Trip Cost Calculator
- No credit check needed
Cons To Gas Buddy
- Has to be connected to checking account
- You may save more using a reward credit card for gas
Summary
Since I plan to be hitting the road more, I want to save additional money on gas.
In the past, I had wanted to try gas apps.
Either they were not in my area or saving $.05 per gallon was just something I did not have time for.
This year, I decided to give gas apps a try.
Like I said, some people are out getting almost free gas.
Gas apps include apps like Gas Buddy, Get Upside, Checkout 51 as well as fuel reward programs like Shell and Kroger.
Since I have learned a lot, I will continue to review these apps.
Gas is cheap now, but who wouldn’t want to save even more?
Who wouldn’t want free gas?
Remember, the beauty is in stacking gas apps, fuel rewards, and possibly gas reward credit cards.
Do you use any gas apps or fuel reward programs?
If so, does it save you a lot of money?