Save 14% on gas without buying any gadgets!

If you know the smart way to purchase your gas you can save a considerable amount of money. The following strategies could save you 4 percent, 5 percent, 10 percent or even 14 percent of your gas costs.

This method utilizes credit cards that offer rebates on fuel or other gas station purchases. The correct card can substantially lower your cost of gas. You save without having to do any maintenance on your car. This savings method costs nothing at all.

Many gas companies offer credit cards that pay rebates on gas purchases. The typical card will rebate you 10% on your gas purchases for the first two or three months and then rebate you 5% on your gas purchases thereafter.

For example currently BP has a credit card that will pay 10% for the first 60 days for BP gas purchases and 5% for BP gas purchases after 60 days. These cards generally offer 1% rebates on other purchases and can be used anywhere Visa or MasterCard is accepted.

The example just listed are issued for a specific gas company. There are also general market credit cards that will provide you with a discounts off your gas costs.

Many card companies have cards that have rebate amounts for gas. For example: currently Discover Card has a Discover Gas Card. This card will provide you with a rebate of 5 per cent of the gasoline you purchase. This card also provides a 1 per cent rebate on other purchases.

Other companies that issue gas rebate cards are Chase and Citibank. Citibank has a gas credit card that provides a rebate of 6% for gasoline purchases for the first 2 months and then provides a 3% rebate thereafter. Chase has a program much like Citibank.

Both types of cards, the ones that provide savings only at specific company stores and the general market cards have advantages and disadvantages. The advantage to using a general market card is that you can use the general market card to buy fuel at any station and get the rebate. The card issued by the gas company only pays you the rebate at the gas company's branded gas stations.

The general market credit card only pays 6% even at it's highest rebate, but the gas company issued card provides 10 percent rebate for the initial period. In this instance the advantage on the size of the rebate is with the gas company card.

So far we have discussed how to get a discount of 3 percent up to 10 percent. Even though 3% is good and 10% is better, how can you get a 14% discount? There is a method you can use to do that.

Many gas stations sell pre paid gas cards or gasoline gift cards. Many times these prepaid cards will offer a discount. In some cases for $48 you can purchase a $50 gas card

That means you pay $48 for the card but the card allows you to buy $50 worth of gas. That is the same as getting a 4% discount. In most cases you must buy these prepaid cards at the gas outlet.

If you purchase the gift or prepaid card with the gas company card during the initial period you are getting a 10% rebate on that purchase.

Then if you are buying a prepaid card that gives you a 4% discount, the $50 dollar card for $48 cost, you are compounding your savings.

You are getting a 10% rebate on the prepaid card purchase using the rebate credit card and you are getting a 4% savings by purchasing the prepaid gift card. Therefore the total you are getting is 14%. The 10% savings + the 4% savings or 4+10=14. Now you have just saved yourself 14% on your gas purchase.