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Getting cheaper gas
Oil executives may be under the congressional spotlight, but there's no relief in sight for the American consumer struggling with record gas prices.
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| For more information on managing your largest investment, check out Gerri Willis' "Home Rich," now in bookstores. |
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Here are some top tips to help you find the cheapest gas around.
1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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. 
