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9+1 Tips to Get the Most out of a Tank of Gas

9+1 Tips to Get the Most out of a Tank of Gas

The price of gas is still high and you’ll want to ensure you’re getting the most from every tank of gas.  Here’s 9+1 Tips to consider:

  • Gas Discount Programs. The #1 way to get the most out of your gas tank is to pay less for your gas. Our Smiths Grocery Store has a pretty good gas discount program. Basically, you get one point for every $1 you spend in Smith’s. Every 100 points gets you $.10 off per gallon, upto 1000 points for $1.00 off. Liquor and tobacco don’t apply. They also run several promotions like 4X points on Fridays or select items:
    • Their biggest monthly promotion runs anywhere between 3-14 days which give you a 4x fuel points for any gift cards (except Amazon) that you purchase. Now, my family does a lot of purchases with HomeDepot, Chewy and restaurants. So if we have a project with HomeDepot or if we’re getting ready to purchase our Spring Flowers, we’ll get a $150 to $250 in gift cards. Date night is dinner and movie, perhaps you can pick a restaurant and theater that are in the selection of gift cards. This could also be a great way to get Birthday, Christmas or Holiday gifts that fit into an envelope.
    • Other ways to double your points is to watch for the Friday 4x points promotion. It includes just about all purchases in the store except gift cards, alcohol and tobacco.
    • They have a 50 point reward for their website evaluation. You’ll need your receipt to enter the info. It’s limited to one 50 point reward per 7 days when it’s available.
    • If you don’t use all of your points, you’re allowed 3 transfers to the next month every 12 months, call the rewards points customer service to get that done. There are other rules and tricks and tips so if you have questions, just give me a call, text or email and I’d be happy to answer your questions.
    • To stretch that $1.00 off per gallon, we’ll fill my car and my wife’s car at the same time when we fill gas. She will park on one side of the pump and I’ll park on the other side of the same pump. I fill her car first and then mine using the same pump nozzle so we get $1.00 off on two tanks of gas. I believe the maximum is 35 gallons of gas at the discounted price.
  • Use an on-line app to check for the best gas prices, like GasBuddy.com.
  • Minimize and consolidate travel. If you can combine errands or activities, you’ll minimize your time and miles on the road.
  • Obey speed limits. Follow the speed limit and drive smoothly.  Your driving habits can play a significant role in fuel economy.
    • A recent Consumer Reports (CR) test shows:  Reducing your speed from 65 mph to 55 mph improved fuel economy by 6 mpg in a Nissan Altima and 8 mpg in a Rav4.  Increase your speed from 65 mph to 75 mph lost 7 mpg in the Altima and 6 mpg in the Rav4.  Another way to look at it, speeding up from 55 to 75 mpg is like moving from a compact car to a large SUV.  Not to mention, speeding is dangerous too!
  • Drive evenly. Avoid hard acceleration and braking whenever possible.  In the CR test, frequent bursts of acceleration and braking reduced an older Toyota Camry’s mileage by 2 to 3 mpg.  Once up to speed, maintain a steady pace.  The harder you accelerate, the more fuel you use.  Unnecessary braking wastes the fuel you used to get up to speed.  Smooth acceleration, cornering, and braking also extends the life of your engine, transmission, brakes, and tires.
  • Pay attention to aerodynamics. Here’s a big one!  A CR tests revealed that carrying two mountain bikes on the roof reduced the Altima’s performance from 46 to 33 mpg and the Rav4 from 39 mpg to 32 mpg.  For a rooftop box, the Altima lost 9 mpg and the Rav4 lost 5 mpg.  There’s even a mpg loss with an empty roof rack of 5 mpg and 2 mpg respectively.  Aerodynamics is very important!
  • Buy good quality gas. To clarify, top tier gas is held to a higher standard.  Brands like:  Chevron, Costco, Exxon, Mobil and Shell are the best!  Using a detergent top tier gas can eventually clean engine deposits improving your cars performance.
  • Skip the premium. Save money and skip premium gas unless it is “Required”.  This is indicated on the fuel filler door.  Many cars list “Recommended,” Which means it is optional.
  • Check tire pressure. Tires lose about 1 psi a month.  Having tires with lower pressure than what is recommended on your doorjamb can affect performance, life of your tires and fuel economy.
  • Skip Air Conditioning (AC). Using AC does consume gas, however on the highway or interstate, aerodynamically, all windows up will improve your mpg.  If you’re in city traffic and the weather is nice turn off the AC and roll down the windows. 
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