How GasBuddy Works: A Complete Guide to Saving Money

Key Takeaways

• GasBuddy is an app that helps you save money on gas by finding the best prices and offering various other perks.
• You’ll need to link your checking account, which will be charged when you purchase fuel with the GasBuddy card.
• Currently, GasBuddy guarantees savings of at least 3 cents per gallon, with potential discounts of up to 25 cents per gallon.
• There have been controversies surrounding GasBuddy selling user data to third parties.

Everyone is impacted by gas price fluctuations in one way or another. While we can’t avoid how gas demand impacts supply chains for the food on our table, we can adapt our own transportation habits for additional savings.

Switching to a bicycle or buying a more economical vehicle are some ways to save money on gas, but let’s be honest, they are far from a convenient solution to rising gas prices. What you want to be looking for is a way to get the cheapest gas possible, and that’s where the GasBuddy app comes in.

What Is GasBuddy?

GasBuddy app helps you save cash on fuel by showing the cheapest gas station offers in your area and providing other perks. It relies on community-reported gas price data, encouraging users to become price spotters themselves. By reporting gas prices, users earn points that can be redeemed for rewards.

Every reported gas price earns you 200 points, which can be used on gas purchases or to participate in a daily draw to win $100 worth of free gas. GasBuddy points can also be used to earn rewards or gift cards at other retailers. Accumulating points requires consistency in using your Gas Buddy card.

GasBuddy free card functions like a debit card, except it gives you points for buying gas. It’s accepted in many gas stations where MasterCard is accepted. You’ll need to link the card with your checking account and wait for it to arrive, but the flexibility is better than using most other loyalty programs.

The main benefit of a GasBuddy card is that you’ll get all the same or even better discounts in gas stations and even convenience stores with just one card. However, you’ll have to pay with a card provided by GasBuddy, which imposes a weekly limit for spending.

Auto-pay imposes a $400 limit and manual payment of $50. Some of the money you spend returns as cashback. The GasBack program gives automatic cashback on fuel when you pay with GasBuddy in gas stations and some convenience stores.

When a $5 redemption threshold is reached, you can cash out in gift cards, gas cards, or discounts on gas purchases. Rewards expire in 12 months after they are added to your GasBuddy account, but you’re likely to spend them much faster.

The price map is perhaps the most convenient GasBuddy feature to find cheap gas, but it packs a lot more. There’s a trip cost calculator, outage tracker, fuel usage log, and information on vehicle recalls. Some features are behind a GasBuddy Premium subscription costing $9.99 per month or $99 per year.

GasBuddy Premium offers users a guaranteed discount of 20 cents per gallon on the first 50 gallons each month and 5 cents after. Additionally, it offers 24/7 roadside assistance in case you need towing, fuel delivery, flat tire services, or other help. While GasBuddy Premium is convenient, a free account is enough to get discounted prices.

How to Use GasBuddy

1. Download and Sign Up for the GasBuddy App

The GasBuddy app is available on the Apple App Store, Google Play Store, and on the web in the United States and Canada. You can create a GasBuddy account by following the on-screen instructions, but you’ll need to be at least 18 years old, have a driver’s license, and a bank account for full benefits.

2. Order the GasBuddy Card and Link It to Your Bank Account

Open the Savings tab and select Pay with GasBuddy. Follow the instructions there to order the free GasBuddy card. Besides some basic information like your name and address, you’ll need to link your checking account via Plaid secure link or using micro-deposits to verify its validity and ownership.

The card typically arrives in 7-10 business days, after which you’ll need to activate it by creating a Driver ID. In the meantime, you can find discounted gas prices and report them yourself. Once the card arrives, you’ll be able to save up to 25 cents per gallon when combining various deals for gas prices in the app.

3. Find Gas Station Discounts Nearby

You can use the app’s search function or the map to locate the best gas station offers nearby. Cheapest gas offers can also be sent to you via Deal Alert notifications. Be sure to activate the offers before heading to the gas station.

Discounted gas prices are active for a limited time, mostly four hours. Since the GasBuddy discount card functions as a debit card, some pumps, most notably Shell stations, allow using their own offers, too.

4. Buy Gas with Your GasBuddy Card

At the pump, swipe your GasBuddy card and enter your Driver ID, which acts as a PIN code. Some gas stations will ask whether you are using a credit or debit card. In some cases, you might need to choose credit to get the card working.

Note that the pump will display the full price while your linked bank account will be charged the discounted amount. That’s because the app gives you discounts that don’t show up at the pump. The difference should reflect the discount shown on the GasBuddy app.

How Does GasBuddy Save You Money?

Part of the gas price information is sourced from partnerships and GasBuddy users who report the prices manually. If you use the free GasBuddy card, then each time your checking account is charged, gas price data is reported as well.

As such, gas prices can be inaccurate in some regions where the app is unpopular. GasBuddy is best for those who travel a lot and can take time to actively look for free gas opportunities. If you live in a highly urbanized or transit zone, it’s likely that gas prices will be accurate and with good discounts.

Additionally, the guaranteed 3 cents per gallon and up to 25 cents of other discounts are most advantageous for those who use different fuel stations often. If you always fill up at a few of the same stations, then you might be better off using your credit card or debit card with a gas station loyalty program.

GasBuddy compensates for this quite well by allowing users to earn points for gas discounts from convenience stores as well. Even if you stay in your area most of the time, you can use gas price discounts by using GasBuddy in your local store.

We can approximate how much free gas GasBuddy might provide. Suppose you live in California, where the gas price is $4.46 per gallon at the time of writing. A full tank of an average car (approximately 15.7 gallons) will cost you around $70. The guaranteed savings with GasBuddy will be $0.47 every time you fill up a full tank.

The real savings start when you constantly check for deal alerts, which can lead you to save up to $3.93 per tank. Combining these discounts will save you around $4.40 per fill-up. Assuming you fill up a tank for every business day, the savings could pile up to well over a thousand dollars per year.

Privacy and Security Concerns

All these gas price savings include a less visible cost. GasBuddy users have to provide many types of personal information, including location and bank account data. This data is more than enough for advertisers to identify you, which makes it dangerous for your privacy and profitable for services such as the GasBuddy app.

Privacy advocates warn against using apps that collect so much of your personal data, except for a few apps that you completely trust. The concern here is that in exchange for their services, you become a product as your personally identifiable data is sold to third parties.

It’s not just speculation that GasBuddy is guilty of such practices. A 2017 lawsuit revealed not only that GasBuddy is selling user data but also the prices they are charging advertisers. In exchange for the possibility of finding the cheapest gas, you sell your personal data.

There are signs that GasBuddy has since changed its practices and now aligns with various data protection requirements. Also, you can take measures to reduce their data collection, but they all might reduce your savings and convenience.

• Disable location tracking, but it will also limit the accuracy of the price map, possibly the main feature of the app.
• Use the app without creating an account. While it will limit the reward points you get, you will still be able to use some of the gas price search functions.
• Limit how much data the app can collect. It’s easier on some devices than others and will likely trigger the GasBuddy app constantly asking for more permissions.

In the end, the risk of your private data getting exposed never goes away completely. You must decide whether the free gas GasBuddy provides is worth your privacy.

Alternatives to GasBuddy

GasBuddy is far from the only free gas app on the market. It’s worth looking into some other alternatives that might not have the same drawbacks while still providing additional savings.

Gas Guru

Gas Guru excels at showing you the price of fuel at stations around you. There are a lot of useful filters, and although some bugs are present, the app is quite user-friendly. Unlike GasBuddy, it sources information from online oil price resources, so the data is more consistent but less frequently updated.

Gas Guru also offers some coupons and discounts, but compared to GasBuddy, it’s far from the main focus of the app. This free gas app is best when you’re planning long trips and need to locate the cheapest gas stations and other amenities without adding your personal information.

Upside

Upside app is a more general cashback app with a strong focus on free gas offers. As with most such apps, you’ll need to browse for available discounts, activate them, and visit retailers and restaurants or use other services. Then, check-in via the app or upload your receipts and claim the cashback via PayPal, Bank deposit, or gift cards.

While comparing prices for the cheapest gas is difficult, you can get back up to 25 cents per gallon on gas, up to 45% cashback at restaurants, and up to 30% back at grocery stores. Generally, Upside is worth checking out as the savings are quite similar to GasBuddy, but according to some users, it’s more limited in some locations.

Waze

Waze isn’t a direct competitor to GasBuddy, but it includes some functions that might help you find the cheapest gas conveniently and without sacrificing so much privacy. It’s a community-driven navigation app that includes various reporting functions, including fuel prices.

You can search for fuel stations on your way and find community-reported prices. There are some inaccuracies, but the app will give you at least a general idea and point out the exact route to get there. Compared to GasBuddy, Waze is an alternative for learning about gas price tendencies and general navigation use.

Conclusion

GasBuddy is packed with deals that save money on gas, and while the app isn’t without alternatives, it’s likely the best of its kind. It isn’t worth the privacy risks for those who use only a couple of stations, but frequent travelers will find better gas prices with it.

Frequently Asked Questions