But what to do, when old, outdated myths and outright scams are filling the airwaves and internet? Just today we saw a television news station advising drivers to fill up their gas tanks in the morning when gas is cooler and more condensed, as a way of getting more for your money. While there is some truth that liquids occupy less volume when they are colder, it’s not going to help you save hundreds of dollars a year on gas.

This outdated advice may have been true once-we don’t know for sure-but we do know that today gas stations store fuel below ground in 30,000-gallon tanks. That means gas stays at relatively the same temperature and does not expand and contract with daily cycles.

We’ve seen all sorts of other bad advice that’s outdated, ill-advised or just outright fraud. Claims that devises which bleed air into the carburetor can dramatically increase gas mileage turn out not to be true when put to the test under closely monitored conditions.

Face it-with a long-term gas crises looming ahead, there are plenty of governmental bodies and even private industries that have good reason to want to help you save on gas. Here’s a countdown of the top ten tips they all agree will really help you do the job:

10. Keep your tires properly inflated according to the manufacturer’s recommendations. Under inflated tires make the vehicle run less efficiently and waste gas. In fact, it can be estimated that for every 1lb of under inflation, you could be losing up to 5% of your gas mileage.

9. Don’t be an aggressive driver. Jackrabbit starts, tire screeching stops and speeding can lower your gas mileage by 5% on city streets and as much as 33% on highways. Try to anticipate stops ahead of time so that you can ease up on the gas and coast to the stop, and accelerate less aggressively to conserve your gas.

8. Avoid excessive idling. Idling your engine for 15 minutes wastes one gallon of gas. Whenever possible, time your traveling to avoid lingering at traffic lights and reduce the amount of time you let your car warm up. In warm weather, driving is actually the most efficient way to warm up a combustion engine. Idling is the worst thing you can do – you get zero miles to the gallon if your car is running but not moving!

7. Slow down. The faster you go, the less efficiently your vehicle uses gas. 55 is the most efficient mph on highways. Go above 60 and your fuel efficiency decreases rapidly.

6. Remove excess weight. If you’re used to driving around with your golf clubs and a chain saw in your trunk, you’re paying a heavy price for it. Removing an extra 100 pounds from your car will increase your fuel efficiency by as much as 2%.

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Discover® Open Road Card

Discover Open Road Card offers up to 5% rebate or rewards points on gas purchases and auto maintenance expenses. Accumulated rewards points earned on this card can be redeemed in the form of cash backs. This card carries no annual fee but it carries an annual percentage rate or APR at 10.99%.

Discover® Open Road(SM) Card for Students

This card is the Discover Open Road card version for students. This offers the same unlimited 5% rebate on gas purchases and auto maintenance expenses, only that it does not expire. Its annual percentage rate is at 16.99%.

Citi® Professional(SM) Cash Card

This cards offer a rebate of 3% on gas purchases and is good for those who plan to maintain a balance on the card since it only carries an APR at 9.99%.

BP Visa® Rewards Card

The BP Visa Rewards Card offers a 10% unlimited rebate on gas purchases during its one year introductory period. For the regular months, this card offers a 5% unlimited rebate. Rebates however, can only be earned and redeemed if this card is used at BP gas stations. Moreover, this card carries no annual fee but charges an APR at 11.99%.

Blue Cash® from American Express®

The Blue Cash from American Express card offers an unlimited 5% rebate on gas purchases and charges a 9.99% APR on the card’s maintaining balance.

There you have it, the top five gas cards. The best card would depend on what you are looking for and on your spending habit. The following are the criteria that will help determine the best gas card.

Rebate

If you are looking for a card with the highest percentage rebate, your best card will be the BP Visa Rewards card. However, this card is BP exclusive and if you live across town from a BP gas station, then this card is not for you. The next cards with the highest percentage rebate would either be Blue Cash from American Express or any of the two Discover Cards.

Annual Percentage Fee or APR

The balance on your gas credit card is charged with an annual percentage rate or APR. If you plan on maintaining a balance on your card, then the card with the lowest APR is the best card for you. Disregard percentage rebates; your APR can easily eat out your savings despite high percentage rebates. From the above cards, the Blue Cash from American Express and the Citi Professional(SM) Cash Cards have the lowest APR at only 9.99%.

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If you browse online, there are a couple of listings on which price gas to watch out for. These listings are ranked according to state and cities, with the estimated low price on gas included. They are not only accurate, but they are also updated within forty eight hours.

In the USA alone, there are a few states that average in $3.8 on gas. These top ten states that have the lowest gas prices include Missouri, South Carolina, Oklahoma, Iowa, Mississippi, Tennessee, Kansas, Arkansas, Minnesota, and Texas. Each state has listed a couple of gasoline stations with reduced prices to choose from.

In Missouri State, the range of their prices are between $3.66 to $3.72 per gallon. The table below shows ten stations in this state with their suggested retail price on a gallon of gas:

Gasoline Station Price ($)
1. Conco – Mountain Grove 3.66
2. Murphy USA – Mountain Grove 3.66
3. Casey’s – Mountain Grove 3.66
4. BP – Joplin 3.66
5. Murphy USA – Cassville 3.68
6. Basic Fuel – Jackson 3.69
7. Basic Fuel – Cape Girardeau 3.69
8. Jaspers – Jackson 3.71
9. Kidds – Jackson 3.71
10. Sinclair – Kirksville 3.72

Meanwhile, there is also a record of which US cities that also offers the same, lower prices. If you live in Tucson, Tulsa, and in Oklahoma cities alone, then you’ll be in for a major surprise.

Tucson, which gained the lowest price gases averaged on $3.69 per gallon, is the better deal than the other cities combined. For Tucson citizens, here is the list of the gasoline stations that you may visit for your gas purchase:

Gasoline Station Price ($)
1. Arco – Tucson, South 3.69
2. Shell – Tucson, SE 3.71
3. Shell – Tucson, South 3.71
4. Costco – Marana 3.71
5. ARCO – Tucson, NW 3.71
6. ARCO – Marana 3.71
7. ARCO – Tucson, SE 3.71
8. ARCO – Tucson, North 3.71
9. Diamond Shamrock – Tucson, South 3.73
10. 22nd St. Self Serve – Tucson, South 3.73

Now that the different price gases have been laid out for you, it’s your decision to figure out where you will purchase gas in the near future.

For more info see: Cheap Gas Cards

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