How To Save Money On Gas During A Road Trip

We are huge fans of saving money when we’re on road trips. Yes, we’re even frugal on vacation. For more tips, check out our How To Save Money On Snacks For Road Trips post.

How To Save Money On Gas On Your Next Road Trip

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Gas prices are expensive, so you really want to get the most miles out of each gallon. Smart driving habits, like using cruise control, plus good travel hacks, like not overpacking, really help with that.

Don’t Overpack The Car

When you’re going on vacation, you want to be prepared for everything. So you pack clothes for warm weather and cold weather, way too many pairs of shoes, and lots of bathing suits. And if you have kids, you end up throwing half the toy chest in the trunk, just in case.

But driving with that much in the car isn’t a good idea.

Weighing down your car reduces the miles per gallon that a car can get. And less weight means your car goes farther between gas station stops, so you stop less and spend less.

Frugal tip: When you’re leaving extra items at home, that includes what’s usually in your car too. If you work a job where you always have tools in the trunk, or you’re like Pete and have all your farmer’s market supplies in the car all season long, leave those at home before your road trip.

Use Cruise Control On Highways

If your road trip is taking you on a highway, cruise control will be your best friend. Set it and forget it, as they say.

But actually, cruise control helps immensely with your gas.

Since you’re not accelerating and decelerating to maintain your speed, your car doesn’t have to burn extra fuel accelerating.

So overall, you’re using less gas, which means less gas station stops to plan, and less gas to pay for.

And, a bonus tip: Cruise control just gives you a smoother ride, without sudden acceleration to get back up to speed, which makes for a nicer road trip overall.

Don’t Idle At Fast Food Restaurants

If you’re stopping for food on a road trip and you decide to go through a drive through, don’t. Get out of the car and walk inside.

That’s a good excuse to stretch your legs and go to the bathroom, but it also means you’re turning off your car and saving gas, not wasting gas on the car sitting there idling.

If you don’t have time to order with a cashier or the kiosk, you can always mobile order (as long as you’re not the driver) and walk inside or sit in a curbside pickup spot and have your food brought out to you. Just, remember, when you’re in curbside pickup, turn off your car. Leaving the AC on while you wait defeats the purpose.

Little habits like this seem, well, little, but they add up over time and end up saving you money in the long run.

Take The Scenic Route (Sometimes)

I took a road trip with my parents once where my dad kept taking the scenic route. On the way home, my mom and I were yelling, “Don’t take the scenic route. Just get us home.” But actually, the scenic route can save you money on gas depending on when you take it.

If you’re driving through a tourist area, or somewhere with a lot of traffic, you don’t drive smoothly. There’s so much stop and go. That’s not great for your gas mileage.

So, take the long way — where your car can sit on cruise control and where you can discover some potential hidden gems off the beaten path — for better miles per gallon.

Frugal tip: This is a good hack as long as you’re not driving completely out of the way. Adding too many miles, especially if you’re adding time to your trip, might not be in your best interest.

Consider Early Morning Or Late Evening Driving

When we were young, my family would drive from New York to Florida every Christmas. And my parents always left in the middle of the night.

They said it was so the three of us kids would sleep most of the way down, but it’s also actually really good for gas mileage too.

It’s usually cooler in the early morning or late at night, after the sun goes down, because of the denser air (You can read more about that here).

Also, cooler air means you won’t have to run the AC, which uses gas and forces you to fill up more often.

And, because there are less people on the road then, you have a smoother drive, which is better for gas mileage as well.

How To Plan Gas Stops On A Road Trip To Save Money

Now that we’ve chatted about the best way to drive in order to stretch your miles per gallon, we need to cover stopping for gas. That’s where the real savings is.

Knowing where to stop, which gas stations offer loyalty programs for the best savings, and how to stack rewards programs on top of gas discounts can cut costs even more.

Choose Cheaper Stations With the Upside App

Anytime I’m getting gas, either in general or on a road trip, I use the Upside app. It’s an app that offers you cash back for purchasing gas at specific gas stations.

The cash back amount back varieties per gas station. But, you’re able to see that within the app, so you can choose which gas station you want to go to based on the price after cash back.

The gas station we used to go to doesn’t participate, but the station across the street does. So guess where I go? Yup. I’m loyal to the station across the street now.

Using Upside helps you plan out your gas stops while you’re traveling too. When you open the app, you’ll see a map of participating gas stations. So if you know you’ll need gas in about 50 miles, you can zoom out on the map, choose the station with the highest cash back in that area, and set it in your GPS.

That’s so much easier than reading highway signs and hoping a gas station pops up when you need it.

Find Stations That Accept Your Grocery Store Gas Points

There are some grocery stores that allow you to earn gas points. Here, Harris Teeter is a big one. On Fridays, you earn 4X points, plus there are additional bonus days during the month.

If your grocery store does that, you get the points every time you use your phone number or loyalty card at checkout.

Don’t let those points expire. Head to the pump. For us, we can use Harris Teeter points at BP, Amoco, and Harris Teeter pumps. Even if it’s only enough for a few cents off, it’s still worth it.

And, even better, if you don’t have any points to redeem, just for having a loyalty number, Harris Teeter gives 3 cents off every gallon, every day.

So, when you’re planning to stop for gas, look for the closest gas station that accepts your points.

Frugal tip: Grocery stores are super regional. So, this tip is super helpful if you’re taking a local road trip. If you’re planning on driving hours, you’ll want to use your gas points when you’re still close to home because you won’t be able to use them when you get outside the grocery chain’s region.

Stop At Highway Chains With Loyalty Programs

There are a lot of gas station chains that you mostly see on highways. Those appeal to long-distance drivers (some, like Pilot and Flying J have showers and spaces specifically for truck drivers), so you mostly see them on the interstate.

But, they’re good for casual road trippers too, especially because they have great loyalty programs. If you’re a part of one, make sure to plan your gas station stops around them to maximize your savings.

Circle K

Circle K has two free loyalty programs: Easy Rewards and Inner Circle.

Easy Rewards gives you 10 cents off per gallon when you use your registered credit card, plus an additional 20 cents off per gallon for your first 100 gallons (or the first two months, whichever comes first).

With the Inner Circle Rewards program, you enter your phone number at the pump to save an extra 5¢ per gallon.

Frugal tip: You can sign up and save instantly, so if you happen to see a Circle K when you’re on your trip, you can join and save on that fill up. Then, plan your next stop around other Circle K locations to keep saving.

Pilot / Flying J Stations

Pilot and Flying J gas stations (they’re sister stores) have a myRewards Plus program with a loyalty card that saves you 3 cents per gallon.

If you’re a Good Sam member, you can link that to your myRewards Plus program for even more savings.

Frugal tip: The rewards program has coupons and bonus offers, like free snacks every month, which you can see in the app. There are loyalty programs, like earning a free coffee when you buy a certain number of them. So definitely check out the offers and see if you can get a freebie while you’re filling up.

Plan For Iconic Road Trip Stops

We’re talking a lot about the best way to save, but, depending on where your road trip lands you, you might be able to save and take in some sights when you check out one of these fun stops.

South Of The Border

If you’ve ever driven I-95 from North Carolina to Florida, you’ve seen the iconic South of the Border billboards, counting down to the giant Mexican-themed tourist destination.

There’s a restaurant, mini golf, souvenir shop, hotel, and, of course, gas. Gas isn’t the best price there, but you can get really cheap fireworks and tchotchkes, so it makes up for the gas prices.

Read more about South of the Border here.

Buc-ee’s

Buc-ee’s is America’s favorite gas station. And, it’s a gas station, not a rest stop. Despite having a full barbecue carving station in the middle, the beaver does not want you to stop.

There’s no overnight parking, no seats to eat your meal, and no WiFi. Get in, go to the cleanest bathroom you’re gonna find on the highway, and get out. And, on the way out, get gas because it’s always a good price.

Read more about Buc-ee’s here.

Stuckey’s Roadside Stores

There’s a good chance that the word “Stuckey’s” means little to you. But if your parent or grandparents took road trips when they were young, there’s a very good chance they stopped at Stuckey’s for gas and pecan log rolls.

The chain is making a comeback, thanks to third-generation owner Stephanie Stuckey. So, if you’re road tripping with your parents, stop for gas and snacks there.

Read more about Stuckey’s Roadside Stores here.