t seems like eons since the cost of gas and, especially, diesel, was at a level that encouraged travel. Given all the craziness that we’ve experienced of late, though, it’s easy to lose track of time. Heck, I can recall sending a photo to my friends in February 2016 showing a Marathon fuel station sign in northern Indiana with a gallon of regular gas at $1.48 atop a price of $.99 for fresh coffee. My caption? “A cup of Joe is almost as expensive as a gallon of gas. Who woulda thunk it?”
As recently as 2020, the average cost was less than $2.25/gallon. A year ago? $3.15.
Look at us now.
Even with recent price drops in early summer 2022, the Automobile Association of America (AAA) pegged current national average prices in mid-July at $4.65 (gas) and $5.62 (diesel). The key word here is “average” — drivers in some places (like the entire West Coast) would be ecstatic to only be paying those costs.
If you yearn for the days of cheap fuel, you’re not alone. And while RV Enthusiast Publisher Bob Livingston pointed out last month that even though a run up to $7/gallon for diesel would only add about $150 a month (amortized annually) to the fuel cost of someone spending 5,000 miles a year on the road (see “Don’t Let Rising Fuel Costs Keep You Home,” RV Enthusiast June 2022 issue), the fact of the matter is that fuel prices are beginning to take their toll on the RV community. Some folks are cutting back on the length of their vacations, while others are cutting back on the distance they will drive. Fortunately, most of us continue to take it in stride — at least, until we gather around the campfire and commiserate.
You can take a few steps to alleviate some of the misery on your wallet, though.
How? Through the use of the credit card you use to pay at the pump — and an increasing number of apps that can be used to garner additional savings.
For example, most people know that their credit card of choice will earn them some sort of rebate on their purchases, usually from 1%-3%, depending upon the goods and/or service. We did find a couple that go a bit further. According to the folks at nerdwallet (nerdwallet.com/best/credit-cards/gas) the Citi Custom Cash Card automatically pays the consumer 5% as part of its highest-spending eligible category each month (and that category includes fuel stations). Likewise, the Chase Freedom Flex card is said to offer 5% back at the pump, though this is a “bonus category,” which changes by quarter.
A step up, perhaps, is the Sam’s Club Mastercard offered by the popular discount chain. It offers 5% cash back on fuel anywhere that Mastercard is accepted (for the first $6,000/year, which I doubt few RVers will surpass).
As a bonus, none of these cards requires an annual fee, though the Sam’s Club card does require club membership.
Along with the credit-card rebates, another avenue well worth considering is the growing use of apps — software programs designed to perform a specific function. Downloaded directly onto the user’s device (usually a smartphone) from either the company website, Apple Store (for iPhone/iPads) or Google Play (for android-fueled devices), these apps can put a sizable dent in fuel costs.
For example, our compatriot Chris Dougherty spent a good part of this summer driving his Ford F-250 super-duty between Massachusetts and Elkhart, Indiana, where he was an instructor at the RV Technical Institute. Normally, this drive would be expensive enough — but Chris was also towing his Keystone Montana fifth wheel. Fortunately, he was using Open Roads, a discount fuel program from TSD Logistics (myopenroads.com). As Dougherty pointed out, it’s easy to use the app and find locations that offer a discount (including many Love’s, Kwik Trip and Travel Centers of America). You do need to use its debit card as payment, which is currently only available for diesel fuel. According to the company website, however, the app — which it says provides customers with an average savings of 30 to 40 cents per gallon — will be available for gasoline-fueled vehicles sometime in 2022.
Another app for diesel users gaining in popularity is Mudflap (mudflapinc.com), which does require that you link your card or bank account to it. The nice thing about Mudflap is it offers discounts — up to 50 cents per gallon, according to the website — at hundreds of independent fuel stops. RVers often have a tendency to go exploring — and that means there may not be a major fuel chain nearby.
One app making a huge push of late is Upside (upside.com). In fact, I’m a big player of Words with Friends — an online Scrabble-type game — and the number of ads this company has been running was driving me bonkers. Later I found myself on the SuperSteer website, looking up information on the company’s handling and suspension kits for motorhomes, when I wandered over to a window on its website touting “Fuel Saving Tips.” Naturally, I clicked on it — and found myself again looking at a promo for Upside. To say it’s making inroads would be an understatement. Apparently, once the app is downloaded, users input their location and are notified of places where the app provides discounts (averaging 25 cents per gallon). The nice thing about Upside is that it’s also accepted at various grocery stores and restaurants.
One thing to keep in mind with any app is that the locations offered may not have the cheapest fuel in the area — but there’s a way to check that, too.
With the GasBuddy app (gasbuddy.com/app).
GasBuddy has been around for a long time — more than 20 years — and many of us know its website as the place to find the cheapest gas in virtually any area. Now, by downloading its app, you can find the lowest-priced fuel on your route while also “unlocking exclusive deals and rewards” (as per the company website). Among its more modern offerings are Pay with GasBuddy — using a GasBuddy provided card (not a credit card, although it’s linked to a checking account) to swipe at the pump and earn discounts. Of course, the company also offers its GasBuddy Mastercard for even greater rewards, both at the pump and elsewhere.
These are by no means all the apps or credit cards offering fuel rebates, by any means, and we haven’t even broached the subject of rewards programs offered by specific fuel cards. But they provide a starting place for RVers to take a bit of the sting out of escalating fuel prices. To paraphrase an old slogan used by Capital One, “What’s in your wallet — and your smartphone?”