Having a car is indeed a big convenience. Grocery tips are made easier. And it’s helpful during emergencies, especially when you need to take a sick family member to the hospital.
But your car is also a big gas-guzzling machine. How many times have you taken a deep breath after looking at your fuel receipts?
Thankfully, there are a few ways to save money on gas, from using your loyalty card to going to a gasoline station that accepts credit cards in the Philippines.
Read on to learn more.
How to Save Money on Gas: 18 Tips to Try
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How to save money on gas? Fortunately, there are a lot of ways. Check out some of them:
⛽ Go to a Gasoline Station That Accepts Credit Cards in the Philippines
In case you don’t know, you can use your credit card to pay for your car fuel. Apart from convenience and safety, using a credit card entitles you to perks such as discounts and exclusive deals.
If you’re looking for a gasoline station that accepts credit cards in the Philippines, here are your top choices:
Petron
Does Petron accept credit card payments? Yes. For cashless transactions, just use your Mastercard or Visa credit card.
Caltex
When you gas up at Caltex, you can pay with your Mastercard and Visa credit card. Depending on your credit card, you may even receive a rebate.
Shell
Shell accepts credit card payments. Just use your Mastercard or Visa credit card to pay for your purchases. You can also use Shell’s store locator to see the mode of payments available at your preferred stations.[1]
SEAOIL
At SEAOIL, you can pay for your fuel purchases with the following major credit cards: Visa, Mastercard, UnionPay, and American Express.
Unioil
Unioil accepts credit cards, such as Mastercard, Visa, and JCB. Other payment methods include GrabPay, WeChat Pay, and Maya QR.
⛽ Get a Credit Card with a Gas Rebate
A credit card for gasoline allows you to earn up to a 5% rebate, or as much as ₱1,000 monthly savings on your fuel purchases—something you can’t get with any regular card. Some cards also earn a certain number of points for fuel.
Save money on gas using a credit card that provides rebates or rewards for fuel spend, such as these:
| Credit Card | Features and Benefits |
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UnionBank Platinum Mastercard
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HSBC Red Mastercard
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Security Bank Complete Cashback Mastercard
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Petron BPI Card
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⛽ Use Your Pag-IBIG Loyalty Card
How to save money on gas if you don’t have a credit card for gasoline? Consider using your Pag-IBIG Loyalty Card.[2]
With your Pag-IBIG Loyalty Card, you can earn peso points when you purchase Petron Fuels and Engine Oils at participating stations. If you buy Petron Gasul, your Pag-IBIG Loyalty card entitles you to rewards points that you can use to purchase other Petron products.
Here’s the rewards scheme:
- 1 point for every five liters of Xtra, XCS, or DieselMax
- 1.5 points for every five liters of Blaze100 or TurboDiesel
- Up to 10 points for Petron Engine Oils
- 3 points for 7kg of Petron Gasul
- 5 points for 7kg of Petron Gasul
- 10 points for 11kg of Petron Gasul
Related: 40 Money-Saving Tips for Everyone: The Ultimate Financial Hacks List
⛽ Sign Up for a Fuel Discount Card
On top of a fuel rebate credit card, you can increase your fuel cost savings with a gasoline discount card offered by an oil company or retail brand. Here are some options to consider.
Petron Value Card
- Earn Petron Peso Points each time you buy Petron products, such as fuels, Gasul LPG, and lubricants using cash, credit cards, and debit cards.
- Enjoy year-round personal accident insurance with ₱10,000 accidental death and disablement coverage and ₱1,000 worth of medical reimbursement.
- Get free 24-hour towing and roadside assistance (for cardholders who meet the eligibility criteria).
- Avail of exclusive privileges at select major establishments.
Go Rewards Card by Robinsons
- Earn 1 point for every purchase of 5 liters of fuel at Caltex.
- 1 Go Rewards point entitles you to a ₱1.00 discount per liter of Caltex fuel.
Shell Go+ and Shell Go+ Pro
- Earn points every time you make a purchase at a Shell gas station. Participating products include Shell V-Power, Shell FuelSave, Shell Lubricants, and items from retail sites, such as Shell Select, Shell Café, and deli2go.
- Get free roadside assistance.
- Enjoy exclusive perks from Shell Go Plus partners.
- Access free insurance and free scholarships (for active Shell Go+ Pro members only).
SEAOIL VIP Card
- Earn 1 rewards point for every ₱100 fuel purchase. Purchases under ₱100 still earn points on a pro-rated basis.
- Accumulated points can be used to buy any SEAOIL product granted that the amount equivalent reaches at least ₱100.
⛽ Use a Fleet Card for Your Small Business
Do you manage a fleet of vehicles for your small enterprise? A fleet card[3] is a useful cost-saving option, whether you run a catering business, delivery service, bakery, trucking business, car rental company, or any car business that uses two or more vehicles and a specific amount of fuel monthly.
Fleet cards provide discounts on fuel purchases and auto maintenance and repairs at participating gas stations and dealerships. They also help small business owners control their fuel expenses. For example, you can limit fuel purchases to diesel-only to lessen the chances of your employees using your company fleet card for personal use.
Oil companies such as Caltex, Petron, SEAOIL, and Shell offer fleet cards to business owners in the Philippines.
⛽ Use the PriceLOCQ App
SEAOIL users, heads-up! SEAOIL has an app that can help you save money on gas. It’s called PriceLOCQ. So how does it work?
The PriceLOCQ app lets you buy fuel in advance. You can buy your gas at today’s prices, store the purchase in your app, and redeem it at a later time. If there’s news that fuel prices will increase tomorrow, you can use the app to “lock” SEAOIL’s current price and then get the gas later.
Transactions are quick and contactless. You can redeem your fuel at SEAOIL’s participating stations nationwide by just having your QR code scanned.
PriceLOCQ also comes with a separate platform for businesses that manage fleets of vehicles. Through its web portal, fleet owners can track fuel distribution, manage their vehicles and drivers, and buy fuel via multiple payment channels.
The PriceLOCQ app is available on the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store.
⛽ Go Premium When Refueling
This may sound counterintuitive, but using premium gas may improve fuel economy. For some cars, higher octane fuel may improve gas mileage, which translates to savings.
For instance, if you switch to regular fuel but your car needs premium, you can’t expect big savings. Since your car’s engine isn’t designed to handle regular fuel, your car will burn fuel faster than usual.
So remember that this benefit greatly depends on the kind of car you have.
⛽ Try Other Gas Stations
The price of the same kind of fuel varies from station to station. If you notice, fuel prices are higher at gas stations along highways and expressways.
You can also try gassing up at the likes of Eastern Petroleum, SEAOIL, and Unioil if you want to save more. Smaller local players, such as family-owned and under-the-radar filling stations, may also offer quality fuels at a more reasonable price.
⛽ Close the Gas Cap Tightly
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Something as simple as this can help you save on gas costs. Fuel evaporates—and when your gas cap isn’t tightly shut, it escapes from your car. Thus, your car loses gas faster than expected.
⛽ Turn On Cruise Control
Maintaining a constant speed can help improve fuel efficiency. When driving on open roads and freeways, use your car’s cruise control to save on gas. It’ll also keep your feet and legs from experiencing ngalay.
⛽ Use Your Car’s Eco Mode
Newer car models, especially hybrids, are outfitted with economy mode, also known as “eco mode.” This particular feature modifies certain vehicle functions, such as acceleration and air conditioning, to save gas.
⛽ Avoid Idling
You can’t avoid idling when you’re caught in traffic, but there are some situations where it’s possible.
For instance, turn off your car even if you’re quickly picking something up at the store. Fetching your kids from school? Turn off the engine if your children are still walking from a distance.
⛽ Reduce Your Load
The heavier the cargo, the more fuel your car burns. This is because the weight of the additional load forces your car to accelerate more. Things even get trickier when your car is traveling uphill.
Remove unnecessary baggage from your trunk. For instance, unload items you don’t need from your overly heavy toolbox.
You may also want to remove roof racks if they’re not needed for the trip. As much as possible, don’t accommodate more passengers than your car can actually carry.
⛽ Make Sure Your Car is Properly Maintained
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Problems like old spark plugs, bad tires, and clogged air filters can use up a lot of fuel. Make it a habit to bring your car to the casa. While it may cost you some money, it’s better than burning fuel or getting more expensive repairs due to negligence.
⛽ Avoid Rush Hours
If you want to know how to save money on gas, you need to strategize your trip. If you’re always caught in traffic jams, your car is constantly idling, thus burning more fuel.
As such, avoiding rush hours is a wise move. You may need to wake up a little earlier, but at least, you won’t be caught in the gridlock and you’ll be on time at work. In the evening, you may want to stay a little longer in the office before driving home.
For your guidance, rush hours in the morning are usually between 6:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. Meanwhile, evening rush hours fall between 5:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. It also helps to take note of holidays and events, such as undas and Christmas.
⛽ Choose Shorter Routes
Another method on how to save money on gas is to shorten your trip. You can do this by taking routes where there are fewer cars. For example, instead of using EDSA, you can drive through alternative streets and boulevards.
Before heading out, check the traffic situation using your map apps. From there, choose roads that will quickly get you to your destination.
⛽ Plan Your Errands Day
Avoid making a million trips throughout the day or week when running errands. If you can combine bills payment and grocery shopping in one day, do so. After all, malls have both groceries and bills payment facilities.
In the same vein, try running errands if you’re on your way home from work. Better yet, complete them during your breaktime.
Related: Save Money on Grocery Shopping With These Tips
⛽ Use Other Forms of Transportation
Using other forms of transportation effectively cuts down gas usage, ultimately helping you save money.
Some days, take the bus or train. If your office is nearby, consider walking or riding your bike. Other options include carpooling with your friends or work colleagues.
This won’t just help you save on fuel costs. In case you’re using expressways, you also get to save money on toll fees. And if you opt to walk, you get to exercise!
Related reading: 10 Power-Saving Tips for The Summer
Final Thoughts
Fluctuating fuel costs are a painful reality that every car owner faces. Thankfully, there are some practical ways to save money on gas—one of which is fueling up at a gasoline station that accepts credit cards in the Philippines.
Once you’ve adopted the techniques above, the next thing you need to do is track your fuel economy. This way, you’ll know if what you’re doing is actually effective.
Track your personal fuel usage the traditional way by writing down the mileage of your trips. While you’re at it, collect your fuel receipts and calculate how much money you’ve spent within a given period. You can also go for more modern solutions, such as using a fuel-tracking app.
🚗 Get a Car Insurance Quote via Moneymax
Aside from figuring out how to save money on gas, you should also prioritize car insurance. Enjoy peace of mind as you navigate the roads. Compare your options by clicking the banner below:
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