Five Ways to Ease Pain at Gas Pump
Gasoline prices have hit a two-year high.
AAA reports the average national price of gas rose last week to $2.98 a gallon, 9 cents higher than a month ago and 39 cents more than a year ago.
The increase comes as a record number of Americans prepare to take to the roads. It's estimated that 85.7 million travelers will make round-trip journeys of 50 miles or more from home this holiday season.
To help you ride it all out, "The Early Show on Saturday Morning" turned to personal finance expert Farnoosh Torabi, author of "Psych Yourself Rich," for some tips on saving money on gas.
#1 WAREHOUSE CLUB MEMBER DISCOUNTS
Major warehouse clubs, such as BJ's, Sam's Club and Costco, sell gas for less than local service stations at many of their locations -- usually for five-to-ten-cents less. Of course, you have to belong to the warehouse club to take advantage.
#2 GAS REWARD CREDIT CARDS
Several oil companies, including Hess and Shell, offer cash back when you use their credit cards to buy gas at their stations. The Discover Open Road card does the same if you use it to pay for your gas.
One place to comparison shop for the best gas rewards cards is Credit.com.
SUPERMARKET REWARDS
Dozens of supermarket chains, including Bi Low, Kroger and Lowe's Foods, have fueling stations at some of their stores that sell gas for less than area gas stations to customers using the chains' discount cards. Some chains arrange for their customers to get discounts at local gas stations when the customers show the food chains' discount cards.
For more on Bi Low's program, click here.
For more on the Lowe's program, click here.
GAS SAVING APPS
There are new smart phone applications that help you track your fuel use.
Cheap Gas! is from the creators of GasBuddy.com. It tells you who has gas at what price and how far from you it is.
Gas Hog enables you to enter your odometer reading and how much gas you bought. Every time you add fuel, you get a reading on the fuel economy of your last fuel use, as well as tips on how you can improve your miles per gallon.
EZ PASS AND SIMILAR TOLL AUTO-PAY DEVICES
Moneywatch.com says, "Professional drivers on the clock would never be without their electronic, windshield-mounted transponders, because E-Z Passes (and similar auto-payment devices, like California's FasTrak and Florida's SunPass) let them zip through toll lanes, saving time and gas.
EZ Pass and other such programs also drivers discounts on the tolls the devices pay for.