With gas prices on the rise, are you considering signing up for Pay with GasBuddy and wondering
how the service works?
Well in this video, I’m going to be taking an updated looking at the card, including
my most recent experience.
Hey everyone this is Kyle from Money@30 and on this channel we look at personal finance
from a Millennial perspective,including app and tool reviews like this one.
At the time that I’m recording this video in March 2022, gasoline prices have been surging
in the U.S. Because of this, I figured it was time to revisit Pay with Gasbuddy and
see how it’s changed in the now several years since I reviewed it.
So what does Pay with GasBuddy have to offer these days?
Let’s take a look at a few things to know about the free service.
First, let’s discuss the basic mechanics of how the Pay with GasBuddy card works
If you’re not familiar with GasBuddy, it’s an app that utilizes crowdsourced data to
help you find nearby stations and prices.
As an extension of that, the company introduced their Pay with GasBuddy service, which users
can sign up for in the app or online.
When you do join, you’ll need to link a checking account.
Then, when you use the Pay with GasBuddy card at the pump, your purchases will automatically
be deducted from that checking account, but with discounts applied.
You can view current prices with discounts included as well as which stations don’t
accept Pay with GasBuddy by going to the Find Gas tab in the app.
While Pay with GasBuddy is akin to a debit card, you’ll notice that there’s no Visa
or Mastercard logo as its only good at participating stations and only for gas.
When you find a participating station, you’ll insert your card and enter your Driver ID
code, which is basically a PIN you set.
Although the adjusted price won’t display on the pump or on your physical receipt, you
can check the transaction in the app to view your savings.
By default, you’ll save at least 2¢ per gallon when using your Pay with GasBuddy card
at participating stations.
However, you can view the current discounts in the app along with what they call Deal
Alerts.
With Deal Alerts, you can save up to 25¢ per gallon as a free user.
Note that you will need to activate these Deal Alert offers in order to take advantage.
By the way, you can technically participate in Deal Alerts by submitting an eligible receipt,
but this will be paid out as GasBack, which you’ll need a Pay with GasBuddy card to
redeem.
Speaking of Deal Alerts, I recently had the chance to try this feature out and successfully
found a solid offer
Earlier this week, I decided to give Deal Alerts a try and saw that a nearby Casey’s
had an offer for 25¢ off per gallon.
So, I activated to offer and headed right over.
Sure enough, while my receipt shows a total of $8.54 for my 2.2 gallons, my Pay with GasBuddy
receipt and linked bank account show I only paid $7.98 total.
As noted in the app, this includes the regular 3¢ off offer for this station as well as
the 22¢ per gallon boost as part of the Deal Alert.
Although not every Deal Alert is as high as this one was, it’s encouraging to see that
such top-tier offers really do exist.
Another aspect of Pay with GasBuddy that I haven’t tried out are their gas back offers
Under the Savings tab in the app, you’ll find a number of GasBack offers.
These are somewhat similar to a Rakuten or other shopping portal, allow users to earn
a percentage of their purchase or flat cash back amount when they use a special link to
complete their transaction.
In this case though, your earning will be applied to your balance and can be redeemed
on future gas purchases made using your Pay with GasBuddy card.
Overall, this could be a good idea if you’re looking for a practical use for your online
shopping rebates but I’d personally advise users to compare deal between GasBuddy and
other available options.
Finally, while I only have experience with the free version of Pay with GasBuddy, there
is also a premium offering for a monthly or annual fee
For those seeking more from Pay with GasBuddy, there is also a Premium paid version of the
service that currently costs $9.99 a month of $99 a year paid upfront.
With Premium, users will save a base of 20¢ per gallon on up to 50 gallons per month,
with Premium Deal Alerts going as high as 40¢ per gallon.
Premium also included roadside assistance provided by Allstate on up to 3 events per
year among other benefits, making this a potential option for those who drive and fill up frequently.
Overall, my recent return to Pay with GasBuddy did prove fruitful, although I also saw where
there could be some discrepancies.
Additionally, as many have pointed out, there are considerations to make if a station charges
an extra fee to use cards.
Prior to finding my 25¢ per gallon deal at Casey’s, I had activated a 12¢ deal at
another station.
However, when I refreshed the app, I saw that the deal had fallen to 6¢ instead.
Honestly, I’m not sure which GasBuddy would have honored since I had already activated
the deal, but I’d recommend checking for deals as soon before arriving at the station
as possible to avoid disappointment — while driving safely of course.
Elsewhere, one comment I’ve seen a lot is that the benefits of Pay with GasBuddy are
rendered moot since stations charge a fee to pay with card versus cash.
While that’s likely true for many stations, I have to say that such fees are not common
in my area nor on the road trips I take.
So while it may make sense to pay cash at these types of stations in your area, perhaps
the free Pay with GasBuddy card will make sense for when you travel.
Hopefully this gives you a better idea of how Pay with GasBuddy works in 2022, but for
more on the topic I’ll have a link to my full written review in the description box
down below.
Also if you like this video, please hit the thumbs up button, leave a comment, and be
sure to subscribe because we have new videos every week.
So thanks again for watching and I'll see you next time here on Money@30