Play your cards to reduce your gas bill

When gasoline is more affordable, we pay less attention to the consumption of the coveted SUV. It’s when the price per liter explodes that the choice of a more fuel-efficient car or an electric vehicle suddenly seems to make sense to us.

When this evidence strikes, it presents itself as a collective phenomenon. Many are now queuing up to get their hands on a more fuel-efficient vehicle, and with supply issues, the wait is now counted in tens of months.

Habit changes

What can be done to mitigate the rising cost of gasoline in the meantime?

You can of course reduce the use of your vehicle and integrate the principles of eco-driving into your habits (driving slower, avoiding sudden accelerations and decelerations).

You can also get the most out of the friendliest credit and loyalty cards for motorists.

Can we still afford to ignore these gifts?

The CAA card

Let’s talk about the benefits offered to CAA-Quebec members first. My attention recently came to news that CAA has reached an agreement with Shell that will save members $0.03 per liter at partner stations.

After verification, CAA-Quebec is unfortunately not one of them. Our club is already associated with Couche-Tard, which has more points of service in Quebec than Shell.

The promotion is however less interesting. The motorist is entitled to $0.01 per liter on the first 35 liters during the same fill-up, $0.02 on the portion between 35 to 55 liters, and $0.03 on the following quantities (made there, you need a big tank, almost empty). The rebate is not applied at the pump, but on the customer’s file, and in “CAA dollars”. The “money” accumulated can be spent at the CAA boutique or at partners (gift cards are sometimes offered on promotion, at a discount). “CAA Dollars” can be used to pay for membership.

And we can combine these advantages with those of credit cards.

Credit card discounts

If the price of gas becomes the main financial issue, perhaps you should consider getting a credit card that gives the best discounts at the pump. The CIBC Dividend Visa Infinite card offers 4%, which represents a savings of $0.08 per liter when it reaches $2.00. The BMO CashBack World Elite Mastercard pays 3% back on fill-ups.

The BMO Eclipse Visa Infinite card offers 5 points per dollar of gas purchases. According to the specialized site Milesopedia, this is the equivalent of a 3.35% discount.

Take advantage of agreements

Like CAA, card issuers (credit and loyalty) forge partnerships with certain major oil brands. Associated with the “Journie” program, the CIBC Dividend Visa Infinite card (the one mentioned above) offers a $0.03 rebate per liter at Ultramar, in addition to the 4% rebate.

RBC credit cards save $0.03 on every liter of gas purchased at Petro-Canada (in addition to accelerating “rewards points” on certain bank cards).

Prepaid gas cards

The tip comes from the Milesopedia website. For those who have a card whose main benefit is grocery purchases (that too is expensive), gas station gift cards can be found at some major food banners. The Scotia Momentum Visa Infinite card, for example, offers 4% back on grocery bills and 2% at the pump. With this card, the purchase in supermarket of a card for prepaid gasoline becomes more profitable.

While waiting to get our hands on an electric car, we will never seem cheap to juggle the various promotional programs.