32 REAL Ways to Get Free Gas & Cheaper Fuel in 2024

Look, we’ve all been there, you need to go somewhere and your gas tank sits on empty. Not only that but maybe you’re running low on money too. You’re probably sitting thinking if there are any ways to get free gas.

Well, the good news is that there are some ways to get free fuel, but if you get into the above situation, you’re probably a bit too late. You want to be able to get free gas before you actually need to go anywhere.

Don’t worry though, there are a few ways that you can actually get fuel for free or cheap even if you didn’t plan for it in advance. And with a little bit of planning, you can at least avoid this from happening in the future.

In this article, I’ve put together a bunch of ways on how to get free gas legally, and when that’s not possible how to at least always get a better price at the gas pump.

So, let’s go over some of these tips that I’m sure will help you out with your gas mileage problems.

Get Free Gas Cards Online

Did you know that you can give your opinion on certain things and products and get rewarded with either cash or gift cards including free gas cards? With paid survey websites, that’s a possibility.

You will be able to answer questions and fill questionnaires and collect points. You can then redeem those points for free gift cards including gas cards, or you can get paid cash (PayPal, bank transfer, etc) and use that money to get free gas basically. Pretty easy right?

Here are a few popular survey websites that are well established for a few years now with regular payments made to their users:

1. SurveyJunkie

With SurveyJunkie you can complete surveys and redeem your points via PayPal, Visa, Bank Transfer, or gift cards. You can then use the cash to get free gas essentially.

2. Opinion Outpost

As their name suggests, with Opinion Outpost you will get paid to give your opinion on things, (Paypal, Visa Prepaid Card, and many more gift cards available).

3. LifePoints

With LifePoints you can also complete surveys and do certain tasks and get paid cash. You will get via PayPal and then you can use the cash to get fuel for free.

So as you can see by doing a few surveys every day, for a few minutes at a time, you will get the chance to earn some extra bucks and you can basically get free gas or anything else that you want with that cash.

Get Gas for Free from Store Loyalty Programs

Many store loyalty programs offer free gas or discounts on fuel.

All you have to do is sign up for their store rewards program and accumulate points every time you shop at their stores. After that, you can go and redeem those points for free gas.

4. Kroger Fuel Points

Did you know that when you sign up to get a loyalty card at Kroger, you’ll not only save on groceries but also earn Fuel Points? You can redeem those points at any Kroger Fuel Center or even Shell gas stations.

The Kroger Fuel Points program will award you with 1 point every time you spend $1 at Kroger, and you can earn 2 points if you do it on gift cards.

5. Safeway Rewards

Safeway also has a loyalty program, similar to Kroger’s that can help you save big on gas. The Safeway Just for U program will also give you 1 point if you spend $1 in their stores but you can also earn double the points for every $1 that you spend on buying gift cards.

If you save 100 points you will get $0.10 off per gallon of gas when you fill-up. So if you save 1,000 points you will get $1 off per gallon.

6. Stop & Shop Gas Rewards

The Stop & Shop Gas Rewards program is also similar to Kroger’s and Safeway’s. You will get 1 point for every dollar that you spend using your Stop & Shop rewards card.

Once you have gathered 100 points, you can then redeem them to get $0.10 off per gallon. You can also save up to 1,500 points on your card and then you can get $1,50 off per gallon. That can bring you some amazing savings on gas, depending on your location of course.

7. Harris Teeter

With the Harris Teeter Fuel Points program, you will also get points that you can use to get fuel for free every time you shop at a Harris Teeter store.

Gather 100 Fuel Points and you will get 10¢ off per gallon at their Harris Teeter Fuel Centers but also BP and Amoco stations.

You can also get double the points if you do your purchases with your VIC card, but also when you buy their pharmacy items you can earn up to 50 fuel points.

8. Fred Meyer Fuel Program

The Fred Meyer Fuel Program is also pretty similar to the others on this list and you will get to earn points and redeem them for fuel discounts.

You will earn 1 fuel point with every dollar that you spend shopping in their stores, you can get double the points if you spend on gift cards and you can get 50 fuel points from buying their pharmacy items.

Get Discounted Gas Cards Online

Another great way to save money on gas is by purchasing discounted gift cards online.

There are many places online where you can go and buy a gift card for less than its original face value. For example, you can pay $20 for a $25 gift card, thus saving 5 bucks.

Here are two popular options to find discounted gift cards to buy fuel:

9. Gift Card Granny

Gift Card Granny is probably the most popular gift card exchange website on the internet. You can find here all sorts of cheap gift cards, including discounted gas cards that can give you 5% to 10% in fuel savings.

Some of their gas gift cards include BP, Exxon Mobil, Chevron, Shell, Speedway, ARCO, and more.

10. CardCash

Another good website to find discounted gift cards to purchase fuel is CardCash. They also feature a bunch of gift cards from major gas companies such as Shell, Exxon Mobil, BP, Sunoco, Chevron Texaco, Gulf, Arco, Conoco, and Mobil Gas.

Use Rewards Credit Cards to Get Free Gas

There are many reward credit cards out there, and some of them can give you cashback every time you fuel your car and get free gas the next time you’re at the pump.

Here are a few popular reward credit cards that you can use to get free fuel:

11. American Express Blue Cash Preferred

This credit card gives you a 3% in cashback bonus with any purchase that you make at any gas station.

The awesome part is that unlike other credit cards on this list, this one has no limit to how much you can earn. So if you drive a lot or if your car is not that fuel-efficient, then this card can save you a lot of money on gas.

You can also get a 6% cashback from shopping at grocery stores and supermarkets up to $6,000/year.

12. Chase Freedom Card

Chase also offers a rewards credit card called the Chase Freedom card. You can use this card to get cashback on all your fuel purchases.

However, unlike other reward cards (such as Blue Cash Preferred), it does have some limits. You can earn 5% in cash back for every gas purchase that you do up to $1,500.

But there’s a trick to this card, however. The reward categories are rotating every quarter, so you can only earn cash back for gas in one quarter of the year and you have to make sure to activate the rewards online before you go to pay at the pump if you want to save money on gas.

All in all, the Chase Freedom card has a pretty good rewards system and it’s an amazing way to get free money to spend on gas.

13. Discover It Card

The Discover It Card also has a quarterly rotating system in place, that will allow you to earn 5% cashback on your purchases up to $1,500. So one quarter a year they will feature gas station rewards, but again you will have to activate the rewards online before you go and get free fuel.

With the Discover It Card, you can also get 5% cashback on purchases from grocery stores, Amazon, Walmart, Target, Uber, Lyft, and more.

Gas Station Reward Programs

Another great option and a surefire way to get gas discounts: join gas station reward programs.

They will always give you cashback on every cash purchase, and it’s easy and doesn’t involve you to do pretty much anything else other than using their reward cards when pumping gas.

Here are some popular gas station reward programs that you might want to join to get cheaper fuel:

14. Speedway Rewards

With the Speedway Rewards program, you will gain points every time you purchase fuel or any other merchandise from their locations. You can then redeem those points for discounts on fuel.

There’s also however a lot of other things that you can use your reward points on, for example, you can get free cookies, water, juice, coffee, tea, chips, and more.

15. Holiday Rewards

If you would like to get 5¢ off per gallon every day, then joining the Holiday Rewards program might be a good idea. You also get to save money on their coffee, food, and other items.

The best part is that they have no gallon limit.

16. Shell Fuel Rewards

The Shell Fuel Rewards program is also pretty similar to the others on this list. If you sign up and use their card you can save $0.05 per gallon every time you fill up at any of their stations.

Not only that, but you can also get cheaper fuel ($0.10 per gallon) by spending money at participating restaurants, live shows, groceries, and more.

17. BPme Rewards

If your go-to gas station is BP, then you should probably join their BPme rewards system and get to save 5¢ per gallon with every visit to the pump.

The BPme rewards can be redeemed at BP and Amoco stations. They also have an app that’s pretty easy to use, so all if you have to do is download it and start enjoying the savings.

18. Exxon Mobil Rewards

The Exxon Mobil rewards program does not pay as much as the other programs on this list, however, it’s still pretty good if you want to have more options.

You get 3¢ in points per every gallon of gas that you buy from any of their stations, but also you can get 2¢ in points for every dollar that you spend on beverages and other items.

You can also earn double points (6¢/gal.) if you get their PREMIUM Exxon Mobil Rewards status.

Various Other Ways to Get Free Gas or Cheaper Fuel

19. Be on the lookout for gas card offers and promos

There are a few stores that can offer you gas cards occasionally. One of the most popular stores that offer these is CVS.

If you shop at CVS you might found out that sometimes they run an offer where if you spend over $30 on eligible products, you get a free $10 gas card as a reward. How neat is that?

That’s an amazing way to get free gas, since you were shopping for other products that you needed anyway, and you don’t have to earn cashback or complete surveys, you get them instantly.

You want to be on the lookout for these kinds of offers and subscribe to their newsletter, and the next time they run a promo like this, you will know for sure.

20. Get Gas Money To Put Ads On Your Car

Here’s a more bold idea, if you want to make extra money for gas, then you could wrap your car in ads and get paid to do it.

There are companies like Wrapify that will pay people to put ads on their cars and drive around (as they usually do).

The amount of money you can get will depend on what type of wrap you want to do for example:

• Lite wrap – will get you anything from $180 to $280 per month
• Partial wrap – will net you somewhere between $196 and $280 / month
• A full wrap – can get you $260 to $450 per month.

Of course, these are all estimates taken directly from the Wrapify site, but in general, expect to get somewhere close to that amount.

So if you want to make money driving your car then that’s a good way to do it. You can use that cash to purchase gas, and you essentially get fuel for free, since you will be driving around as you regularly do, but instead with ads on your car paying you.

21. Download Gasbuddy

GasBuddy is a fuel-saving app that’s available both on iOS and Android. All you have to do is download the app, get their GasBuddy card and you will then immediately start saving on every gallon that you buy.

You will need to link your bank account and that’s about it, no need to complete surveys or go scouting for deals and cheap gas gift cards.

With GasBuddy, you can expect to save up to 25¢ per gallon of fuel.

Get free gas help from non-profit & religious organizations

22. Salvation Army

You can contact Salvation Army if you’re really struggling and need to get gas to make it to work, a job interview, a medical visit, or to school.

Salvation Army is known to give out free gas vouchers to people in need. If you contact them and explain to them your situation and let them know that you really need to get to something important but you don’t have money for gas, they might be able to assist you with that.

Check out and see if there’s a Salvation Army near you here.

23. Free Gas USA

Free Gas USA is another non-profit organization that will help people in need of gas. It was founded back in 2008 when the recession hit, and its whole mission is to give fuel grants to struggling families throughout the United States.

To qualify for gasoline grant assistance you will need to meet some conditions:

• Be part of a low-income family
• Explain your needs for the free gas vouchers (such as you need to commute to work, etc)

The grants that Free Gas USA gives out each month are anywhere between $50 to $1200.

24. Local Churches and communities

Some of your local religious communities and churches will also help out their members in need. All you have to do is ask, and see if there’s anything that they can do for you.

Most of the time they will be able to provide you with some funds for gas if your needs are founded, and especially if you are a long-time member of their community.

How to Spend Less On Gas

Getting free gas for your car and tons of discounts is great. However, there are also many ways that you can save money on gas.

Learning how to drive responsibly and in a more fuel-efficient way, is probably even more important than getting free gas every now and again.

So here are a few methods:

25. Drive slower

You’re probably aware of this by now, but speeding will affect your gas mileage. Sure, everyone drives a different car, and exact measurements can’t really be done.

But according to FuelEconomy.gov if you go 5mph over 50mph then you will be paying an additional $0.19 per gallon.

That’s a significant amount of extra money that you will lose at the pump by simply speeding too much.

So if you want to save money on fuel, drive a bit slower.

26. Drive sensibly

Another good tip to get better gas mileage is to drive more steadily. Aggressive driving like speeding and accelerating or braking rapidly will cost you dearly next time you visit the pump.

You can lower your gas mileage from anywhere between 10% to 40% by not driving aggressively. So you can expect to save anywhere between $0.27 to $1.08 per gallon by simply driving more carefully and sensibly.

Not only will you save money on fuel but it would also be safer for you and anyone involved.

27. Maintain Your Car

If your car is well maintained, then it will naturally use less gas. So make sure that your tires have the right amount of air, corresponding to factory instructions, change the oil regularly, and overall take care of it.

This will help your car more efficient to run and as a result, it will use less gas.

28. Use public transportation

Depending on where you live, you could also use public transportation from time to time if you want to save money on fuel.

You don’t have to take your car all the time for every little errand that you need to do. Alternatively, you could also get a bike, not only will you save on gas, but it’s also pretty healthy, so win-win.

29. Limit AC Usage

You don’t need to have your car air conditioning on all the time. So unless you live somewhere where it’s really hot all the time and you can’t bear it, then you should probably turn it off.

Your car AC is basically powered by gas, so it makes sense that the more you use it the more you will spend on gas. So try to limit AC usage unless it’s really necessary, and you will get to save a lot of money on gas that way.

By the way, driving with windows open will also negatively affect your gas tank, because it increases the wind resistance and as a result, the car becomes less fuel-efficient.

30. Buy a fuel-efficient vehicle

A good way to save money on fuel is to change your vehicle for a more efficient one. Yes, you’re probably saving your car, but if it’s a big gas guzzler, you’re probably better off with something that’s more fuel-efficient.

Of course, not everyone can afford to buy a new car whenever they want, pretty much most of us can’t anyway, so only do this if you’re well set financially and a move like this makes sense to you and your financials.

You could save a lot more money on fuel in the long run by buying a car with better gas mileage than yours. You don’t even need to go for new cars, you could also get a used one that’s not that expensive.

But like I’ve said, it depends on your financial situation if this move makes sense for you or not. Consider hybrid options as well.

31. Use Free Gas Coupons

You can also use gas coupons to get cheaper gas next time you’re at the pump. Sure coupons are not in style anymore but they are still great for saving money on many things not only gas.

So visit a few coupon sites like Coupons.com or Retailmenot and search for gas coupons, and then take those with you and redeem them to get discounted gas.

You don’t even need to print anything these days, simply save them in your phone and you’re good to go.

32. Carpool

Another great way to save on fuel is to share trips with others. Maybe you and a few other colleagues from work are heading in the same direction every day, great… you could all just use one car and chip in for the gas.

You could also share trips with your family members, or simply plan your errands better so that you can cover multiple things all at once.

Carpooling is a great way to save on gas and you also get to spend more time with friends and family so that’s another bonus.

Note: Maybe carpooling with strangers or work buddies is not a great idea due to the pandemic at the moment, but you can still do it with members of the same household since you will be exposed to them anyway.

How to Get Free Gas: Key Takeaways

There are a lot of ways for you to get free gas, however, you will have to do a bit of digging and do some work to get it.

Most if not all the methods that I’ve shown you in this article are pretty easy to achieve, completing surveys, signing up for reward cards, using fuel-saving apps, etc.

You can also get help from organizations and religious places around your local area if you’re really stranded for cash, so that’s a positive thing to know, especially during these times.

However the biggest takeaway is this, you might not be able to get free gas all the time, but you can increase your gas mileage by changing your habits, and driving more safely and steadily, or by taking some public transportation from time to time.

So it depends more on how comfortable you want to be, to save money on fuel.

I hope these tips helped you out, and if you have more, you can leave a comment down below to share with others.