A woman pumping gas. (Credit: CBS)
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CHICAGO (CBS) — Gas prices keep going up and up.
In some parts of the Chicago area it’s jumped as much as 30 cents a gallon in the last week.
But as CBS 2′s Dorothy Tucker reports, if you play your cards right you can get some free money for gas. Here’s how.
Rita Cangialosi pays $65 to fill up her SUV. Nearly double what she paid last year.
“It’s alarming,” said Cangialosi. “It makes me reevaluate how I run my errands.”
She’s constantly looking for ways to save money. Her latest find is a promotion from Kellogg’s. When you buy 10 boxes of select cereal and send in the UPC codes along with a rebate form you get a $10 card you can use on gas.
Another promotion from Kellogg’s offers a $5 gas card for entering just 4 special codes online. You’ll have to wait several weeks to get both cards by mail.
If you shop at CVS you could get $10 in gas money right away.
Buy $30 worth of featured products and the card is yours.
Gas stations are now offering discounts to consumers. Sign up for Mobil’s Speedpass program, get this device which tracks your purchases, and save 15 cents on every gallon up to 100 gallons.
However the 15 cents is not deducted immediately. You’ll get a $15.00 credit on your monthly statement. That’s in the fine print. You’ll find similar rules in the newest gas station credit cards.
“Really it’s just a ploy or an advertisement to pull you in to entice you to use their service.” Said Edward Sanchez, financial consultant.
Sanchez thinks the interest rates are often too high, as much as 24 percent and the average 2% rebate is too low.
“For every $80 tank of gas you put in your car you’re going to have a $1.60 reward waiting for you.” Said Sanchez
A better deal he says is to use your main credit card to make all of your reward-earning purchases. That’s what Rita did. It took nearly a year, but her patience paid off when Discover recently offered a special promotion on gas.
“I had $190 worth of reward dollars and got $380 worth of gas gift cards.” Said Cangialosi.
Here are a couple of more gas discounts:
Jewel grocery stores are offering a 5 cents a gallon discount if you use your reward card.
And, at some hotels, like the Intercontinental on Michigan Avenue, if you stay the weekend, you’ll get a prepaid card worth up to $75 you can use for gas.
Some of the reward offers expire the end of the month so make sure you check them out right away.
For more information:
Kellogg’s Cars 2 Passport to Adventure
Gas Station Credit Card Offers
BP
Grocery Store Gas Rewards
