Buying gas cards for the trip?

[FirstTimertoDiz]

Dh and I are planning a trip for June 2006, and we are looking to prepay as much as possible to make it more manageable. We are going to be driving down from PA, and probably taking I-81, and then going to I-95. My idea was to start buying gas cards now whenever we have some extra money, so that it takes care of the money for traveling. The question I have is, which gas cards should I get? We have never driven down before, so I don't know what is available most often- also, are all the prices fairly similar, or does it jump around a lot? I have an Exxon station close by, so that would probably be the easiest for me to get to.

Any suggestions on this are greatly appreciated!!!

Lisa

 

[aynt79]

When we drove from FL to Maine (and back again) last summer, we used Exxon/Mobil and Shell cards. For the most part we didn't really have any trouble using either. The exxon cards are nice because they are also good at Mobil stations.

As long as you don't wait until the last possible minute to stop for gas (we don't like to go too far under half of a tank) you shouldn't have much of a problem finding an Exxon/Mobil station. If you usually go to exxon at home anyways, I would buy those so that if you have any left over, you won't have any problems spending it later.

Edited to add: Wait until Georgia to fill up (and before you hit Florida). Gas is much cheaper there, I think b/c of no state gas tax.

 

[lemondog]

Great idea Lisa! I would actually buy a Visa giftcard or something like that. That way you can use it at any gas station and you're not stuck having to look for one particular kind. Also, let's say you have a Shell card, but the BP across the street has gas for 3 cents cheaper/gallon. With a Visa giftcard, you are not stuck buying from one place that might be more expensive.

Hope you don't mind if I steal your idea!

Angela

 

[cranbiz]

I would look into the prepaid MC or Visa instead.

This gives you much more flexability and at night you may not find a gas station that will accept "your card" but will accept a major CC.

I think that your idea is a good one.

 

[goofyforlife]

Why not just open a no fee checking account that gives you a visa or MC debit card? If you only put money in the account like you would buy the gift cards, you could use the card for all expenses on the trip, not just gas....

You could place the card in a secure place until the trip to resist the urge to spend the money. (Safe deposit box, with other family member, or bury in the back yard)

 

[Jon99]

Just our idea, a few months before we leave, we start paying extra on our BP Amoco card, ending up with about a $200 credit on our charge card... Just our way of prepaying for our trip...