Gas...Canadian Tire? Petro Canada? Shell?

I was just wondering where you all gas up and why? I used to go to Petro Canada for many years (using the Petro points card) but, since we've moved a few years ago, my son asks me to gas up at Shell for the Air Miles rewards. Now I'm thinking Canadian Tire might be more worth it for the CT dollars since there's always a coupon in the flyer for a minimum of 7x CT dollars. I fill up for approx. 100$ per week. Would CT be my best bet? Has anyone done the math to see which program is most rewarding?

Since we got the new civic from Honda last November, I have been using the $1000 in gas cards that they gave away for Petro Canada. Once these finish, I got to either Shell or CT since the AM and CT money is a better deal than Petro points.

I don't have credit cards, so I can't tell you about those.

Thank you, Georgia. I think I'm liking the idea of going to CT as it's most simple to use the CT dollars right away rather than having to collect points and redeem them. Especially now that summer is arriving with all the gardening work. Have you noticed if Canadian Tire is at par in terms of gas prices with other gas stations in the area?

We use Shell for AM & sometimes CT too! :)

Carly, Georgia, do you know what the % of return is in CT money to real dollars?

My husband and I get gas at Petro Canada - every once in a while, there's enough points for a gift card. We're not really there for the points - it's great quality gas.

Son gets his at CT - he likes the CT money! It's okay gas for his old beater.

As for prices, here everything costs the same no matter where you go (drat!).

We've been using Esso's Esso Points. DH fills up 3 times per week, when the tank is half full. I think it wouldn't work out to less than $20 per year at Shell, but we've earned over $10 this year at Esso. I'm not sure what the return is on Petro Points or CT money though.

Snuff, here is a chart that I found on their website:
Attachment 112094

I get my gas @ Canadian Tire, I usually get about $2 in CT money and I spend $40 ish to fill my car, when I go to Superstore I only get about $1.20 and the super bucks expire or I lose them.

Trying to fill my center console with CT money for Christmas :)

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Originally Posted by snuffaluffagus

Thank you, Georgia. I think I'm liking the idea of going to CT as it's most simple to use the CT dollars right away rather than having to collect points and redeem them. Especially now that summer is arriving with all the gardening work. Have you noticed if Canadian Tire is at par in terms of gas prices with other gas stations in the area?

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CT gas prices are on par with other gas stations, at least on the west island.

snuffaluffagus

Cdn Tire with a gas bar is not the closest thing to me but Petro Can is, and since I have their Mastercard giving me the 2 cents off/litre coupled with their
" gas savings card " giving me 5 cents off/litre , I get 7 cents off a litre every time I buy gas.

I only buy gas, with the odd exception of a morning Java or DH's lottery fix. But just usually gas.
I do online surveys that Petro Can sends me by email for an easy 1000 or 2000 points for like 4 min of my time.
I do use my Petro ( CIBC) MC at other retailers often and get bonus Petro points when I spend a certain amount each month. I never carry a CC balance, pay in full each month.
I always take advantage when the points needed to redeem for loading my gas savings card back up are lowered ( so instead of 15,000 points, I only have to redeem 11,000 points to get the next 250 litres worth of gas )

This is the one I like, not sure if it is the best. I am discouraged by Shell because of the way AM is changing and giving less and less when it comes to their GC's. Plus I would pay full price for the gas when I fill there or anywhere else.

Costco's gas is six cents per liter cheaper than the regular gas stations. I usually fill up my car there when I get groceries. It's near the city limits, so we don't go there to fill up the other two vehicles. We fill those up at Superstore, although they've decreased the value of their Superbucks in recent years, from 5 cents/liter down to 4 cents/liter.

To me, getting AM's are no longer an incentive to buy exclusively at Shell...I have a hard time using those AM's!

We go to the nearby Shell for 2 reasons...one is Airmiles..but the second is that it is on the reserve, so the per litre price for non-natives is usually 0.15 cents/litre cheaper than off the reserve. :-)

I go to the co-op because here the co-op is usually anywhere from .5cent cheaper to 1 cent cheaper. Where I am at they also give out co-op money (similar concept to canadian tire money, you get it when you buy gas and can use it in store). We've been collecting since August, and had $42 worth to use on groceries today. It works out to be about 2 cents per liter back.

It will also depend upon your car's engine needs--there was one German make car that family member said had to be fuelled up only on Shell's Super or else engine would knock. Pickup truck could get regular gas but again, gas had to come from Shell. So if there are brand considerations, you have to keep them in mind and also monitor gas prices in your area to fuel up when it seems prices are in sync with what you will buy.

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Originally Posted by Ciel

It will also depend upon your car's engine needs--there was one German make car that family member said had to be fuelled up only on Shell's Super or else engine would knock. Pickup truck could get regular gas but again, gas had to come from Shell. So if there are brand considerations, you have to keep them in mind and also monitor gas prices in your area to fuel up when it seems prices are in sync with what you will buy.

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You don't have to buy Shell brand gas to prevent engine knock, it's just the grade...any premium grade of gas will do.

^^ that was what I was thinking - not the brand but the grade.

It's Costco for us unless we are on the road and aren't near one. But like the other poster said it is always 4-6 cents cheaper than everywhere else. I paid 129.9 yesterday and it was 138 everywhere else. I think if you get the Costco Amex you get 3% back on that purchase too but that's a big I THINK!

Esso has an Esso Extra card or you can collect Aeroplan miles at Esso.

I go to Costco whenever I can. It's always cheaper. Some days more than others.

It usually averages about $2.50 a week with a 50L fill up so $10 a month. That's at a 5c discount price.

I prefer instant savings, lol.

We got to Costco or a local gas station (it's independently owned which is why I am blanking on the name) which almost always has better prices than the "name brand" ones.

Husky is coming out with a promo card for money off your purchases or you can use it for free coffee or free car wash

Also with Esso you can get your points converted to sobeys points and right now they are giving 5x the points. This is in Ontario anyways! Its not much but an extra 5 bucks on my sobeys card every 2-3 weeks is ok with me!

We purchase all our gas at Co-Op. We get a rebate cheque every March which includes a .05 per litre gas rebate. Plus, at the pump, we also receive a coupon to use in the grocery store that is .03 per litre. So on average when we fill one of our vehicles, we get a $2.58 grocery coupons, and then more in March. We have done this for years and years.

When I have to put gas in, I usually go to Pioneer. In my area, they are generally 1-2 cents cheaper than the other places, and their bonus bucks add up quick.

I realize that premium gas is available at all chains but the family member is only keen on Shell. Will see if that changes when a Costco gasbar (aka cheaper gas by the litre) opens in the Hamilton area in the fall.

Side note, it's kind of cool reading all the names of gas stations that don't exist here lol.

Thank you all for your responses :sweet:!

I gassed up at Canadian Tire for the first time today using a 7x coupon. I received 0.70$ in CT money which works out to a savings of approximately 1.66 cents per liter. I took not my usual route home in order to see that it was 2 cents/L cheaper at Costco.

Costco didn't occur to me as the one I usually shop at doesn't have a gar bar. Now I know to just take a different route home from work to gas up at another one that does. Anyone know if purchases count toward the % refund on the Costco membership? That would certainly be an added bonus.

While I don't mind collecting airmiles for my son where I can, the program itself doesn't appeal to me, especially with the recent changes. Using credit cards for extra points won't work for me either as I'm terribly forgetful :redface: and if I miss making payments in time, it would just negate any savings.

Thank you all once again for sharing where (and why) you shop for gas!

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Originally Posted by Ciel

I realize that premium gas is available at all chains but the family member is only keen on Shell. Will see if that changes when a Costco gasbar (aka cheaper gas by the litre) opens in the Hamilton area in the fall.

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You are correct....also it is my understanding that Shell's octane levels on the different grades of gasoline are better...hence the recommendation that you use Shell. One of the reasons that Pioneer and Costco gasoline are a bit cheaper are because of slightly lower octane level.s

If anyone is unsure of which octane levels to use, consult your owner's manual. Higher octane doesn't necessarily mean it's better for your particular car and you may be paying extra for nothing. On the other hand, if you're using lower octane levels than recommended, you may run into engine problems over time. It's important to use the right one for your car.