Gas can be a lucrative source of points- because people tend to use a lot of gas in their vehicles, in a lot of cases due to work they do not have a choice. I myself will average around 60 Liters of gas in my car every week- with gas prices at around a dollar per liter here in Montreal, it costs me $60 to fill up. So I spend around $3,000 per year just on fuel for my car.

For this reason I try to take a look at the best bonus I can get for my spending on gas My approach is to get what I can without modifying my existing purchasing habits. As such, there are 2 main programs which I use, due to where I would normally buy gas. In my own case this happens to be the Esso gas station near my house and the Canadian Tire gas station near to my work.

I am a big believer in using points programs, but I am not a believer in changing your buying habits just to get the benefits. The programs are most effective when you are using them for purchases you would be making anyway.

So here is some more detail on the ones I use:

1. Esso Extra. This is a program which gives you 1 Esso extra point per dollar spent. These points can be used for various items at the station such as car washes- or even gift certificates. Esso will also offer you Aeroplan points, but at the lower value of 1 point per 3 dollars spent. I have used this program and have not paid for a car was in several years- and when my points balance is high enough for a few car washes I switch to earning Aeroplan miles.
2. Canadian tire with gas multiplier. This is my personal favorite, although Canadian Tire gas stations are harder to find than Esso.. At Canadian tire gas bars you get back Canadian tire money which can be used for purchases at any Canadian tire store. Every week there is a multiplier, which gives you 5-10 times the basic money back when you buy gas. This gives me back between 2 and 4 dollars on a 60L fill up. There are 2 ways to get the multiplier- you can clip the coupon in the weekly flyer or you can use the Canadian tire options MasterCard. I use the options card then use the Canadian tire money earned on the card to pay for maintenance such as oil changes on my car- so far it has worked out that by the time I need an oil change I have the enough of a balance so that the oil change is free.

I am aware of other programs with PetroCanada, Ultramar, shell (airmiles) etc… My sister swears by the Ultramar CAA program which she rarely pays for her CAA membership anymore. For me it is no use however, as I rarely see Ultramar stations in my day to day travel around my neighborhood.

The key, as with all points programs is to use them consistently.