How To Use The Upside App To Save Money On Gas

The Upside app gives you cash back when you fill up your vehicle’s gas tank at participating gas stations. My family can use this app at several gas stations in our area, including Circle K and BP,  saving anywhere from 1 cent per gallon to as much as 10 cents per gallon or higher. However, when we have taken road trips, we have seen offers much higher than those in our hometown–so it really depends where you live as to how high the savings at the gas pump will

The Upside app is simple to use; it takes less than a minute to find a gas station, claim the offer, and enter the information needed to start processing the cashback. Generally, it takes less than 24 hours to receive your cashback in the “Cash Out” area of the app. You can opt to receive your cash out through PayPal, a mailed check, or a gift card (starting at $10).

(Links in this post are affiliate links. I will be compensated when you make a purchase by clicking those links. See my disclosure page for more information)

Use my referral code YG5ZB during sign-up, and you will receive a one-time 15¢/gal cash back bonus that gets stacked on top of the cashback offered at the gas station you first use it at.  Go here to sign up for Upside.

Now that you know the basics of using the Upside app, let’s dive into all the app’s different features so that you can reap the greatest rewards from being an Upside user.

How To Use The Upside App To Save Money On Gas

What Is The Upside App

As I stated in the introduction to this post, Upside is an app that gives you cash back when you fill up your vehicle’s gas tank at participating gas stations.  Here is a list of some fuel stations that work with the app, Speedway, Phillips, Exxon, Valero, Marathon, Racetrac, Conoco, Bp, Mobil, and Circle K. 

However, it doesn’t just work at gas stations. In some areas, you can use Upside at restaurants and gas stations. The app is currently only available to users in the USA.

How To Sign Up For Upside

Use this link to receive a one-time text to download the app.

The link above is my referral link, and when you use it, you will receive a one-time fifteen cents per gallon cash back bonus that can be stacked on top of the gas station’s cashback offer.

Or you can go to the apple app store for the ios version or the  google play store for the android version, download the app, and then enter the code YG5ZB during sign-up to receive the one-time fifteen cents per gallon cash back bonus.

How To Use The UpsideApp

Step One: Get the app (if you didn’t grab it already when you read the “how to sign up” directions).

Step Two: Click on the “my wallet” tab and enter the first six and last four digits of the debit card or credit card you use to pay for gas. This helps GetUpside verify that it is indeed who paid for the gas. You can enter more than one card.

Step Three: Click on the map to see which gas stations near you are offering a cash-back deal. In my area, there are several.

I like that the app also lets me know the gas price per gallon after the cashback so I can get the best deal on gas, which might not be the gas station offering the highest cashback.

Step Four: Click the “claim” button on the gas station you want to fill up at.

Step 5: Make sure to hit check in when you arrive at the gas pump, and then follow the instructions.

Once when we used the app, we had to upload the receipt, and another time it worked with no receipt upload. So read the instructions carefully and grab a receipt just in case you need it.

Step Six: Wait for your cashback to process. If you look in the “help” area of the app, you will see under “How does checking in work?” that Upside says it can take up to a week for your cashback to be fully processed, but it usually takes two to four days.

So far, our family has found it takes closer to two days than four.

Step Seven: Cash out! Your balance will need to be at least $10 to cash out (more on what you can cash out for in a second), but it shouldn’t take long to reach that amount.

In just one fill-up of my husband’s F-250, we received $6.36 back! Your gas tank might be smaller or bigger than ours. You might fill up at the halfway mark, the quarter-full mark, or like me when the low fuel warning light starts flashing. This and how much per gallon the cashback offer is will affect how much your cashback will be per offer.

Ways To Receive Your Cash Back With The UpsideApp

You can receive your cash out from Upside as a PayPal deposit, bank deposit, or digital gift card.

There is a $1 fee if you cash out for PayPal or bank deposit before your Upside balance reaches $10.

Digital gift card cashouts start at ten dollars and are available for numerous retailers, including Amazon, Walmart, Target, Dunkin’ Donuts, and Starbucks.

For my first cash out, I chose a PayPal deposit. That way, I can spend the money wherever I find the best deals on the things I need or want.

How To Cash Out With The UpsideApp

Cashing out with Upside is super simple and reasonably quick. Click on the “cash out” tab, and pick out the form of payment you want. If it is a gift card, click “choose.” If it is a PayPal deposit or a Bank deposit, enter the information asked for.

When I chose PayPal, I received my payment within the 24 to 48-hour window that Upside says it will be delivered.

How Upside Rewards You For Caring Enough To Share The Savings

Once you sign up for Upside and start using the app, you will want to spread the word–after all, who doesn’t want to save money on gas?

And Upside will reward you for caring enough to share. When your friends and family use your code (or link) during the sign-up process, you will each get a one-time fifteen-cent per gallon bonus that can be used on top of a participating gas station’s current cashback offer. Plus, every time your friend fills up and claims a cashback deal for fuel, you get one cent for every gallon they bought deposited into your Upside account.

Make sure you grab your one-time fifteen cents per gallon bonus by entering my referral code YG5ZB during sign-up. 

Tips To Increase Your Savings Using The Upside App

• Make sure your gas tank is as empty as you feel comfortable letting it get to before filling. The discounts are per gallon, so the more gallons in your fill-up, the bigger the cashback you pocket. (maximum of 50 gallons per cashback deal).
• Look at the final cost per gallon after the discount, not the discount itself. Sometimes gas stations offer more significant cash back than others, but their gas is so much more expensive that it costs more to fill up there, even with the cashback factored in.
• Check the restaurants tab to see if any restaurants in your area have partnered with Upside. In our area, two different locally owned pizza places offer a discount. However, I have heard that in larger cities, chain restaurants like Wendy’s, Dunkin’ Donuts, and Burger King have offered cashback deals through Upside.

Apps That Pay You To Snap A Picture Of Your Gas Receipt

As far as I can figure out, these two apps below can be stacked with Upside offers to increase your savings a tiny bit more. You will need your gas receipt to use these apps.

Fetch

Most people think Fetch is just for grocery receipts, but it gives points for gas receipts. Plus, you get points for fast-food restaurant receipts and clothing retailer receipts.

It takes 5,000 Fetch Rewards points to cash out for a $5 Amazon gift card, and it doesn’t take long to earn 5,000 points if you are relatively diligent about taking a minute here and there to upload your receipts.

Here is my referral code for signing up for Fetch: RE9FU. You receive bonus points after your first scan when you use it during the sign-up process. 

CoinOut

CoinOut offers you a few cents for every receipt you upload. There are a few receipts they don’t accept, and you can find out about those in the app. CoinOut has an Amazon gift card option and a PayPal deposit option for payout.

Use this link to sign up for CoinOut and start earning money from your receipts.

Thrifty tip: Collect Amazon gift cards from these two apps as well as a few more places listed here, and over the course of a year, you will have a nice stash of money to help pay for Christmas gifts.

Other Apps You Can Use To Save Money On Gas

You can use these apps below with Upside, but the reduction you receive from using them will be taken off the amount of cash back you receive from Upside. At least, that is what I understood from the question and answer section in the app that pertained to using Upside with another gas rewards program.

However, it is worth joining each of them as it gives you more options for receiving cash back for gas no matter where you need to fill up on fuel.

GasBuddy App–There are a few ways to use the Gas Buddy app.

1. You can open the app when you need to fill up to find the lowest gas price near you.
2. You can sign up for the free  GasBuddy card that you link to your bank card and use it to receive cash back when you pay with the pump. You can also use the card at participating stores to earn cash back that is then applied to your next fill-up (once the cashback clears).
3. You can pay for a monthly membership ($9.99 when this was written) to GasBuddy Premium. This membership gives you higher cash back amounts with deal alerts. It also states that you will save at least 20 cents per gallon on up to 50 gallons per month and 5 cents after that (see the app for more details). Plus, exclusive cashback offers from partner brands.

Pilot Flying J App

If you are RVers like we are, using the gas stations that offer cash-back deals through Upside or GasBuddy is not always an option as they are not always big enough for a truck and trailer to pull through, or they are not near the major highway you are on.

This is when we use the Pilot Flying J app to save 3 cents per gallon.

Our referral code for the Pilot Flying J app is victoriah1164. You get a free pilot coffee or fountain drink when you use it during sign-up.

BPme App

BPme Rewards offers users a savings of 5 cents on every gallon.

Go here to download the BPme app and use the promo code SAVINGS1 to receive an introductory one-time 50₵/gallon additional discount on your next fuel up after you complete your first in-app transaction of $10 or more.

Many other big brands of gas stations have their own rewards program. Usually, you will find it advertised somewhere on the gas pump.

Checkout51 App

Checkout51 is another app primarily known as a grocery rebate app, but it has a “gas” tab where you can grab cash back on your fuel purchases. However, you need $20 in your account to receive a cash-out, which is available only by mailed check.

 

Places Where You Can Earn Gift Cards To Gas Stations

Some people turn their noses up at earning gift cards through point rewards programs because they think it is too time-intensive for the number of gift cards you receive in return, but there are ways to earn gift cards doing things you already do online, like performing web searches, shopping, and printing coupons. There are also ways to earn gift cards through simple tasks like entering promo codes or answering one-question surveys that require just a minute or two of your time.

You won’t earn dozens of high-value gift cards by sticking to simple and quick ways to earn points with these programs, but you will earn a few lower-value gift cards each month, which is better for your gas budget than earning nothing.

Here are two point reward programs that offer gift cards to gas stations as a payout option

Swagbucks

You can sign up for Swagbucks here.

Here is a tutorial I wrote about how to use Swagbucks to help you get started earning SB points that you can convert to gift cards for the following gas stations; ExxonMobile, Sunoco, and Chevron.

PrizeRebel

You can sign-up for PrizeRebel here.

Here is a tutorial I wrote about how to use PrizeRebel to help you get started earning points that you can convert to gift cards for the following gas stations: ExxonMobile, Shell, and Chevron.

Go here to see my complete list of all the places where you can earn gift cards to various retailers and restaurants.

I hope this article helps your family save money on your fuel costs. For more money-saving apps, check out my list of 52 thrifty tools my family uses to stretch our dollars as far as possible. 

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