Review: BillShrink’s New Gas Price Finder

One of the more interesting tools available to those who wish to save money is BillShrink. Many people are already familiar with BillShrink’s ability to help you compare credit cards and cell phone providers and plans. Today, BillShrink added a feature that allows you to figure out where to get the cheapest gas along your chosen route. This tool can be used to help you plot out your refueling stops on vacation, or help you decide the best place to fill up on your way home from work.

Samir Kothari, one of BillShrink’s founders, talks about the up-to-date and accurate information offered by the new tool, “We get pricing data every four hours, since gas prices can change multiple times during the day. What might have been the best option in the morning may not be the best place to fill up in the afternoon. It may only be a few pennies a gallon, but over a year that can add up.”

Kothari shows me a demonstration of his commute. One of the features of BillShrink’s gas prices comparison is that you can enter your normal fueling station, and your results will be listed according to how much you can save on each fill up if you go someplace else. As with BillShrink’s other tools, the gas prices comparison tool is completely personalizable. You can put in as much information — or as little — as you want. You can include you most frequent destination, set up to receive email alerts and enter information for multiple cars. I like the way the email alerts are set up especially. “If you fill up on Saturdays only,” Kothari points out, “you can set up the alert to only arrive Saturday morning, so that the best gas price is waiting for you when you are ready to go.”

Kothari says that BillShrink is working on a fully mobile version. But, for now, you can get alerts if your mobile has email.

In the end, I really like this tool. I don’t really need it for my local driving, since I go to the lowest-priced gas station in town and receive a discount when I buy groceries. But it is definitely something I will use when we go on trips.