Saving on fuel

[mikele3]

I have a motorbike.
The other day, I reviewed my spendings in 2021 and saw that gas amounted for about 65.000yen and I intend to use the bike more in 2022...

I was wondering if anybody know if there are great advantages on paying for fuel using something like an ENEOS credit card or if there are other strategies people would use to optimize this expense (I can only think of a RAKUTEN card to make point to spend in RAKUTEN securities? ... until now I have been using a JAL card to earn a little miles)

[Wales4rugbyWC23]

I bought a Toyota hybrid in April and I would say there is 15/20% saving on my weekly gasoline bill compared to what I used to pay for my previous normal gasoline car. They both had the same engine size.

Hybrids are so smooth to drive, it is such a contrast to normal gasoline cars. I really have a shock when I sometimes have to drive my wife's car- all bumpy and jumpy. It is even worse in the UK when you go back and have to hire a diesel car- like driving a tractor again, sooner we get rid of those super polluters the better.

[zeroshiki]

I have a motorbike.
The other day, I reviewed my spendings in 2021 and saw that gas amounted for about 65.000yen and I intend to use the bike more in 2022...

I was wondering if anybody know if there are great advantages on paying for fuel using something like an ENEOS credit card or if there are other strategies people would use to optimize this expense (I can only think of a RAKUTEN card to make point to spend in RAKUTEN securities? ... until now I have been using a JAL card to earn a little miles)

I don't own a car but I'm very interested in stuff like this and from what I've researched, there are 2 ways that are most efficient and least effort.

1. Rakuten Card - ENEOS is a partner with them so any usage of the Rakuten Card gets you 1.5x points automatically.
2. ENEOS C - Depending on how much you've used the card (whether on ENEOS or not doesn't matter) you can get upto 7 yen per liter cashback.

I'd just do Rakuten if you already have it since maintaining a separate credit card just for gas seems like too much work.

[TBS]

This website has a map with up to date gas stand prices - https://gogo.gs/map/. Useful for finding the cheapest stands in your area. They do an Android/iPhone app as well. The price differences are generally only a few yen, however, so often I find it's not worth the time to drive to a cheaper, less convenient stand just to save ~100 yen.

Using the members schemes and collecting points as @zeroshiki said is a good way to offset the higher costs of Eneos/Shell stands compared to the cheaper stands like JA.

Other tips are to avoid the expensive Expressway PA stands and the older, small, they fill on your behalf stands which are again expensive.

[mikele3]

1. Rakuten Card - ENEOS is a partner with them so any usage of the Rakuten Card gets you 1.5x points automatically.
2. ENEOS C - Depending on how much you've used the card (whether on ENEOS or not doesn't matter) you can get upto 7 yen per liter cashback.

I'd just do Rakuten if you already have it since maintaining a separate credit card just for gas seems like too much work.

Thanks for the insight!

I do not have a Rakuten card ... (yet?) My wife use Rakuten quite enough, she has a card and she loves to use it.
I am looking for an excuse to get one though ... gas alone might not be enough.

All considered I think I will try to get a ENEOS card... the idea of cashback offsetting some of the costs as a set and forget deal is probably best for me.
I saw they have an iOS app .. if I can use it from my iPhone wallet then it would be the absolute winner.

This website has a map with up to date gas stand prices - https://gogo.gs/map/. Useful for finding the cheapest stands in your area. They do an Android/iPhone app as well. The price differences are generally only a few yen, however, so often I find it's not worth the time to drive to a cheaper, less convenient stand just to save ~100 yen.

Thanks! That was quite interesting to look at! I could confirm the gas stations nearest to where I live.
I am trying to pay attention to gas prices, but truth be told, I always end filling up at the same three gas stations near home (before parking) and my other two usual destinations (before driving back). ... I am a creature of habit

[Matt_Black]

First of all, hello fellow rider, Japan is an awesome country to explore on two wheels...

I tend do drive/ ride between 15-20k km a year and this is what I do:
- Avoid filling up the tank at highway stations, where the prices are more expensive.
- Make filling the tank a part of my return journey; saves me time when I need to use the car/ bike next and good for emergencies.
- Have EneKey for Eneos and EasyPay for Shell, get some money off and don't need to remove my gloves when on a bike.
- Do not go out of my way to find a cheap station, it's not worth it considering the fuel tank size.

This is not what you are asking, but doing some of the car/ bike maintenance is where you can save a lot. User Shanken is another one. Let me know if you are interested in more details, as I don't want to hijack this thread.

[mikele3]

First of all, hello fellow rider, Japan is an awesome country to explore on two wheels...

I tend do drive/ ride between 15-20k km a year

Hello there!
That's way more than I do ... I work too many hours/days .. I shell change that this year.

and this is what I do:
- Avoid filling up the tank at highway stations, where the prices are more expensive.
- Make filling the tank a part of my return journey; saves me time when I need to use the car/ bike next and good for emergencies.
- Have EneKey for Eneos and EasyPay for Shell, get some money off and don't need to remove my gloves when on a bike.
- Do not go out of my way to find a cheap station, it's not worth it considering the fuel tank size.

I do the #1,2,4 ...
EneKey and EasyPay looks very interesting! I'll look into that tonight, I found their respective websites.
I had no idea those existed, even better than paying through the phone, much easier.

This is not what you are asking, but doing some of the car/ bike maintenance is where you can save a lot. User Shanken is another one. Let me know if you are interested in more details, as I don't want to hijack this thread.

I know... I have to admit I just go to the store where I bought mine for maintenance and shaken.
There are a couple of reasons for that : #1 no time, #2 I feel like I am fixing everything myself at work and at home all the time (light DIY burnout), #3 I lack experience and I feel it is safe to let the pro doing it.
to summarize : I am enjoying the motorbike experience as possibly the only carefree part of my life other than the money of course, but that was budgeted in when I decided to own one.

[JimNasium]

I don’t have a vehicle, but I’ve noticed the gasoline prices at Costco are constantly cheaper than other gas stations. If you have a membership anyways, and are fairly close I would say it’s the best deal around.

[pfdsa]

Like JimNasium said, Costco has cheap fuel (gasoline, diesel and kerosene). Didn't check the gasoline prices, but yesterday Diesel was 118 yen per liter, while in the other gas stations is around 140 yen. That's 22 yen cheaper, and filling up 60 liters at that price does make a difference at the end of the month. Maybe not so important on a small tank, but still could be a good option if you live close to Costco.

Regarding ENEOS, even if you don't get their credit card, it pays to use the ENEOS T-card. With the ENEOS T-card the gasoline gets a little bit cheaper, and also accumulates a few t-points. If I'm not wrong you have to pay in cash to get the discount though.

[mikele3]

Regarding ENEOS, even if you don't get their credit card, it pays to use the ENEOS T-card. With the ENEOS T-card the gasoline gets a little bit cheaper, and also accumulates a few t-points. If I'm not wrong you have to pay in cash to get the discount though.

Thanks I'll look into those as well... even though, for a motorbike I think it will be hard to beat the convenience of using a keychain dangle to pay.