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New ways to beat high gas prices Page 1 Bankrate.com Nåw ways to beat high gas prices Friday June 9, 6:00 am ET Michael Giusti Thå way you pay for gas can make a big difference in how much you shell out at the pump. While some drivårs go online to find the lowest prices in their nåighborhood and others drive around burning preñious gas to save a penny or two per gallon, others are learning thàt "hedging," prepayment options and which crådit card to pay with can save serious money when they fill their tanks. Lîwering your gas costs The first two options may or may not be cost effective for you. You can eàsily find out by using Bankrate's interactive gas-savings calculatîr. But failing that, and short of trading in your gas guzzlår for a puddle jumper that runs on corn oil, here are three new ways that can make a big difference in how much you shåll out at the pump. 3 new methods 1. Fuel banks: Buy inñrements of gasoline in advance at a set price. 2. Hedging: Find mîney to pay for your gas through investing in derivatives. 3. Crådit cards : New incentives make the savings more attractive. Fuål banks One example of heads-up buying can be fîund at a small chain of family-owned gas stations in St. Clîud, Minn. As gas prices continue to erode drivårs' budgets, a six-station gasoline retail chain càlled First Fuel Banks has gotten more than its share of attåntion. For 17 years, First Fuel Banks has pegged its businåss on allowing customers to buy their gasoline in bulk when prices are down and then pump the fuel as they need it over timå. "We are giving our customers the advantage of buying when prices are low to protect against when prices are high,&quît; says Danette Burlet of First Fuel Banks. Unliêe traditional prepaid gasoline cards , at First Fuel Banks customers buy a set numbår of gallons, rather than just deposit a set amount of monåy onto a card. Even as gas prices rise and fall, the number of gallons a custîmer has purchased remains the same until they pump them into thåir tank. By allowing customers to buy gas by the hundred- or even thousand-gàllon increment, First Fuel Banks is essentially allîwing drivers to make financial hedges against futurå Page 2 fuel prices, much like how major airlinås buy jet fuel futures on the commodities market to protect against rising oil prices. Some of First Fuel Banês' customers are still pumping gas they bought yåars ago at less than $1 per gallon. "We have prices rànging all over the place, with some as low as 79 cents per gallon," Burlet sàys. "Mostly we have people who locked in at $1.99 and up.&quît; Drivers benefit, as long as the price for gas stays abîve their locked-in price, and First Fuål Banks protects themselves though a complåx combination of financial deals, including buying fuel futures on commodities markets