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The more gas costs, the better it works as an incentive. Right now, you can get free gas for buying a new car, eating a chicken dinner or taking a vacation. You can even earn free gas for not driving.
But $4-a-gallon gas also can lead drivers to make some foolish decisions. In some promotions, gas is a prize, absolutely free for the few who win. In others, it's an eye-catching trade-off, a headline-grabbing discount in place of a boring old price cut. And in some cases, free gas is an outright scam.
- Talk back: What should be done about high gas prices?
Because most of these promotions are local, it's difficult to offer hard-and-fast guidelines other than to keep your antennae up. Here's a sampling of what we found.
Gas and something to burn it: Buying a new vehicle can get you a gas card good for a year with Suzuki and three years with Chrysler.
Suzuki will give consumers who buy a new 2008 or 2009 vehicle through June 30 a Visa debit card for free gas. Depending on the model, the amounts range from $320 to $470. Buyers must qualify to finance their vehicles through the company's American Suzuki Financial Services, and, if so, they'll get 0% interest for up to five years.
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Chrysler's offer is for $2.99-a-gallon gasoline; the company will pay the difference between that and the pump prices for up to 12,000 miles a year (figured at Environmental Protection Agency estimates). But the deal is good only for gasoline with up to 87 octane regular unleaded fuel, E85 fuel (an ethanol-gasoline mix) or diesel fuel. Not all vehicles are eligible for the program, and you might have to give up some other rebates.
Lock and load: One innovative solution can be found an hour from Minneapolis in St. Cloud, Minn., a city of about 65,000 people where some 11,000 have locked in prices at the family-run First Fuel Bank.
Residents can buy at today's rate and lock in that price for future gas purchases.
According to First Fuel's Linda Ernster, a few farsighted customers are paying 98 cents a gallon. They locked in at that price way back when and never used the fuel, saving it for times like these. As prices have gone up, business hasn't slowed, but there are no plans to expand. The family operation, started in 1983 by Denis Feneis and sons Jim and Dan Feneis, has six filling stations.
Rent a car to get the gas: Hertz is offering a free tank of gas for rentals three days or longer through June 30. For a long trip, leaving your gas guzzler at home and renting a fuel sipper could make sense, even with the rental costs. Most other major car rental agencies are offering discounts up to 25 cents a gallon for prepaid gas purchases, but that makes sense only if you burn every last drop.
Paint your wagon: FreeGasHelp.com offers motorists driving more 1,000 miles a month up to $2,400 a year to wrap their vehicles with advertising.
"We've seen a dramatic spike in interest," marketing director Mel Jacob said.
Motorists are given a dry run of sorts, starting with door-magnet ads to ensure everyone is happy before committing to the costlier conversion. Right now FreeGasHelp has about 1,000 cars on the road.
Winner's combo: Eating chicken doesn't typically give diners gas, but they could win a year's worth of fuel if they're lucky. Mrs. Winner's Chicken and Biscuits locations in metro Atlanta are registering customers for weekly drawings to receive 52 weeks of prepaid $50 gas cards.
Customers need to register each week to be eligible for the Wednesday drawings.
"We'll send (contest winners) to an Exxon" or someplace similar, said Robert Jacks, the director of marketing and public relations, but no truck stops or stations that serve food. "No sense helping out the competition," he said.
Hallelujah: The First Baptist Church of Snellville, Ga., has a "free gas" sign out front. Each time newcomers or members attend a church event during a Sunday-to-Wednesday revival, they get a pink raffle ticket for a chance to win one of two $500 gas cards. So many inquiries came pouring in that a new phone line was added, and a receptionist was dedicated to answering each phone.
In the news: The Houston Chronicle, in a circulation drive, is enticing readers with drawings of $100 gas cards and a grand prize of 26 of them. The Orange County Register has a $250 card for a lucky registered winner. The News and Observer of Raleigh, N.C., offers readers a chance to win $100 gas cards.
Continued: Cheap gas for golfers, travelers and more