Apr 21, 2026
If you're looking for some relief at the pumps, you may be waiting a while, as the national average now hovers around $4.52 a gallon.
Some experts say that drivers will continue to see higher gas prices (1) until the war in Iran is fully resolved — and any oil infrastructure damaged during its course is fully repaired.
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With the Strait of Hormuz remaining closed, gas prices went up more than 30 cents a gallon in the last week of April (2) and are the highest they’ve been since July 2022, according to AAA. Some lawmakers in Congress have proposed eliminating the federal gas tax to help lower the price at the pump, according to The Washington Post (3). However, this is not guaranteed to bring relief as gas stations may not offer the savings to consumers and the price of gas could continue to rise — the tax is just 18.3 cents per gallon on regular gasoline.
Thankfully, there are deals to be had, right now, for warehouse club members — and the savings can be as much as 34 cents on the gallon (5).
Membership has its perks
As MarketWatch notes (6), citing a Bank of America Institute (7) report aptly called "The madness of March," Americans spent 16.5% more on gas in March than in February, when the war in Iran began driving up prices.
On average, gas accounts for 3.1% of monthly household spending, according to the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditure Survey (8), with American families forking out about $201 each month to gas up in 2024.
Add a 16.5% price hike, and that increases the cost by about $33 a month, or $396 a year, which can easily start to eat into a family's budget. For example, that's equivalent to a quarter of what the average household spends on milk, cheese and produce ($1,584) each year.
But, households who have warehouse club memberships, which can already help knock as much as 20% off average grocery (9) prices, can also save the most on gas.
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When MarketWatch recently went looking for the cheapest gas prices (10), the three big membership clubs topped the list. According to data supplied to the news outlet by the Oil Price Information Service (11), compared to the national price per gallon:
- Costco was 34 cents less.
- Sam's Club was 26 cents less.
- BJ's Wholesale Club was 26 cents less.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration reports that Americans used about 136.72 billion gallons of gasoline in 2025, (12) divided by the number of licensed drivers, about 242.29 million, (13) which works out to roughly 564 gallons per driver. That could mean savings of roughly $146 to $191, per household driver, based on the discounts above.
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Does it pay to belong?
The potential gas savings do come at a cost, however, by way of annual memberships. For Costco, that starts at $65 (14), for BJ's it starts at $60 (15) while it's a flat $50 (16) for Sam's Club members. Based on the math above, the savings on gas would more than cover any one of those annual fees. But that's assuming you fill up at those warehouse gas pumps more often than not — and that your gas consumption is close to the national average.
If you're already a member, it's worth trying to time fillups with your grocery getting as much as possible to maximize a benefit you're already paying for. That may get easier for Costco members, as the company plans to open stand-alone gas stations, the first of which is reported to open in Mission Viejo, California (17) later this year.
Of course, simply signing up for free to GasBuddy (18) can also help you save at the pump, 3 cents to 5 cents per gallon, says the company (more if you're willing to become a paying member). And if you already pay for AAA, don't forget that members can use Fuel Finder (19) to compare gas prices near them, and taking the time to do so, as prices stay stubbornly above $4 a gallon, is certainly worth it right now — and for the foreseeable future.
Article Sources
We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our ethics and guidelines.
News-Journal Online (1); NPR (2); The Washington Post (3); MarketWatch (5),(6),(10); Bank of America Institute (7); U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (8); Consumer Reports (9); Oil Price Information Service (11); U.S. Energy Information Administration (12); Hedges & Company (13); Costco (14); BJ's Wholesale Club (15); Sam's Club (16); C-Store Dive (17); GasBuddy (18); AAA (19)
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Tara Losinski is an associate editor for Moneywise.
