If you couldn't score a cheap flight out of town to celebrate the long weekend, there's hope yet! When you're not grilling burgers or sipping cocktails poolside, you could be saving big on numerous penny auction sites having Memorial Day sales. There are likely to be a lot of penny auction specials out there this weekend--consider stepping out of the sun to take advantage of some air conditioning and a limited time offer.

DealDash bids will cost $0.17 this weekend. In addition, no new bidders can jump in an auction after it reaches $2.00. They don't specify when this sale will end, so DealDash fans may want to capitalize "soon".

HappyBidDay is offering a very lengthy sale that began May 23rd and will end on Tuesday May 28th, 2013 at 3:00 pm Eastern. Every auction today, May 24th, is a "Bid Back Auction"--a portion of bids are returned to winners. Several "Happy Hour - Happy Auctions" (free-to-bid auctions) will be hosted on the site through May 27th from 4:00-6:00 pm Eastern. They'll be offering site-wide bid savings: surprisingly, upon log-in, users will automatically receive 15 free bids just for showing up. "Special Bid Packs" will have prices ranging from $0.20 to $0.10 per bid (the larger the bid purchase, the lower the price per bid will be). The site will pay for all shipping costs for auction winners on May 25th. May 27th, all "Capped Auctions" will close under $5.00. Be careful about time zone differences and end dates on these offers--they are all unique!

TheBidSpot will be adding 75% more bids to any bid package purchased during their Memorial Day Sale. On Monday May 27th, all auctions will be for gift cards from major retailers. The site was not clear as to when their sale would end on their home page.

OrangeBidz is providing similar savings on bids this weekend. Most packages include $0.13 bids, but if you invest in the largest big package, bids will only cost $0.12 each. These low prices are especially exciting because they come with risk free bidding. Users will get their bids back whether they win or lose on all their purchased bids.

Memorial Day Sale take-away tips:

1) Always do the calculations--make sure that you aren't spending more than you want on a bid pack that uses good marketing to make it look like the best deal. It may not be the best deal for you.

2) Check the times and dates on every offer so you don't accidentally miss out on an auction, deal, or special you were looking forward to. Time zones matter!

3) These sales could last a smart spender a long time--consider saving some of your bid stock for future auctions when there's no promotional bid discount available.

Summer is upon us and so are rising gas prices. Today the AAA Daily Fuel Gauge Report calculated the average gas cost in the United States to be up to $3.66 per gallon. A month ago, they reported the national average to be $3.52--a dismal forecast for commuters and truckers. To beat the heat, GasCardAuctions.com, regarded as Gas Club of America, has changed a few of its website features to help users win more and put a little extra gas money in their car jars.

There used to be a win limit, preventing power bidders from monopolizing every auction, that restricted customers to 1 auction win a week. This kind of limitation most certainly has a range of pros and cons, and the site continues to operate using win limits, but they have been significantly raised. Customers are now allowed 1 win per day, 2 wins per week, and 6 wins per month.

Auctions labeled for beginners have now been made risk free, such that every player's bids will be returned whether they win or lose. Now every beginner has luck on their side.

Gas Club of America is also offering a bid sale to encourage auction activity: 50% more bids will be added to bid packages purchased before Saturday, May 25th, 2013. For example, purchasing a pack of 400 bids will yield 600 total. The value of 400 bids on the site is $200 ($0.50 per bid at this time), but the sale price of bids purchased in any amount during this promotion translates to $0.33 each.

Memberships have changed and now come with some bonuses. Becoming a Gold Member will cost $99.95 (plus 100 bids and 25 retail cards). Platinum Membership has been added and will cost a user $499.95 for which they will receive 400 bids and $300 in retail cards. For a detailed breakdown of membership options, visit their membership page at http://www.gascardauctions.com/Membership_Benefits.php

PennyGrab.com, like many other pay-per-bid sites, has popularized rewarding winners with "bonus plays", distinguished by shiny icons attached to auction items. Users can redeem them for chances to play digital games that generally earn the player a few extra bids. However, PennyGrab has introduced a new, equally interesting, way to get free credits: product surveys. They don't necessarily have anything to do with penny auctions, but they sure can add up to significant savings.

Each survey is worth a different amount of promo credits and the options are likely to change with time, but as of yesterday, the highest paying opportunity was worth 38 credits. That is equal to a payout of $28.50 to participating users.

Best of all, PennyGrab has posted more than just surveys in exchange for free bids. Users can sign up for a variety of newsletters, mailing lists, free trials, and clubs. Looking at the site today, for example, a user could choose to sign up for an email newsletter full of recipes from Betty Crocker, worth 1 promo credit that would instantly go to the user's account. For another credit, a user could register for a print-out coupon for %15 savings at Famous Footwear. A 7-day free trial of Surf Safe software would grant a whopping 20 promo credits.

For those with overflowing inboxes, several offers were available for free product samples that are sent directly to your home. By providing a name and mailing address, a user could receive samples from big-name manufacturers in the mail in addition to free bids. In a "free spring sample" offer, a user could earn 4 credits and receive samples of Eucerin lotion, Yogi tea bags, vitamin supplements, and more. Say a bidder dedicated one hour to all these aforementioned offers; they would have their next dinner party planned and a stylish pair of new kicks for the occasion, extra computer security, soft hands and feet, boosted immunity, and be 26 bids closer to their next penny auction win.

A key shortcoming of "bonus plays" is that the amount of bids you earn is typically dependent on how well you play the game; higher scores earn a player more bids than low scores. When approaching these promotional surveys and offers, their worth in bids is specifically stated and all registered users are eligible without having won any auctions. On the list of special offers are a variety of free game downloads that could be worth 5 credits once installed. Have your game and play it, too.

Some users will not qualify for certain surveys based on basic information they require, however PennyGrab will reward your account with a free bid credit even if you aren't a match for the survey. Gaining at least one extra bid is definite, simply for trying to participate.

To find these opportunities, registered PennyGrab users can sign-in, click the "My Account" button, click the "Items Won" tab, and follow the link to "Earn easy Promo Credits by completing product surveys and special offers".