TULSA, Okla. -- Thrifty Car Rental announced that every day through July 31, 2005, the Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group subsidiary will award a prize of a year's worth of free gas in the U.S. It's all part of an effort to drive traffic to thrifty.com.

"The summer travel season is kicking into high gear, and Thrifty wants to get consumers even more revved up about their summer vacation," said Brian Carpenter, vice president of sales, marketing and advertising. "While early indications are that travelers aren't letting high gas prices interfere with their summer vacation plans, we're going to ease the pain for 61 lucky people with a pre-paid gas card good toward a year's supply of gasoline."

No purchase is required to enter the sweepstakes, but winners must be at least 21, a U.S. resident and have a valid U.S. driver's license.

Consumers can enter on the Thrifty Web site. Winners of the 61 daily prizes will be randomly drawn from among all entries received by 5 p.m. CDT that day. Non-winning entries remain eligible for future drawings.

Each daily winner will receive one pre-paid gas card worth $1,800, which represents the average fuel costs for one vehicle yearly. The $1,800 figure is based on the Department of Energy's estimate of an average of 14 gallons of gas per week, filling up 52 weeks per year at approximately $2.50 per gallon.

The American Express "Fill-it-up" card may be used at participating gasoline stations that honor the card. The card expires 12 months after awarded. Entries are limited to one per person. Additional details about the contest are available online at www.thrifty.com.

Thrifty Car Rental is offering a "best rate guarantee" for reservations made on thrifty.com. The company guarantees that the lowest published online rate for Thrifty Car Rental can only be found on Thrifty's own Web site. If customers find a better Thrifty rate anywhere else on the web, the company will match the rate plus take an additional 10% discount off.