Fuel Buying Strategies April 06, 2012, 01:21:57 am Yahoo Message Number: 129665An article in today's newspaper on "pain at pump" reported that big oil, such as Exxon Mobil and Chevron, are getting out of the retail gasoline business. Supermarkets and warehouse stores, such as Costco, are getting into the retail gasoline business. Most retail gas stations are independently owned. They typically set markups on gasoline for 15 or 16 cents per gallon. Their profits are being squeezed by credit card fees. The fees are 1% to 3% of the amount, depending on card, plus 10 cents per transaction. For independent gas stations as gasoline prices go up, their profits go down. A check of Internet sites with gasoline prices and a check of Costco gasoline prices suggests that their prices might be 10 cents per gallon less than the average price. The savings could be as much as 30 or 40 cents per gallon if I were to mistakenly drive into a gas station charging much more than the average price. Many of the Costco stores with gas pumps are near Interstates. Costco reports that 30 percent of the customers buying fuel also shop at the store. I am referring to Costco because the article mentioned Costco by name and no other names. There might be savings and convenience if an RVer can save on gasoline and buy groceries for the same stop. Do RVers plan trips that include planned fuels stops to minimize the cost per gallon? Would anyone care to share their fuel buying strategy?Gerard[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Re: Fuel Buying Strategies Reply #1 – April 06, 2012, 01:41:09 am Yahoo Message Number: 129667As Costco members, we almost always refuel there if possible since the stations are usually convenient and well-laid out and fuel is less expensive. Our other strategy is to use the internet to compare prices in the state we're in vs the next state we're going to. States vary in gasoline taxes, as well as regulations that can effect fuel prices -- it's not unusual to save $0.25 or more per gallon by filling before crossing the state line, or waiting until the other side. /noel/
Re: Fuel Buying Strategies Reply #2 – April 06, 2012, 02:01:02 am Yahoo Message Number: 129668At 10:41 PM 4/5/2012, you wrote:Quote As Costco members, we almost always refuel there if possible since the stations are usually convenient and well-laid out and fuel is less expensive. Our other strategy is to use the internet to compare prices in the state we're in vs the next state we're going to. States vary in gasoline taxes, as well as regulations that can effect fuel prices -- it's not unusual to save $0.25 or more per gallon by filling before crossing the state line, or waiting until the other side. I downloaded the Gas Buddy app for my Droid phone, and use it around town as well as on the road. It's been a big help. We also stick to Costco unless we find something better. Their gas is almost always cheaper than the competition, though we have found Arco stations that match them.Sonsie
Re: Fuel Buying Strategies Reply #3 – April 06, 2012, 07:57:09 am Yahoo Message Number: 129669I like Costco. If I were near one of their stores more than once or twice a year, I'd join. But Costco stores are almost exclusively located in big cities, and big cities are the last places you're likely to find me and my motorhome. I don't even drive through them if I can avoid it. For example, as far as I can tell from Costco's website, their only stores in New Mexico are in Albuquerque. One city in the whole state. Even if I wanted to, it wouldn't be feasible to plan all my trips to pass through the only place in a 500-mile radius that has Costco. In Arizona it's not much better: there are stores in Tucson and in the Phoenix area. The rest of the state is a dead zone, Costco-wise. If Costco stores were as ubiquitous as Walmarts, with one in every two-bit town, I'd buy all my gas there. But as a big-city-only retailer, they're just not located where I can use them.Andy Baird http://www.andybaird.com/travels/
Re: Fuel Buying Strategies Reply #4 – April 06, 2012, 08:32:55 am Yahoo Message Number: 129670I carry a list of fuel taxes by state. When traveling, deciding where to buy fuel probably saves us the most. I also use Gas Buddy, as prices can vary 10 cents or more between towns. In the SE, we have a grocery rewards card that can be used for discounts on fuel purchases. We try to save the fuel rewards for RV trips. We save the most by driving fewer miles. This includes driving around to find the cheapest gas price. I find the fuel burned often exceeds any savings. Even with all of the above, I'm doing good to find savings in the 3-5% range. It's not much. Our most valuable fuel buying strategy is to close my eyes as the pump runs, hoping that out of sight equals out of mind. We pay the tab and enjoy the rest of the trip. I try to be thankful that we have a 9-10 mpg RV instead of a 5-6 mpg rig. Anyone shopping for used RVs this summer could benefit as higher fuel prices continue to push down used RV values. Campgrounds could have a little more elbow room as well.Rich '03 MB in NC
Re: Fuel Buying Strategies Reply #5 – April 06, 2012, 09:34:38 am Yahoo Message Number: 129671We don't. When we're in Spokane during the summer, we'll fill up at Costco IF we're going there to shop; however, the two Costco's in town are inconvenient for us just to go there for fuel. Where we spend the winter, the closest Costco is 120+ miles away. However, in both our winter and our summer abodes, we know where the cheapest fuel is. When we're traveling, we normally travel the blue roads, so rarely are in a town big enough to have a Costco or any grocery store that has it's own gas station.Linda Hylton http://earl-linda.blogspot.com
Re: Fuel Buying Strategies Reply #6 – April 06, 2012, 09:49:34 am Yahoo Message Number: 1296731. If it works on your device, download the free Gas Buddy app. If gives you updated prices near you, near where you are going, along your route or you can ask for the lowest price. Rarely do prices vary in an area but you'd be surprised at the variance along a route or as someone else mentioned, from just crossing the state line. Where we live we have to use reformulated gas, but 10 miles away in the next county they don't. The price difference per gallon? Right now, 16 cents per gallon as of yesterday. 2. If you are a Costco member, apply for the American Express card. No fee. The personal card gives you 3% rebates on gas purchases and 4% if you qualify for the business card. Applies to all gas, not just Costco. I believe the rebate does not apply if you purchase more than 75 gallons at one time or more than $6,000 in fuel in a year. This is better than a branded card that gives rebates only if you buy Mobil or Exxon or Shell or BP.John & Cheryl 1994 22' TK Chug[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Re: Fuel Buying Strategies Reply #7 – April 06, 2012, 10:22:58 am Yahoo Message Number: 129674Quote Do RVers plan trips that include planned fuels stops to minimize the cost per gallon? Would anyone care to share their fuel buying strategy?Gerard Yes, Gerard, on the trip I am on from Denver to the west coast, I research via Gas Buddy cheapest gas prices and buy accordingly. I don't go out of my way but try to find the lowest prices along my route. Costco is usually best; the large truck stop chains right behind. Chris (heading to NagCo for a new window and then a visit to the Mothership today)
Re: Fuel Buying Strategies Reply #8 – April 06, 2012, 10:26:41 am Yahoo Message Number: 129675Quote"...If Costco stores were as ubiquitous as Walmarts, with one in every two-bit town, I'd buy all my gas there..."Andy Baird http://www.andybaird.com/travels/ I'm surprised Walmart has not started selling gas.Chris
Re: Fuel Buying Strategies Reply #9 – April 06, 2012, 10:37:35 am Yahoo Message Number: 129676Walmart does sell gas in many locations. My problem is that there islands are cramped and hard to get into and out of if at all.Bob in FL__ From: chorst_2000 chorst_2000@...> To: lifewithalazydazerv@yahoogroups.com Sent: Friday, April 6, 2012 10:26 AM Subject: [LD] Re: Fuel Buying StrategiesQuote"...If Costco stores were as ubiquitous as Walmarts, with one in every two-bit town, I'd buy all my gas there..."Andy Baird http://www.andybaird.com/travels/ I'm surprised Walmart has not started selling gas.Chris[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Re: Fuel Buying Strategies Reply #10 – April 06, 2012, 10:43:18 am Yahoo Message Number: 129677We more than like Costco. We wouldn't live where there was none. What you said is generally true, but in the west, we can travel from Costco to Costco all the way to Canada from Arizona. Doesn't matter if we go up I-15 through Vegas, Salt Lake Boise, etc., or up I-5 through California or Vegas to Reno, and cut across to I-5 just below Oregon. BTW, our local Costco is in Prescott Arizona, a town of 35,000.I agree that camping out in the boonies is a whole different matter.If you happen to use Gas Buddy in the Prescott area, I am one of the regular participants. We input prices about 3 times a week. Sort of a game with my wife and I. Regular at our Prescott Costco is currently $3.81. Also, don't forget the Sam's Clubs. They generally keep their prices the same or better than Costco.Dick
Re: Fuel Buying Strategies Reply #11 – April 06, 2012, 10:48:31 am Yahoo Message Number: 129678Walmart does sell gas in many locations, and don't forget Sam's Club. They are owned by Walmart, and most of them sell gas.Dick
Re: Fuel Buying Strategies Reply #12 – April 06, 2012, 10:56:59 am Yahoo Message Number: 129679"Do RVers plan trips that include planned fuels stops to minimize the cost per gallon?"QuoteGerard If you're following this thread it would seem that 'Some dew & some don't' My strategy is to never allow the little red pointer to reach the big "E". As the man said; "If you're going to dance you've got to pay the fiddler."Now if you live in Wyoming, don't leave home without it!Steve S. Lazy Bones & Jiggs
Re: Fuel Buying Strategies Reply #13 – April 06, 2012, 11:05:52 am Yahoo Message Number: 129680wrote: Do RVers plan trips that include planned fuels stops to minimize the cost per gallon?� Would anyone care to share their fuel buying strategy---- My "fuel-buying strategies" are pretty straightforward: when the rig needs fuel, I get what's available where I am. If I'm traveling a familiar route for a long distance, I *may* plan fuel stops ahead of the trip, but I won't chase around using fuel to find the least expensive fill-up, *particularly* if a station has inconvenient access and/or long lines. A few basic "gas rules" that have worked well for me: Drive on the top half of the tank; low fuel levels = desperation = less choice. Gas stations at first exit off a freeway to a town of any size *usually* have the highest prices; try another exit or the town's main drag. Fuel costs in both isolated, "only game in town" spots, the first area of human habitation along a long stretch of highway, and popular tourist areas are usually at "gouge levels"; good examples are Truckee, Needles, and Bridgeport (CA). Be savvy and prudent about getting the best fuel deals, of course, but accept that driving a large, heavy vehicle is *not cheap*; it costs what it costs - drive it or park it.As ever, YMMV.Joan
Re: Fuel Buying Strategies Reply #14 – April 06, 2012, 11:42:13 am Yahoo Message Number: 129682We have used Gas Buddy for the last several years. Last year I discovered this site. http://fuelmeup.com/ It isn't as user friendly but I have found that it often has more stations reported than Gas Buddy, especially in small towns.Jim http://littleadventures-jg.blogspot.com/
Fuel Buying Strategies Reply #15 – April 06, 2012, 11:52:13 am Yahoo Message Number: 129683I haven't seen any reference to the Pilot/Flying J fuel discount programs. For several years I have used their "RV Frequent Fueler Advantage Card" for a small-per-gallon discount at the pump. As a Good Sam member, last Fall I was sent a invitation to apply for Pilot/FJ Good Sam RV Plus charge card that offered even more discounts on all the Pilot/FJ services. This included discounts on the dump station, propane, and fuel. The main requirement is that the charges on the card be auto debited monthly to your bank account for the full monthly charge. No other fees. The amount of fuel discount was proportional to the level of GS membership. The highest discount goes to the "Lifetime Members" of GS. I just received my card last month and used it at the Flying J just north of Tampa last week in our car and as a charter GS Lifetime member got a $.06/gal. discount. I can live with that! MikeMore info: Good Sam Blog – News and Tips from the leading RV Camping AuthorityQuoteDo RVers plan trips that include planned fuels stops to minimize the cost per gallon? Would anyone care to share their fuel buying strategy?Gerard[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Re: Fuel Buying Strategies Reply #16 – April 06, 2012, 12:01:13 pm Yahoo Message Number: 129684Quote Do RVers plan trips that include planned fuels stops to minimize the cost per gallon? Would anyone care to share their fuel buying strategy? We do. We travel between Oregon and Arizona every year, and we know where all the Costcos are along whatever route we are taking. Many of them are on the fringes of big cities, not in town, and many are close to the freeway. We have the Executive membership, so we get the three cents per gallon discount. We also use Fred Meyer when Costco is not available. We live about 45 minutes from the nearest Costco with a gas station, but only minutes from a Fred Meyer. Since we do most of our shopping at Fred Meyer we get a 10 cent per gallon discount, which usually makes their price lower than Costco. I also use Gas Buddy when in an unfamiliar area to find the lowest price that is closest to where I am. Since gas in California is more expensive than in neighboring states, I always plan to arrive with a full tank and leave with enough gas to reach the nearest gas station in the next state. I know exactly where these stations are and how much gas I need to get there. All that being said, we don't let gas prices keep us from traveling. As long as we can afford to put gas in the tank, we will keep traveling.Truly, YMMV.--Al in Scappoose --2002 26.5 MB
Re: Fuel Buying Strategies Reply #17 – April 06, 2012, 12:15:37 pm Yahoo Message Number: 129685All, I haven't seen mentioned the various grocery store programs in the fuel strategies discussion. Everyone buys groceries. We usually buy at Safeway and get fuel discounts up to $1.00 per gallon off the pump prices. You can only get this on 30 gallons at a time but it's a nice program since everyone buys groceries anyway. You get $.10 off per gallon for each $100 in groceries you buy. I know this program is also available at all Kroger associated grocery stores as well.Jay and Patsy in Pilgrim__
Re: Fuel Buying Strategies Reply #18 – April 06, 2012, 12:30:36 pm Yahoo Message Number: 129686Hi Gerard,Interesting article. My strategy is twofold. We use two credit cards that give back three percent cash rewards, one has a quarterly limit and the other has an annual limit. One is Costco's AmEx and the other is BoA's Visa. My second strategy is GasBuddy. I use the app on my Droid but if someone does not have a smart phone, they can look up prices on GasBuddy's web site. I do my part for the free app and update prices as I see them when I drive by stations. if I am the passenger, of course. GasBuddy shows almost always that Costco and Valero is the cheapest by at least a couple cents.Answering your other question, we do go a little out of our way if need be to get a good deal while we are traveling. Driving a couple miles to get the best deal when you are filling an RV tank and possibly the toad's tank too makes a difference. Just pulling off the highway when a person sees a Chevron or whatever can cost that person a lot of extra dollars.We are soon going to be retiring and going fulltime RVing and gas prices will be even more important to our lives. We do plan on stopping and staying places for a couple weeks at a time but we will be putting some miles on the rig as we work our way around the lower states for the winter and then next summer, up to Alaska.Denise148 days until 'someday' gets here~~~~From: A check of Internet sites with gasoline prices and a check of Costco gasoline prices suggests that their prices might be 10 cents per gallon less than the average price. The savings could be as much as 30 or 40 cents per gallon if I were to mistakenly drive into a gas station charging much more than the average price. Many of the Costco stores with gas pumps are near Interstates. Costco reports that 30 percent of the customers buying fuel also shop at the store. I am referring to Costco because the article mentioned Costco by name and no other names. There might be savings and convenience if an RVer can save on gasoline and buy groceries for the same stop. Do RVers plan trips that include planned fuels stops to minimize the cost per gallon? Would anyone care to share their fuel buying strategy?Gerard[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Re: Fuel Buying Strategies Reply #19 – April 06, 2012, 12:45:26 pm Yahoo Message Number: 129687The discount at Costco is 3% or 4% depending upon your membership type. With the cost here at 3.819 at the pump, we are only paying $3.704 for an 11-1/2 cent discount. That trumps most other discount programs. And with the Costco AMEX card, you can get your gas anywhere and still get the discount. Of course you still have the problem of finding a Costco where you are when you need gas.Dick
Re: Fuel Buying Strategies Reply #20 – April 06, 2012, 12:58:11 pm Yahoo Message Number: 129688Despite being lifetime members of Good Sam, we never received an invitation for the Flying J/Pilot charge card. I've thought about calling Good Sam, but it wouldn't make much difference to us anyway, since we rarely used the Flying J discount card we have since, as I've mentioned, we travel mainly the blue roads where there are no Flying J's (or Costco's, or Fred Meyers, or Safeway's, etc.). We're currently in Delta, UT and there is an for one of the local grocery stores saying if you buy groceries there, you can receive a discount at the gas station a few blocks down the road. I have no idea as of yet whether you have to buy a certain dollar amount of groceries, have their loyalty card, or how much per gallon you get off (and if it applies only to gas rather than diesel). Guess we'll find out while we're here since we will be doing some grocery shopping. However, this is a rare instance when we're traveling that we run into these kinds of deals (we're not often in or near towns that even have a Wal-Mart). (Another reason we rarely use the grocery store fuel stations, including Costco's, is that few of them carry diesel).Linda Hylton http://earl-linda.blogspot.com
Re: Fuel Buying Strategies Reply #21 – April 06, 2012, 01:40:57 pm Yahoo Message Number: 129689I have a tactic, not so much a strategy. When the needle starts to ask for a fill-up, we watch the stations along the way to see the prevailing price. That won't find us a cheap station, but helps us skip the spendiest ones.
Re: Fuel Buying Strategies Reply #22 – April 06, 2012, 02:33:36 pm Yahoo Message Number: 129690I didn't see anybody mention that GasBuddy allows you to participate in their weekly drawings for a $250 gas card.If you're using their application you can use the "win gas" button to enter N tickets depending on how many points you have for entering gas prices. Anyway, just an FYI in case you're not aware of that feature.One of these days, perhaps GasBuddy will be integrated with the iPhone Waze app which would be awesome -- allowing you to have a fully-featured navigation app with fuel prices too..[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Re: Fuel Buying Strategies Reply #23 – April 06, 2012, 05:24:40 pm Yahoo Message Number: 129693GasBuddy does connect to Google maps' navigation. I do usually look up the station's address on the GPS because the Droid's navigation does wear down the battery fast.Denise-=-=-=-One of these days, perhaps GasBuddy will be integrated with the iPhone Waze app which would be awesome -- allowing you to have a fully-featured navigation app with fuel prices too..[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Re: Fuel Buying Strategies Reply #24 – April 06, 2012, 06:54:07 pm Yahoo Message Number: 129696At 02:24 PM 4/6/2012, you wrote:QuoteGasBuddy does connect to Google maps' navigation. I do usually look up the station's address on the GPS because the Droid's navigation does wear down the battery fast. When I'm using the navigation feature on my Droid, I plug it in to the 12V outlet under the front dash (in my Prius). I thin the cord works in a cigarette lighter as well. It works great to keep the battery charged up when I'm using the navigator.Sonsie
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