BP gas pump horror!

[MarkM66]

Ok, then why when I click on "Reward detail" it states this?

Rewards Program Details

With your BP Visa® card you earn a 5% rebate on all BP purchases, 2% rebates on eligible Travel & Dining and 1% on all other eligible purchases.

There’s no limit to the amount of rebates you can earn! Redeem for your choice of rebates as soon as your rebate balance reaches only $25. Choose from a BP Gift Card, a check made payable to you or a check donation to The Conservation Fund — a top-rated environmental charity.

Use your BP Visa card to pay for purchases at millions of locations around the world - anywhere you see the Visa® logo and watch your rebates add up fast.

I use my card all the time, I think I would know if I had to change cards.

And my statement clearly shows my 5%. But hey, if you want to think I'm a liar, so be it.

 

[volk06]

Quik trip in the des Moines area uses BP fuel and that doesn't get delivered in a BP tanker... But rather a no name tanker or a Quik trip tanker.

 

[fdcg27]

Once you've actually taken an engine apart, you'll see that intake valves are usually quite clean, without regard to the fuel used.
To say that fuel from Europe or Japan "burns cleaner" is silly on the face of it.
We drive Japanese and Euro cars, and generally have over the years.
They do just fine on the least costly fuel I can find that meets their octane requirements.
An annual dose of a fuel system cleaner containing PEA is all that any car should require, and almost all cars do just fine without even that.
"Top tier" is no more than a marketing ploy, and it could not exist without the coopoeration of the gasoline marketers.
The automakers could not have established this little sham by themselves.

 

[friendly_jacek]

Originally Posted By: MarkM66
Ok, then why when I click on "Reward detail" it states this?

Rewards Program Details

With your BP Visa® card you earn a 5% rebate on all BP purchases, 2% rebates on eligible Travel & Dining and 1% on all other eligible purchases.

There’s no limit to the amount of rebates you can earn! Redeem for your choice of rebates as soon as your rebate balance reaches only $25. Choose from a BP Gift Card, a check made payable to you or a check donation to The Conservation Fund — a top-rated environmental charity.

Use your BP Visa card to pay for purchases at millions of locations around the world - anywhere you see the Visa® logo and watch your rebates add up fast.

I use my card all the time, I think I would know if I had to change cards.

And my statement clearly shows my 5%. But hey, if you want to think I'm a liar, so be it.


That ended in the end of March IIRC.

 

[Hermann]

It ended March 3,2012. You now get a 1.5% rebate if I understood the propoganda that they sent. I can get 3% off with a B of A card.

 

[MarkM66]

Originally Posted By: friendly_jacek
Originally Posted By: MarkM66
Ok, then why when I click on "Reward detail" it states this?

Rewards Program Details

With your BP Visa® card you earn a 5% rebate on all BP purchases, 2% rebates on eligible Travel & Dining and 1% on all other eligible purchases.

There’s no limit to the amount of rebates you can earn! Redeem for your choice of rebates as soon as your rebate balance reaches only $25. Choose from a BP Gift Card, a check made payable to you or a check donation to The Conservation Fund — a top-rated environmental charity.

Use your BP Visa card to pay for purchases at millions of locations around the world - anywhere you see the Visa® logo and watch your rebates add up fast.

I use my card all the time, I think I would know if I had to change cards.

And my statement clearly shows my 5%. But hey, if you want to think I'm a liar, so be it.


That ended in the end of March IIRC.


What? I just copied that off my account. I'M STILL GETTING THE 5%! Why would I make this up?

I even just emailed my card. They said that change effected the BP Pump reward card, and not my BP Visa Rewards. Email from my card: "your card will not be affected as the changes are made to the BP Pump rewards."

Maybe at one time there were two different card.

 

[Sayjac]

^^^^^Lucky you. OT They changed my Chase BP Visa Rewards (not Pump Rewards) over to the Visa BP Pump Rewards Program beginning March. Seeee yaahhh! Like the Shell card before it, put the card away and not looking back unless they reinstate the 5% on gas, not likely.

Used my Chase Freedom till the end of March which was giving 5% cash back on gas for the quarter. Applied for and now using PenFed Platinum Rewards giving 25k bonus points for on first 1k of use and 5% back on gas, 3% on supermarket/drugs stores, 1% all others.

Suspect it's just a matter of time before all BP cards go to the Pump Rewards program.

 

[Bamaro]

Originally Posted By: fdcg27
Once you've actually taken an engine apart, you'll see that intake valves are usually quite clean, without regard to the fuel used.
To say that fuel from Europe or Japan "burns cleaner" is silly on the face of it.
We drive Japanese and Euro cars, and generally have over the years.
They do just fine on the least costly fuel I can find that meets their octane requirements.
An annual dose of a fuel system cleaner containing PEA is all that any car should require, and almost all cars do just fine without even that.
"Top tier" is no more than a marketing ploy, and it could not exist without the coopoeration of the gasoline marketers.
The automakers could not have established this little sham by themselves.

It is NOT a marketing ploy, it is a set of detergentcy standards to keep engines running cleaner longer.
When and where is the last time you saw or heard Top Tier marketed? Ask 20 people what Top Tier is and you will be lucky to find one who can answer.

 

[Garak]

Originally Posted By: Bamaro
Ask 20 people what Top Tier is and you will be lucky to find one who can answer.


And the "one" will be from here or a gas station owner.

I never heard of it until it was mentioned here. The only other places I've heard it mentioned (or heard of it being mentioned) are in Popular Mechanics and certain owner's manuals. There's no indication on any of the Top Tier pumps I use. Any mention of Top Tier on the oil companies websites is absolutely buried, too.

If it's just a marketing ploy, it's a dismal failure.

 

[NismoMax80]

lol I was confused how some were bashing Top Tier as marketing. Never seen it advertised on TV or at the pump. Shell Nitrogen is heavily advertised, just hope it does something. Regardless it's the only Top Tier near me and at the same/lower price.

Every time cards reduce their gas cash back I drop them and get the next best one.

 

[fdcg27]

Oh, okay.
Not a marketing ploy at all.
'Course not.
How silly of me to think that.
Just because it hasn't been a very sucessful marketing ploy doesn't make it any less one.

 

[Garak]

Originally Posted By: fdcg27
Just because it hasn't been a very sucessful marketing ploy doesn't make it any less one.


Where have you seen it marketed, though? Shell, as already pointed out, is much more interested in touting their nitrogen enriched cleanliness than they are their Top Tier certification. Petro-Canada and Esso bury their Top Tier mention on their websites. The only way I could find it was using their wesbites' search engines.

They certainly don't mention it on the pumps, nor use it in their ads to distinguish themselves from their competitors.

 

[fdcg27]

I haven't.
However, from the viewpoint of the branded gasoline retailers, it serves no other purpose.
They are certainly not doing any testing or certification out of the goodness of their hearts, nor are they offering a spec additive package in their fuels just to be good corporate citizens.
Or am I just too cynical?

 

[tommygunn]

Shell pulled a lot of money out of alternative fuel research and dumped it into marketing, this was right around when nitrogen enriched gasoline came out. Shells position is people either want the cheapest gas or whatever is "best" for their car, so hence the whole shtick with nitrogen, even though I agree with none of it.

As for Top Tier its like buying Dexos licensed oil. Is it better or not? Who knows; most would say most oils easily meet Dexos anyhow, some exceed it, some far exceed it and carry no licensing. Top Tier is a nameplate guarantee of "something" though, but I certainly wouldn't pay extra for it, especially when all Top Tier seems to be is "some automakers set these standards that you may or may not already meet, and they recommend following them to their customers, so pay us several thousands of dollars to carry Top Tier labels on your pumps".

Clearly it works anyhow, it obviously sways at least a few people online here on BITOG to be absolutely fanatical about how much better it has to be.

 

[antiqueshell]

Originally Posted By: fdcg27
I haven't.
However, from the viewpoint of the branded gasoline retailers, it serves no other purpose.
They are certainly not doing any testing or certification out of the goodness of their hearts, nor are they offering a spec additive package in their fuels just to be good corporate citizens.
Or am I just too cynical?


Up until recenly Top Tier was a "good faith" program, now however they are going to randomly sample all participants.

Whether there is some marketing involved or not the main objective and the benefits to car owners are good.


Cleaner operating engines and fuel systems and lower emissions and less potential for drivability problems.

 

[tommygunn]

Originally Posted By: antiqueshell

Cleaner operating engines and fuel systems and lower emissions and less potential for drivability problems.


According to you, because I've never experienced any of this.

 

[antiqueshell]

Originally Posted By: tommygunn
Originally Posted By: antiqueshell

Cleaner operating engines and fuel systems and lower emissions and less potential for drivability problems.


According to you, because I've never experienced any of this.



That's fine I'll trust Consumer Reports testing and the auto manufacturers recommendations over a random user's lack of anecdotal evidence on BITOG forums.

Once again, if you can buy the top tier spec product for the same price or less as a non top tier product the customer doesn't lose a thing the only potential is to gain a cleaner engine and fuel system. No brainer not to use it, even if it is a few pennies more per gallon in a few markets.

 

[Garak]

Originally Posted By: fdcg27
Or am I just too cynical?


Maybe.

In fairness to your marketing point, as far as I recall, Top Tier is mentioned in certain car manuals (German ones?). One could consider that "very good" marketing, except for the fact that no one is going to know what Top Tier is and where it's available unless they go looking for it, like at the Top Tier website. Enough people have no idea what oil their engines take, and I suspect the Top Tier recommendations go equally unnoticed, if not more so.

And I'm biased because of my location. It's hard for me to view Top Tier as simply a marketing thing or a way to gouge profits when Top Tier fuels here cost exactly the same as fuel anywhere else. Heck, the most expensive fuel in the city is the 94 octane from Husky, which is not a Top Tier participant. I do, however, routinely buy fuel from there and have for years. Husky/Mohawk was my fuel of choice for many years because of their CAA dollars program. One year I bought enough fuel from them that my annual auto club renewal was $4 instead of $100.

 

[tommygunn]

Originally Posted By: antiqueshell
if you can buy the top tier spec product for the same price or less as a non top tier product the customer doesn't lose a thing the only potential is to gain a cleaner engine and fuel system. No brainer not to use it, even if it is a few pennies more per gallon in a few markets.


Yep, just buy it, trust antiqueshell, if its a few cents more what do you got to lose.

Sounds like those "fuel saver tablets" and other junk

 

[tommygunn]

Originally Posted By: Garak
Husky/Mohawk was my fuel of choice for many years because of their CAA dollars program.


For the record Husky used to sell midgrade for the price of regular because the ethanol blend was made with regular 87 octane. That stuff was great because it was free gasline antifreeze.

Too bad when E10 went universal, Husky's regular went 87. That was sort of a keibasch on the deal but they have very good stations it seems, good places to top off.