Cash for Gas

[Zee09]

My local Sunoco rounded up is $3.14 for regular and $3.04 for cash.
No big deal but I like the cash option as the gas stations in my area are never crowded and
no waiting and going in and paying doesn't inconvenience others.
The reason being no CC bill at the end of the month and on my new Maverick I fill up from
a half of a tank always and it's just a $20 bill.

 

[Zee09]

The discount does not factor in. It's about nothing anyway.

 

[KCJeep]

I used to pay cash for gas, but I gave up. Sick and tired of standing in line while grandma buys lottery tickets, cigarettes and beer. Because I don't trust pay at the pump that much, I have a card on a separate account for gas with a low balance in case it gets hacked. Of all my compromised cards over the years, most of them came from pumps. I won't put my PIN into a pump if I can help it either.

I like Apple pay for gas (same account) but they don't all take it.

 

[dogememe]

I try to avoid cash in general. I don't like carrying it and I don't like using it. Including at gas stations. My biggest gripe with paying cash at a gas station is either you pay too much and have to get change or you pay not enough and don't get a full tank. What a hassle!

Before I bought my EV I used Pay with GasBuddy which is a free program that gives you a slight discount. Sometimes they have offers in the app for additional discounts. Or if you use a lot of gas you can pay a monthly fee for an additional discount up to a certain amount.

So if you count the discounts and offers Pay with GasBuddy is overall about the same price as cash but you get the convenience and speed of just paying with a card at the pump. Safer, faster, and one less human interaction of having to go inside, wait in line, etc.

Now with EV charging there is no cash option. You pay more in your utility bill or you go to charging stations and payment is done with a card or through your phone.

 

[Cujet]

On my trips up and down the East coast, I often use cash. I also use the Gas Buddy app for best price. The cash savings is generally 10 cents per gallon, at the station. But when contrasted with more expensive options, the savings adds up.

If I'm towing, or driving a box truck, the savings is about $50 per round trip.

 

[Chris142]

I try to avoid cash in general. I don't like carrying it and I don't like using it. Including at gas stations. My biggest gripe with paying cash at a gas station is either you pay too much and have to get change or you pay not enough and don't get a full tank. What a hassle!

I don't carry cash because of the bums. The price of fuel is still high here so I rarely fill up all the way.

 

[oldgrayman]

I do not remember the last time I paid cash for gas . It's been years .

 

[Astro14]

So, for an average fill up, of say, 15 gallons - I save $1.50?

Nah, I’ll pay that to avoid walking in and standing in line, or worse, walking in, standing in line with pre-pay, and then walking in, and standing in line for my change. Or, the really awful - not filling up because I underestimated the amount I needed, and having to repeat the line-standing even sooner

No thanks.

This is case where I gladly pay for convenience. I carry an Exxon/Mobil card, and tend to use that, and it is auto-pay from my checking account, so there is no real effort required to pay that bill every month.

 

[kschachn]

I do not remember the last time I paid cash for gas . It's been years .

I struggle to remember the last time I paid cash for anything.

 

[kschachn]

So, for an average fill up, of say, 15 gallons - I save $1.50?

Nah, I’ll pay that to avoid walking in and standing in line, or worse, walking in, standing in line with pre-pay, and then walking in, and standing in line for my change. Or, the really awful - not filling up because I underestimated the amount I needed, and having to repeat the line-standing even sooner

No thanks.

This is case where I gladly pay for convenience. I carry an Exxon/Mobil card, and tend to use that, and it is auto-pay from my checking account, so there is no real effort required to pay that bill every month.

Yeah back in the day when a station allowed you to pump before paying it wasn't as big of a deal. Now around here even Kwik Trip has discontinued that allowance. They were one of the last holdouts. I know a lady that works for a KT and she said the daily drive-offs were out of control.

 

[Astro14]

I pay cash often. I’ve had at least a dozen credit cards compromised, a major headache.

That’s better since I’ve gone to Apple Pay when overseas, but credit cards, can be much more of a hassle than cash.

I’m sitting at my favorite local breakfast place, crab omelette, on my second cup of coffee - and I will pay cash.

 

[oldgrayman]

We usually tip cash but that's about it .

 

[Astro14]

We usually tip cash but that's about it .

It’s been 40 years since I bussed tables (oh, the glamor of the service industry…) but back then, credit card tips were reported by my employer, and cash ones were not.

I always figured that a cash tip, of the same amount as a credit card, was better for the server in question. I rarely pay with a card at a restaurant or bar, partly for that reason.

Further, the credit card walking to another room in the hands of the server immediately preceded every one of my cards getting compromised. London, Paris, Dublin, and Edinburgh were the locations in which I had paid with a card, and fraud started showing up within 24 hours.

So, out of concern for security, and out of concern for the server in a restaurant - cash.

In my flight bag I keep a bit of cash - about £400, €400, $500, and about 200 Swiss Francs. Yes, there is risk in that bag getting lost, but since my passport, license, medical, Bose headset, and other critical items are in it, I keep a very close reign on the bag, and the security of the cash is an ancillary concern to those other items.

 

[eljefino]

There's an Irving here that charges a dime less for their "debit program", many stations have a similar setup that draws from your checking account via ACH. Saves them on CC fees. But this particular store also secretly charges that for a cash prepay price.

 

[dishdude]

Costco for me. Top Tier, save even more than this pocket change and no hassle.

 

[Zee09]

I never have a line to wait in to pay.
The perks of country living.
On my VW with premium and a big tank I use my card and Upside app.
When gas was real high I topped off at a half tank and continue to do so.

 

[SammyChevelleTypeS3]

I used to pay cash for gas, but I gave up. Sick and tired of standing in line while grandma buys lottery tickets, cigarettes and beer. Because I don't trust pay at the pump that much, I have a card on a separate account for gas with a low balance in case it gets hacked. Of all my compromised cards over the years, most of them came from pumps. I won't put my PIN into a pump if I can help it either.

I like Apple pay for gas (same account) but they don't all take it.

I do the same. I got tired of standing behind grandmas when I see them tell cashier $5 gas on pump 3 and then pull out $100 or more worth of lotto tickets for the girl to scan holding up a line of customers. I too use a card with no pin ever. I just pay that card off once or twice a month on bank web site,

 

[gman2304]

With my BP&me rewards card I get 15 cents off the pump price. No standing in line while people buy Lotto tickets, cigarettes, candy, chips etc and I’m billed once a month and pay it off every month. Always cheaper than Murphys and Sheetz and I’m gone in 5 minutes.

 

[Kira]

^^Does this BP rewards card require a debit card or can a credit card be used?


Seems it's all about the particulars of the situation.

Reducing the exposure of your credit/debit card info is elemental and vital.
Many people use cash at restaurants, citing the tipping inequities and card exposure.
Patronize known, quality sellers and businesses.

"Seeing last months dinner on a statement ruins the meal" for many. Cash for restaurant??? ME.

Regarding cash sale fuel savings, knowing your tank & fuel gauge, thus your purchase, makes cash a simple handoff.
I personally prefer a near full tank when I'm away from home.
This goes double for high $ gas locations (mountains/shore/remote).
I don't want the Sun to go down on a half empty tank when traveling.

Crowding / slow service / sticky floors from spilled ice cream / smelly bread products / leaving your vehicle....torturous, we know.
I've noticed workers actually look alive when gas pre-pay people come in.

I live where many service stations consign their fuel pump business.
There's often a guy in a glass box waiting to take my cash....and the NJ gas attendant requirement.

C-of-C commercial: "New Jersey makes buying gas FUN !"

 

[SubLGT]

Not a hassle for me to pay with cash at the gas pump. A few years go, both of my cards were compromised at the pump, one to the tune of $6000.

Contactless credit cards are allegedly the most secure way to use a credit card at the pump, but not 100% secure.

Buyer, beware: Police warn of card-tapping scam

The Aurora Police Department’s Economic Crimes Unit is warning the public about a scam involving contactless payment at gas stations.

kdvr.com

Aurora Police said scammers are drilling holes into the sensor where customers tap their debit and credit cards to pay. Damaging the tap-to-pay option forces customers to swipe their card for payment.

“Every time the good people come up with something to help people, the bad guys come up with something to defeat it, and this one’s really easy,” Aurora Police Sgt. Dan Courtenay said.

The thieves are stealing card information with skimming devices placed where customers swipe cards.