I’m willing to bet that we all want to earn lots of points and do so really fast.
Over the past few months some of us have noticed that it’s been getting harder to find Vanilla Reloads and/or find stores willing to accept credit cards for the purchase. In the New York City area it seems to be practically impossible. On a few recent trips around the country I had no problem buying Vanilla Reloads with a credit card in New Orleans, Milwaukee and Minnesota.
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| Cash price- $3.77 |
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| Use a gift card and drop the price another .10₵ |
I had initially went to Shell for gas, happy to be able to get the cash price by charging the gift cards . Then I was told some exciting news that I had not realized on any of my previous visits.
At most Shells stations an attendant pumps the gas for you. In NYC this is rare since there is usually an extra fee per gallon for that kind of service (which I would never pay extra for).
While pumping my gas the attendant told me that for paying with a gift card, I received an additional .10₵ off per gallon!
Buying Shell gift cards just became a bit more valuable. Now a Shell gift card saves me .20₵ per gallon plus I can earn some valuable bonus points.
A few weeks after being told about the additional savings for using gift cards I noticed this message while filling up.
You are saving 10cpg off the credit price by paying with Shell Gift Card.
I know that .20₵ off per gallon doesn’t sound like much but why not save some money for doing very little extra work. All you need to do is make sure to stop and pick up a Shell gift card before filling up. To save some time I’ll buy about a month’s worth of gas each time I stop at Staples so I don’t have to go every week.
Let’s just say that you fill up your car once per week. If you put in 15 gallons, you save $3.00 each time. If you filled up 50 weeks per year, you would save $150 plus earn quite a few extra points by using the right credit cards.
This has been working around the NYC area. I have not had a chance to try it away from home. If anyone has tried it elsewhere, please let us know if you also received the extra discount.
I live in Ohio and most of our shell stations have the same price for cash and credit. Plus if you buy groceries at kroger you earn fuel points for ten cents off per gallon of gas at either Kroger or Shell stations. I buy shell gas cards at kroger and earn .40 cents off per gallon by purchasing a hundred dollar shell gift card. That is a one time 40 cents off per gallon.
OK, I assume you are saying you are saving 20 cents at Shell over the Exxon credit card price, right? $3.879 (Exxon credit) minus $3.679 (Shell cash price) equals 20 cents. Upstate NY, I can save about 20 cents over Mobil gasoline by buying at a Green Apple station and still use my credit card. I will admit I didn’t receive 5X, only 2X miles using my United Bus. card.
Well yes and no. In NYC most gas stations charge .10 cents more to pay with a credit card. By purchasing a gift card for Shell or Exxon/Mobil this will get you the cash price. Shell does one better and gives an additional .10 cents off for using a gift card making your purchase even cheaper than cash.
So by pre-charging your gas by purchasing a Shell gift card, you can save .20 cents over the charge price but still get to charge it and earn your points.
None of the shells (or other gas stations) around here (south texas) have different prices for cash/credit when it comes to gas, just diesel. I will try it anyways and report back
Lucky you! In NYC all gas stations (that I know of) besides Hess charge a higher price for credit cards. (Hess charges a little higher than cash but less than credit elsewhere)
Let us know if the Shell gift card saved you an additional .10₵, I’d love to find out if it is working all over the country!