gas pumps in various states including FL

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

If I can jump in on this thread - what bugs me not only having to go into the store and wait in line is what happened for the first time this past Christmas. Usually you just give them a number, say $50 and if your vehicle only takes $40, it will bill you $40. However, I had one gas station bill me the total that I told them, then refund the difference back to my credit card. I end up losing some $ in the exchange. If that starts happening, I'll end up having to call the credit card company to have them refund me the exchange - not something I really want to have to deal with.

To avoid situations like that we try to pre-pay in cash whenever possible, because it makes it easier when getting part of the money back.

 

[bgula]

To avoid situations like that we try to pre-pay in cash whenever possible, because it makes it easier when getting part of the money back.

I strictly use my credit card for gas purchases, never cash. When you're pulling a trailer, it would mean way too much cash to bring along.

 

[BitsnBearsMom]

We used our credit card a few times on the drive and didn't have to enter a zip code.... but we only went as far south as Hilton Head. We also paid with cash most of the time.....was a pain at first though as we had only had our car for a week so had no idea how much it would cost to fill it! Several times we ended up going in and paying for more gas to find out it would only take another $1 worth

 

[maryliz]

If I can jump in on this thread - what bugs me not only having to go into the store and wait in line is what happened for the first time this past Christmas. Usually you just give them a number, say $50 and if your vehicle only takes $40, it will bill you $40. However, I had one gas station bill me the total that I told them, then refund the difference back to my credit card. I end up losing some $ in the exchange. If that starts happening, I'll end up having to call the credit card company to have them refund me the exchange - not something I really want to have to deal with.

This is exactly my problem! Ending up paying more $ because of the difference in exchange rate for purchases and refunds. And I could "underestimate", but when we're driving, I want a FULL tank of gas! It's ridiculous that it's this difficult to get gas.

*** WE GOT A GREAT SOLUTION LAST WEEK ****

I was expressing my frustration to a clerk at a RaceTrac in Georgia. His assistant manager came over, and totally understood my problem. He gave me a "pay first" card that was authorized up to $99 at any one time. He looked at my Drivers Lic, and then told me that if anyone asked, I'm from Alabama! All we had to do after that was swipe the card, that released the pump, and then I paid with my CC afterwards. WIN-WIN for both ... we could easily get our gas, AND we always bought at RaceTRac or RaceWay stations after that! Of course we only found this chain in Florida and Georgia, but at least it's a start for us.

Hopefully other chains will follow suit. After all, if it means that a card ensures we buy ALL our gas from them, why not? I don't like to buy at BP (find it's always more $$$), but we had no choice in Kentucky one night, and it actually allowed us to just use the CC at the pump. So keep that in mind as well.