Gas station shops/audits and credit cards

So for most, if not all, gas station shops/audits that require a gas purchase, it's credit/debit/gift card only. One of the MSCs specifically says to use different cards if shopping more than one location within 24 hours, if possible, because the card will likely only be usable for 2-3 purchases before a hold is placed on the card.

I normally only use one account for MS expenses, which is a debit, but I have several audits lined up for this weekend, so I need a game plan. How do you usually handle situations like this? Do you buy gift cards?

Thanks!

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Gift card works and most do not have a hold on a daily basis.

I must not do enough of them at a time anymore because so far no issues. That said, I did find gift cards to be simpler than entering all those small charges into Quicken

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CANADAMOMMY Wrote:
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> Gift card works and most do not have a hold on a
> daily basis.

Thanks for the response! Are you referring to store gift cards or ones like Amex, Visa, etc?

I have used both. Store cards seem to not have a fee and you can check balances. Double check report though different companies different changing rules!

Be sure you don't actually buy a card on one of the shops.

Gas brand gift cards definitely work best. I have 15 shops this weekend for one client that a credit card will be rejected at anything more than one location per day. At some point I'll get smart and buy the gift cards discounted somewhere online and turn a little extra profit by getting reimbursed at their full value by using them for shops. I do use a high cash back (5% on gas purchases) credit card for the first shop per client per day to maximize the returns.

Ran into this with the non photo mystery shop when I was just starting out and clueless. Was using credit card and debit card and scheduled 14 in one day. About half way through the cards stopped working at the pump. I went inside and had them run them at the register and they were accepted. Did not have a problem with the MSC. Would not do this again! Definitely purchasing a gift card is the way to go, as others have stated. Shared info just in case someone runs into the problem and doesn't have a back up. No idea if any other MSC would have had an issue.

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I've had this issue and was fortunate to have up to four credit cards with me at the time.

I feel so silly that it never occurred to me to buy a gift card! Simple genius!

AndrewTX
Certifiable

always buy your gift cards online for a discount...even if you
are just doing your regular everyday shopping at say walmart,
kohls, jcpenny, lowes, etc....buy online for a discount then
go shopping...

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There are no stupid questions, but there are a lot of inquisitive idiots
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techman01 Wrote:
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> always buy your gift cards online for a
> discount...even if you
> are just doing your regular everyday shopping at
> say walmart,
> kohls, jcpenny, lowes, etc....buy online for a
> discount then
> go shopping...

Is there a site you know of where they sell discounted gift cards?

Tlt14 Wrote:
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> Is there a site you know of where they sell
> discounted gift cards?

I'd be grateful for a reliable, verified link or two as well, either on the forum if that's allowed or via PM from an established poster.

One is called Gift Card Granny, I believe. I've seen it written up in several magazine articles.

Just cheecked it, and did not find savings for my top 3 GS clients any better than using a good cash back credit card. That was just those, though, so there may be better deals for retail and restaurants.
Further, as it sends you to ebay quite regularly, why in the world would someone spend MORE for a gift card than the face value of the gift card (saw it happening on eBay for several auctions)?

elcarev68 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Just cheecked it, and did not find savings for my
> top 3 GS clients any better than using a good cash
> back credit card. That was just those, though, so
> there may be better deals for retail and
> restaurants.
> Further, as it sends you to ebay quite regularly,
> why in the world would someone spend MORE for a
> gift card than the face value of the gift card
> (saw it happening on eBay for several auctions)?

My only guess is that the gift cards are hard to come across or aren't sold in someone's area and they want to give it as a gift? I would just buy a generic gift card in that case though (visa or the like), rather than spend more than face value.

I looked at the site too and they don't have any for my GS shops either. Oh well!

I have found many gas stations are reluctant to sell gift cards unless I pay for them with cash. I don't like to carry cash (or lose the 5% cashback bonus on my card) so this becomes a problem, particularly for Chevron because I have not seen Chevron cards sold at Lowe's or other retailers - only at Chevron. I was under the impression prepaid cards with VISA, MC, AMEX logo do not work to pay at the pump. Am I wrong?

Shopping since 1995; full-time since 2009. Blogging about shopping on www.myfrugalmiser.com.

I've seen that happen on eBay as well, especially for Walmart and similar gift cards, and have wondered the same thing. Two guesses:

- They have lots of eBay Bulks that they need to use before the end of the month (when they expire).
- They have money in their Paypal account, but don't have it linked to a bank account or are over their withdrawal limit for the month, so are using the gift cards as an easy way to get the money out of their account.

elcarev68 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Further, as it sends you to ebay quite regularly,
> why in the world would someone spend MORE for a
> gift card than the face value of the gift card
> (saw it happening on eBay for several auctions)?

The credit card issue with gift cards is documented because of frequent flyer miles. They call it vanilla reloads of gift cards. Check out flyertalk.com or thepointsguy.com or millionmilesecrets.com for more information. It is not allowed since some stores give 5 points per $1 for purchases at stores or at office supply stores. People weren't buying actual items, but just gift cards. As a result, many businesses will NOT allow you to buy gift card with credit cards.

It is just like how people were buying $1 coins from the govt. on credit cards and returning that money to the bank. That way they would get the points for buying the money online on a credit card and then just put the vanilla back into the bank.

I have purchased many gift cards. The gas ones are great to give to college kids, so they can never say that they don't have money for gas to drive home. I have never paid cash and always put it on a credit card.

Also gift card sales are probably more profitable to the retailer than actual purchases. At best they get an interest free loan until the purchase is made and 10-15% are never redeemed. That is straight cash in the retailers pocket. I just read an article that there is about four billion dollars sitting on unused gift cards a year.

iillini24 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The credit card issue with gift cards is
> documented because of frequent flyer miles. They
> call it vanilla reloads of gift cards. Check out
> flyertalk.com or thepointsguy.com or
> millionmilesecrets.com for more information. It is
> not allowed since some stores give 5 points per $1
> for purchases at stores or at office supply
> stores. People weren't buying actual items, but
> just gift cards. As a result, many businesses will
> NOT allow you to buy gift card with credit cards.
>
>
> It is just like how people were buying $1 coins
> from the govt. on credit cards and returning that
> money to the bank. That way they would get the
> points for buying the money online on a credit
> card and then just put the vanilla back into the
> bank.

I don't know that this rule applies when I am attempting to purchase a Chevron gift card inside a Chevron service station. I was assuming it was a risk management issue that kept me from using my credit card at most locations. One work around for other gas cards (Shell, BP) was getting them at Lowe's. I have not seen Chevron gift cards at other retailers.

Shopping since 1995; full-time since 2009. Blogging about shopping on www.myfrugalmiser.com.

Tlt14 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> techman01 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > always buy your gift cards online for a
> > discount...even if you
> > are just doing your regular everyday shopping
> at
> > say walmart,
> > kohls, jcpenny, lowes, etc....buy online for a
> > discount then
> > go shopping...
>
>
> Is there a site you know of where they sell
> discounted gift cards?

I have purchased giftcards from ABC giftcards [www.abcgiftcards.com] several times and even sold them a few. If you get on their email list they send out an email about once a month with extra discounts on certain merchants.
Used to use Plastic Jungle also but they just stopped buying and selling unfortunately.
There is also Card Pool but I've never purchased from them.

One question about the gas station audits:

I have seen them on the job boards and have yet to pick one up. I normally use my iPhone 4S for pictures and don't see the need to buy a camera because the phone camera is better than the cheap regular cameras. I don't want to spend the money for an expensive photographer's camera.

The guidelines for these shops say not to use a phone camera. Is this just a leftover from the old days when phone cameras weren't very good or is this a requirement that the MSC's hold us to?

Thanks!!!
Lori

Shopping across Indiana but mostly around Indianapolis.

Generally, you are ok as long as you can set your camera to be an appropriate size and takes a clear picture. Many people use their camera on their phone.

However, it is something that MSC could reject you on saying you hadn't followed their guidelines. If you are concerned, you could always send a test photo to a scheduler to see if the photo is acceptable.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/28/2013 05:50AM by Shelly.

Call your credit card company and tell them that you do independent contract work. When I had multitude of shops like gas stations and grocey stores, etc. I called my credit car company and let them know that I would make multipile charges and tell them the gas station and grocery store by name. I let them know about how much I would be putting on each charge and let them know about how many I would do in a day. The credit card company would put notes about this on my account so I would not be locked out after a few charges. I have never had any problem since. The credit card company wants to know the name of the gas stations and also the grocery store name. I told them about how much I would make my purchases for.

Ditto what djjs said. I alert my bank when I anticipate multiple charges on my CC, and the only time I ran into a "hold" issue was the day I forgot to call them ahead of time.

I use gift cards. I buy them with my debit card. Since I have to buy something in the store, I buy the gift card there if I need one and get the first $1 or 2 reimbursed. This gives me the added discount and I do not need to wait for them from an online site. I cannot speak for MF but the other MSC has never not reimbursed me for the expense.

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