I assume the gas stations sell these, right? You load up how much you want to put on it, right?

I have never seen any of these cards.

Am I blind?

Yes they are available in $25, $50 & $100 demoninations. Many gas stations around here have them, but not all. They are purchased with cash, not a credit card, and you are supposed to get the cash price at the stations. Some of the stations I have shopped charge credit aard prices. When that happens I note it in my report.

The advantage I see is that you can do multiple stations the same day without getting flagged by the credit card company after two uses.

A clerk at an Exxon told me that the Exxon cards don't always work at all of the pumps (i.e., pumps at multiple Exxon stations). She said it depends on the station. Does this sound correct, LIJake? The bad news stopped me from buying an Exxon gas card or a Shell card. Because I fear identity theft when I use my credit cards at the pumps I resorted to getting 2 secured credit cards with credit lines of only $200 each, thinking that if one was stolen they couldn't hurt me too bad.

jilummer, I have a ton of E/M, Shell and BP shops and have never had a rejection of a gift card.

Thank you LIJake! I now will buy them. What a relief! So tired of having my cards rejected for overuse at the pumps.

I'm asking because I experienced a problem using my card at different pumps. It was my first time. So, I thought of a prepaid card. No restrictions.

Thanks all. I have many gas station audits to do this coming week. A ton of them.

Not all BP stations sell prepaid cards. Why, I don't know. It definitely pays to try to find one before you need one. The BP ones which I have seen are for either $25 or $50 and can not be reloaded.

This is for Phillips. I'll check tomorrow morning to see if they sell them. There is a Philips station here that is not a shop so I'll go in there.

I know Canuck doesn't have my grocery store in her area, but for those who do, Kroger sells both BP and Shell station cards. So if you like saving up those gas points through Kroger its a win-win.

Realizing that not all stations sell gas cards, I play it safe and have located stations close to home that I know who do.

I live in the boonies and I swear I have not seen any cards in any of the audits I've done. A question here. Let's say I bought a shell card. would I be able to use it at a BP gas station? I know nothing about these cards

Definately not - different companies. You can use an Exxon/Mobil card for either brand.

Canuck -
They function in the same way as any other company-specific gift card, like a coffee chain, a big-box chain, a restaurant chain, or a grocery chain. You can swipe them at the pump and use them inside the convenience store.

Yes and no more worry about the station not taking your credit card due to overuse. One issue is that not all C-stores accept the branded card. For example, a Shell station may have a convenience store with a different brand that does not accept the Shell prepaid card. But they do all accept cash.

Safeway/Vons and Krogers stores sell them in various denominations. Chevron once sold me one for whatever amount I wanted. But I buy from the grocery stores because you get 2x and 4x points.

The gas station shops and gas station shops which turn into announced audits all require the use of some type of card at the pump. That is one of the things which is being evaluated, and frankly, life gets complicated when it so much as doesn't give you a receipt. You need to go in, get a receipt, or pay inside (using a card) and get a receipt. And with some clients, repeat the process at a second pump. Where if you don't get a receipt, you go back in and ask for a second one, still unrevealed. I find that so absurd, that I wait until the reveal for pump #2, and I explain that in the report, and have never had a problem.

Pre-paid cards do not have limits on how many times a day you can use them, and they do not freeze $50 or $75 or $100 in your credit card or debit card account every time you swipe then at a pump. For shops where I am told to use a credit or debit card (yes, they exist), I make sure to have multiple cards with me. Some people on this forum report success telling their bank to expect lots of small gasoline purchases, but I think the systems still freeze the $ 50/75/100 for several days anyway even if they don't lock out the card.

And I have done ones which also test whether the loyalty card works properly when swiped at the pump and how long it takes for the next screen to appear. Nothing is standard.

There are exactly two Safeway stores left in Delaware. One is close to me, and the other is 25 miles away. After that I would have to drive 50 miles into Maryland. The gas rewards program they offer in Delaware is linked to Exxon/Mobil. I am going to have to see what gasoline cards they sell at the one near me. I haven't found BP cards in the dominant supermarket chain in the area (ShopRite) in Acme, in Wegmans, or in either of the Giant brands (Carlisle or Landover). I even looked in Costco and Best Buy.

Walmart and HEB in TX have in the past few years ran summer promotions for cash discounts. I normally use my PP card to pay for them. I don't load up more than 2 tanks on either card, because one of them has a fee attached if not used within a few months. And I haven't seen either stating that they will be doing the promo this year.

A c-store runs a similar promotion but are only honored with their branded gas. So if they are selling Valero gas versus the name of the store gas brand, are worthless on most of my routes. They also only allow you to buy the card with cash.

Interesting..thank you.

If you are in a area that has Rite Aid pharmacy's they sell gas cards and they let you use your credit card for purchase.

You can get a Bluebird american express at Walmart. Money can be loaded directly by debit card or bank via your login page with no fees. You can also set up a family account which can be used to keep funds in. Typically I will use it for a $5 gas purchase (with only $5 in the account) then I will log in and transfer $5 from the family account to the main card and voila the "big freeze" was avoided. Next I can transfer all money except $5 away from family account and use that card.

I am surprised that works. The gas station pump typically send a request to freeeze $50 or $75, and when the bank / credit card says no, it simply doesn't authorize the purchase. In the case of gas station proprietary gift cards, the pump actually displays the available balance, and you can purchase up to that amount.

@misteryshopper wrote:

You can get a Bluebird american express at Walmart. Money can be loaded directly by debit card or bank via your login page with no fees. You can also set up a family account which can be used to keep funds in. Typically I will use it for a $5 gas purchase (with only $5 in the account) then I will log in and transfer $5 from the family account to the main card and voila the "big freeze" was avoided. Next I can transfer all money except $5 away from family account and use that card.