Driving in the USA - paying for fuel - Cash or card?

[PBCD]

CivicDuties said:

The thing which peed me off when I was doing this last year (UK credit card, used 00000 as zip code) was when paying by card they want you to pay in advance. But I wanted to fill the tank and didn't know the exact amount it was going to be. So you have to pay them more than you estimate it'll take to fill up, and trust them to do a refund of the difference. Extremely boring.

I've just come back from touring round Nevada and Arizona and every time I filled up was able to insert my
credit card into the pump itself to pre authorise the transaction and then put however much fuel I wanted to
in the car; I've not had to go into the store to 'pre pay' for over ten years now!

The only thing you do need to be slightly wary of is card 'skimming':

[durbster]

Yeah last time I went (2012) you had to go and tell them how much you wanted in advance which was a bit annoying.

One other thing that caught me out is that some pumps don't work unless you push the nozzle right against the inlet to make an airtight seal. I only found this out when somebody came and explained after I'd spent a few minutes wondering why it wasn't working despite having paid.

From memory that was only in California so I don't know if it's the same elsewhere.

[acer12]

Something has changed, the last few times I have had to fill up over there I could use my domestic UK credit card at the pumps and didnt have to go into the shop. Must be related to chip and pin roll out, US were slow to adpot.

[Martyn76]

raucousV8 said:

Orlando a few months ago - Walmart fuel (as it was so close by the villa), Revolut card into pay at pump, pin code, fill up, done. Same as pay-at-pump in our local supermarkets in the UK.

I have a Revolut card too, always thought of it as a debit card so it didn't even cross my mind to use it!

[InitialDave]

Martyn76 said:

I have a Revolut card too, always thought of it as a debit card so it didn't even cross my mind to use it!

Mildly related, I think depending which country you're in, Revolut can be treated as a debit card or a credit card. Friend had an issue in Canada with some smaller places not accepting it as it was in effect a credit card. As I understand it, it relates to whether ir not they are legally a bank in that jurisdiction.

As well as my "normal" cards, I carry a Revolut and the HSBC equivalent (their Global Money account) so I have options.

And yes, the American thing of defaulting to a certain amount of fuel rather than just filling up is pigging annoying.

[Jezz172]

I've just come back from 2 weeks in Florida
Every pump had contactless for payment - made it much easier

[75Black]

4Q said:

Most of the gas stations are pay at pump with card or pre-pay in store. If you pay at pump you need a ZIP code which is 5 numbers but your UK postcode only has 3. if you put the numbers in from yours followed by 00 it generally works. eg AB12 3CD would be 12300.

edited to add, if you only have 2 numbers then add 3 zeros.

Edited by 4Q on Wednesday 26th June 11:56

I tried this at a station in Georgia just after crossing from Florida 2 years back and it didn't work, neither did 00000 or a US zip code. From my experience, it seems to be random, big stations like Shell you pay by card at the pump as normal like the one I fuelled up in near Savannah on the way back from Charleston, but there's a Chevron station in Clearwater that I always have to go inside to pay because when selecting the card option at pay at pump it just says "Please go to cashier".

[RicksAlfas]

I couldn't open the filler cap on my hire car, let alone work out how to pay for the fuel! Turns out the button was in the door pocket of the driver's door and I had covered it up with a map or a hat or something. I had to go into the shop for advise and the girl came out and helped. I then had to go in to pre scan my card and eventually go back in and pay. Went in the shop three times for one fill up. She gave me a Sunoco sticker for my troubles so all was well in the end.

[Hants PHer]

I was in California/Nevada/Utah/Arizona in November 2023 and every gas station worked in the same way as the UK. Pull up, insert UK credit card (Halifax Clarity, if it matters), enter PIN, pump gas, get receipt at the pump, drive off.

Actually, there was one place where the PIN didn't work - RaceTrac I think - but everywhere else was as described.

Perhaps it varies from one state to another.

[RC1807]

CivicDuties said:

The thing which peed me off when I was doing this last year (UK credit card, used 00000 as zip code) was when paying by card they want you to pay in advance. But I wanted to fill the tank and didn't know the exact amount it was going to be. So you have to pay them more than you estimate it'll take to fill up, and trust them to do a refund of the difference. Extremely boring.

Paying in advance isn't much of a ball ache, TBH.
Had to do this at O'Hare Oasis last month, before returning the rental car to ORD.
Went in, gave them $50.
Filled up ... $36.40 - collected change.

[CivicDuties]

RC1807 said:

CivicDuties said:

The thing which peed me off when I was doing this last year (UK credit card, used 00000 as zip code) was when paying by card they want you to pay in advance. But I wanted to fill the tank and didn't know the exact amount it was going to be. So you have to pay them more than you estimate it'll take to fill up, and trust them to do a refund of the difference. Extremely boring.

Paying in advance isn't much of a ball ache, TBH.
Had to do this at O'Hare Oasis last month, before returning the rental car to ORD.
Went in, gave them $50.
Filled up ... $36.40 - collected change.

It's a ball ache when you're paying by credit card. Cash is obviously easier.

[fooman]

I'm curious do US pumps still have the lever you have to flip after taking nozzle or nothing happens? That threw me first time I had to get fuel and the pump attendant had to show me. Seemed like a redundant extra step they could do away with.

[shakotan]

fooman said:

I'm curious do US pumps still have the lever you have to flip after taking nozzle or nothing happens? That threw me first time I had to get fuel and the pump attendant had to show me. Seemed like a redundant extra step they could do away with.

Depends on the model and age of pump.

Most are more modern and you just select the grade of unleaded you want and pump.

[FiF]

Matt Harper said:

Liamjrhodes said:

We went to Orlando last year and it worked the same as at home... fill the car up then go in the shop and pay with the card, no hassle.
It may be different in Orlando due to the number of tourist they get but would of thought in this day and age it shouldn't be difficult

Are you sure about that? I live in Orlando and I've never encountered a gas station anywhere in the US that allows you to pump gas before paying up-front with cash, or having your card authorized at the pump.

Orlando, enroute to hand hire car back so wanted to fill up, went into shop, offered a $100 bill as it was all I had in cash apart from a couple of $1. They refused it claiming no change. Had to leave card in store which clearly didn't like but was pushed for time. Fortunately it all worked out and there were no unexpected card charges later.

[75Black]

fooman said:

I'm curious do US pumps still have the lever you have to flip after taking nozzle or nothing happens? That threw me first time I had to get fuel and the pump attendant had to show me. Seemed like a redundant extra step they could do away with.

There's a Speedway petrol station by Clearwater beach that has this, and it stumped the hell out of me 2 years ago when I was trying to go to the airport at 5am. I spent 5 minutes working it out....good thing no one was around at the time to laugh at me.

[Florida_Man]

If you prepay inside the shop but don’t use the full amount of fuel make sure you go back in and get a new receipt otherwise your card will probably be charged for the full amount

[Markp1706]

If it’s any help I was in the USA on holiday a couple of weeks ago going from Texas (san Antonio & Fort Worth) onto Memphis then to Nashville and finishing in New Orleans, filling up many times.

Used either Apple Pay when available at pump (not always available) or contactless by inserted credit card for pre authorisation without any issues. Never had to go into any station to pay in advance.

[Matt Harper]

FiF said:

Matt Harper said:

Liamjrhodes said:

We went to Orlando last year and it worked the same as at home... fill the car up then go in the shop and pay with the card, no hassle.
It may be different in Orlando due to the number of tourist they get but would of thought in this day and age it shouldn't be difficult

Are you sure about that? I live in Orlando and I've never encountered a gas station anywhere in the US that allows you to pump gas before paying up-front with cash, or having your card authorized at the pump.

Orlando, enroute to hand hire car back so wanted to fill up, went into shop, offered a $100 bill as it was all I had in cash apart from a couple of $1. They refused it claiming no change. Had to leave card in store which clearly didn't like but was pushed for time. Fortunately it all worked out and there were no unexpected card charges later.

Which begs the question, why didn't they run your card before they switched the pump on? ... Or did they?

[FiF]

Matt Harper said:

FiF said:

Matt Harper said:

Liamjrhodes said:

We went to Orlando last year and it worked the same as at home... fill the car up then go in the shop and pay with the card, no hassle.
It may be different in Orlando due to the number of tourist they get but would of thought in this day and age i t shouldn't be difficult

Are you sure about that? I live in Orlando and I've never encountered a gas station anywhere in the US that allows you to pump gas before paying up-front with cash, or having your card authorized at the pump.

Orlando, enroute to hand hire car back so wanted to fill up, went into shop, offered a $100 bill as it was all I had in cash apart from a couple of $1. They refused it claiming no change. Had to leave card in store which clearly didn't like but was pushed for time. Fortunately it all worked out and there were no unexpected card charges later.

Which begs the question, why didn't they run your card before they switched the pump on? ... Or did they?

Tbh I can't remember whether they ran card or not now, it was all a rush. Guess they might have thought that if the card didn't work I was still good for the fuel with the C-note.

At the time in UK we had a regular bar in Birmingham that work used. If you wanted to run a tab you had to leave your card behind the bar in a little file card box, never cared for that either but also never had any trouble. That filling station was the only one ever in US where it was a bit odd.

[ShortBeardy]

Re Costco
yes in general it is cheaper.
But may want to do `sums' on whether its worth the fee to make the saving