I use a rewards AMEX which I have to pay off every month, which gives me a breakdown at the end of the year, and which gives me 2 miles per dollar spent at the pump; thus, I always charge gas.

 

I use my Shell card mainly because I've never liked carrying around cash but have lived in some places where cash is all you can use, so the treat of electronic money is one I take advantedge of constantly. It's also a good way to force me to buy from Shell - a Dutch company (lived in Amsterdam) with the largest port in Curacao (lived just down the Sea in Grenada), and I'm not really a big fan of American gas.

 

Umm... in most all states the gasoline is all the same. The different "brands" are really just some additives mixed in. Phoenix literally has ONE gasoline. Every brand is the same exact gas, but just with some of their own additives supposedly mixed in.

 

Nono, I mean in a macroliteral sense. I don't like buying anything that puts money into the pockets of American business. I much prefer the Dutch to give my money to in this instance. I'd pay $.05 a gallon more if that means it goes somewhere I hold in higher esteem.

 

Hi Helterskelter683:
___Not to be flippant but if you feel it is that bad to give American companies $’s for their products and services all the while supporting your friend’s, neighbors, and fellow US citizen’s, have you considered moving back to the Netherlands? Your income of whatever amount earned there would better support friends, family, and fellow countrymen there when spent there I believe?

___Sorry all for the OT post but …

___Good Luck

___Wayne R. Gerdes
___Waynegerdes@earthlink.net

 

I do not know helterskelter's reasons for choosing Shell, but of the oil companies, Shell is the most progressive regarding the environment. BP is probably second ..

The only company I actively boycott is Exxon.

 

Back to our subject, there are folks who use a card for gas purchases and pay it off every month. They get perks for doing it, cash back, airline miles, free diaper service, and the list goes on. So long as that entire balance is paid off every month it is not an issue to the card user to put gas on a card because in the end it is a cash purchase to them.

The kicker about the use of plastic for fuel purchases is not how people choose to eventually pay for the gas they charge, but the fact that there is a transaction fee that the card processors charge the fuel vendor for each card swipe and a percentage of the price of the sale. Even though you and I who pay our balances off each month incur no direct interest expense, the vendor has to adjust their pricing to reflect the added cost of accepting plastic. It was estimated that depending on the processing contract that a fuel retailer might have with a card company, somewhere between 50 cents and $1.50 of your gas bill is sent to the card company for service fees.

The typical structure of plastic processing fees is a combination of a per swipe charge and a percentage of the total sale going to the processor. I know some "ma and pa" local retailers that sell espresso, run small book stores and junk shops that will not accept plastic for a transaction unless the purchase is above some dollar amount. This is especially the case with small dollar transactions, such as espresso drinks and trinkets. I don't blame them.

It is my estimate that gas would be about 25 to 50 cents a gallon cheaper if we weren't so addicted to plastic and were willing to write a check or use cash.

So, even when we pay off our balances each month, we pay more for the products we buy, especially commodities such as gas, because of the use of plastic.

 

The concept of using credit cards for small purchases is indeed very new. The transaction costs were simply absorbed as another built-in cost of doing business, and passed on to the consumer.

Remember not so long ago (decade?) when you paid 5-10 cents/gal more for using credit card? Even their own card, in some cases. That fee was exactly why.

As we moved more away from carrying cash and towards electronic transactions, consumer pressure grew to demand equalized prices..."equalized" by raising the cash price to equal the credit price.

So yes, we definitely pay every time for those plastic transactions, even when you pay cash.

 

Ironically, some places take credit cards, but not checks. In the 1980's it was often the other way around.

 

check? check? Oh yeah, I remember those. You need to write something on those little pieces of paper, right?