Name Your Price on GASOLINE! at Priceline: UPDATED
Written: Jul 12 '00 (Updated Oct 05 '00)
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As an avid user of Priceline WebHouse Club for groceries, I have been anxiously awaiting my Gasoline Card (a division of Priceline WebHouse) for a couple of months now. With the price of gas the way it is, I can use all the help I can get! I'm here to tell you it was worth the wait!
*Please note, at the time this review was posted, the category was listed as "Priceline WebHouse"*
-- UPDATE 10/5/00 --
Priceline WebHouse Gas and Groceries are both biting the dust. If you have not already signed up, it's too late. If you are already a member, you may not make any more bids. If you have gas that you have already purchased, Priceline will be issuing a refund to the credit card of record. The Priceline WebHouse gas card will no longer work.
The Concept
The Priceline concept is simple. You choose what you want from a list of possibilities, then you make a bid for how much you're willing to pay for it. Either your bid is accepted or it's not. If it is accepted, it is immediately charged to your credit card (which you have preregistered at Priceline). If it's not accepted, no harm done, but you can't try again for another 24 hours.
-- The Gasoline Card: How it Works --
Driving an SUV, I am well acquainted with all the gas stations in my general vicinity. The average price of gas in my area as of the date of this review is a range of $1.559 to $1.629 per gallon. *gag*. My beautiful blue Priceline WebHouse Gasoline card is regularly saving me an average of $.15 a gallon!
• Get the Card
This is not an easy task. I waited over 2 months to receive my card. If you go to the Priceline.com website, you can request a Gasoline Card. And hey, if you don't have the WebHouse green grocery card yet, request that one too. It is well worth it!
• Activate the Card
To activate a WebHouse card, you must enter your billing information that includes your name, address, and authorization to charge your credit card. The interface is very intuitive and it's easy to change the credit card you want billed anytime. If you have already signed up for the regular WebHouse card, all your information is carried over into the Gasoline division.
• Name the Gas Station
You must select at least 3 gas stations from which you are willing to purchase your gas. The list of participating stations is limited, and Priceline will tell you which one station from which you must purchase your gas, so make sure you choose convenient stations! The more stations you choose, the greater your chances of successfully getting your low price.
• Name the Grade of Gas
You must decide in advance what grade of gas you are bidding on, and you must stick to it at the pump.
• Name the Gallons
You may choose from 10, 20, 30, 40, or 50 gallons. The gas is prepaid and will be available to you for the next 90 days. You may only have up to 50 gallons on your card at any one time.
• Name your Price
If your price is accepted, your credit card will be charged for the number of gallons on which you bid. You will be making a commitment to purchase all your gas from the assigned station at the agreed upon price.
Gas prices in my area average $1.57. Here's the rundown of the options Priceline gave me:
• $1.53: Great Chance of getting your price
• $1.50 Good Chance of getting your price
• $1.45 Fair Chance of getting your price
• $1.42 Low Chance of getting your price
• Name your own price
I always pick the lowest price. Since you can try once every 24 hours, I figure I'll get it eventually. My strategy has been working out very well so far. I have 50 gallons locked in at $1.42 per gallon.
• Let's Make a Deal
Now I can see the writing on the wall. Before Priceline rejects your low price, they will offer you ways to make a deal. For example, if I subscribed to a magazine, they would give me my gas for $1.34 per gallon. If I signed up for an internet answering machine service they would give me my gas for $1.13 per gallon, etc. I don't really have the time or the inclination to play let's make a deal just to get some gas, so I avoid these offers and just take the "no" and try again another day.
• At the Pump
Once you have successfully cleared the gauntlet and obtained your low price you can head out to the gas station. Remember, you can only use the station assigned to you by Priceline. At the pump, you use your Priceline card just like a credit card. You will need to put in a special numeric code that is printed out on your prepaid gas list. Then ignore the price on the pump, because your gas is already paid for at the low price you negotiated!
• "Never Pay More" guarantee
If by some miracle OPEC has mercy on us and the gas prices go way way down, a scenario could happen in which your prepaid bargain price for gas is actually higher than the pump price. If this occurs, Priceline will credit your account with the difference in price. Not to worry, you will never pay more.
I can attest that they follow this policy because it has happened to me on the regular WebHouse grocery card. I received over $7 in credit to my account because of using my supermarket's loyalty card on my Priceline items.
• Customer Service
I have had very good experiences with Priceline customer service. They have live people working there 24/7 to answer any questions you may have. They seem to be polite and reasonably knowledgeable.
-- Limitations --
• You may have to wait quite a while to receive your card. There is a very high demand.
• You may only pump 100 gallons of gas a month.
• You may only have 50 gallons of gas in your account at any one time.
• If you pump more gas than you have in your account you may be charged the normal pump price and a $1.50 handling fee.
• If you pump the wrong grade of gas you may be charged the normal pump price and a $1.50 handling fee.
• If you pump the gas at the wrong gas station you may be charged the normal pump price and a $1.50 handling fee.
• Self service pumps only!
• Some states do not have Priceline WebHouse gas available (yet): New Jersey, Missouri, Wisconsin, Alaska, and Hawaii.
• Use it or Lose it!
Your gas expires in 90 days. If you don't use it, you will lose it and not get a refund.
• You must be somewhat organized.
That fee for nonconformist use of the card at the pumps can really wipe out any savings you hope to garner from this program. If you're not willing to keep rudimentary records of how much gas you bought, the grade, and which station you may use, forget it. It won't be worth it to you.
• Watch Out for the Monthly Fee Down the Road
The first 90 days are free, but subsequent to that time, in each calendar month that you successfully name your price on either the regular Priceline WebHouse card or the Gasoline Card you will incur a monthly fee of $3.00. This information is kind of buried in the agreement we supposedly read when we sign up for the service.
*UPDATE 8/25/00: Priceline just removed the monthly fee from the gas card*
• How do they do it?
It's all a very interesting marketing ploy. You can read all about it if you go to the FAQ's for gas station retailers on the web site.
Basically, Priceline is partnering with gas stations to create more business for the individual station. Because the customers purchase chunks of gas, they will be going back to that station and presumably utilizing other profit centers in the station such as the convenience food area, service bays, car wash, etc. Additionally, I would expect that eventually non participating stations would start to feel the pinch in the loss of their customers to participating stations.
• Does it Work?
YES! If you are willing to spend a small amount of time online trying to get your prices and some additional time in record keeping, you will be financially rewarded.
-- Tips --
• It's a good idea when you're deciding which gas stations to pick to pull up MapQuest in another browser window and make sure you check the locations of the available stations before you commit to using them. You don't want to end up burning up your profits driving to some far off out of the way station.
• I keep my gas card, my prepaid gas lists, and each receipt when I buy gas all together in my glove box. This way, I always know where I stand at which station and I have my card and numeric code available.
• Want to stretch your deal? If you pump less than 5 gallons more than you have available on your card, Priceline will extend your agreed upon price to these extra gallons. But don't go 5 or more! You'll incur a $1.50 charge and the gas will be charged to your card at the pump price.
• The account information at the site is a great way of auditing and keeping track of how much gas you have left at which stations. The downside is that this area may take up to 10 days to update new information.
-- Conclusions --
It's a relatively painless, kind of fun, money saving endeavor. I have been saving about $60 a month between my two Priceline cards with very minimal effort. I wholeheartedly recommend it!
And, if you're not using the Priceline WebHouse grocery card you are missing out on some fantastic deals!
• Read all about the Priceline WebHouse card for groceries:
http://creditexpert.epinions.com/srvc-review-6968-103CB099-38F22941-prod2
• Another kind of gas (sorry, I couldn't resist):
http://creditexpert.epinions.com/book-review-7D69-8B2E1E3-3862827D-prod4
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
netKat
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Member: Kat
Location: Maryland
Reviews written: 166
Trusted by: 885 members
About Me:
Analytically inclined mom, bank officer, freelance writer, and internet addict.
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