expired Posted by Stars09 • Jan 1, 2023
Jan 1, 2023 7:50 PM
Item 1 of 1
expired Posted by Stars09 • Jan 1, 2023
Jan 1, 2023 7:50 PM
Select Amex Cardholders Offer: Next 2 Gas Fill-ups w/ Upside App
(Valid thru 3/31/23)$0.35 Off/Gallon
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I signed up 2 months back through a referral. Followed all the steps like adding the offer, providing last 4 or 5 digits of the card and then filled the gas at Shell. They took about 15 days to process the receipt and then said I'm not qualified for the cashback. I didn't even think of submitting a ticket. Waste of time.
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** Costco and Sam's etc never seen Upside work with them. Gas is probably cheaper that route hands down.
** Upside works with the bigger brands like shell, chevron, 76 etc. arguably they are a bit pricier than off brand stations. Upside offsets some/all of that. Plus sometimes big cash back buying from the stations convenience store when filling up.
*personally i use this for my business travel.
* I suggest exploring that app and finding one or two reliable stations (ie: decent price for fuel, decent cash back thru Upside, decent location, etc) and stick to those.
Register your credit cards with app
-gas stations with cash back offer range from ~1cent to 25 cents back a gallon. Best cash back tends to be stations a little off the beaten path in my experience.
-redeem for a gas station then you have 4 hours to get there. "Check in" on the app then fill up. Credit usually comes in a couple days. Occasionally need to upload a receipt, that's usually b/c GPS thinks you're somewhere other than the gas station
these discounts vs costco mean they were over pricing gas itself.
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these discounts vs costco mean they were over pricing gas itself.
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@ $5/gal, 4% back = $0.20/gal. 5% back = $0.25/gal savings.
@ $4/gal, 4% back = $0.16/gal. 5% back = $0.20/gal savings.
Or if you're outside California and its insane gas taxes
@ $3/gal, 4% back = $0.12/gal, 5% back = $0.15/gal savings.
Factor in the base gas price being cheaper at Costco, and you're probably better off refueling at Costco. But you can see the dynamics of the % cash back vs flat discount as gas price varies. Higher gas prices make the % cash back better. Lower gas prices make the flat discount better.
If your car gets 30 MPG, that's 5805 miles worth of gas. Most people put 12k miles on their car per year. So you actually end saving an extra $64/yr just buying gas at Costco, even after you account for the membership fee. (There's a $7000/yr cap on the 4% cash back for gas, but @ $4/gal that's 1750 gallons, meaning you need to drive 52.5k per year @ 30 MPG.)
The distance to Costco isn't what matters. It's how much of a detour it is from your typical commute. If it's 15 miles from your home, 15 miles from your work, but sits exactly between the two (i.e. right on your 30 mile commute), then it's a 0 mile detour on your way home. For most major cities, it will be less than a 5 mile detour. And if you shop there regularly (which you probably will once you get a membership), then it's no extra distance driven.
If it really is a 15 mile detour, then you're left with just the $0.16/gal cash back from using the card at other gas stations. At 30 MPG, that's 11250 miles to make back the $60 membership fee. So it's pretty much break even for most people even if you never go to Costco to buy gas. i.e. If your car gets substantially worse than 30 MPG, or you drive a lot more than 11k miles/yr, or gas prices go back above $4/gal, then paying $60 for a Costco membership just to get their Visa card with 4% cash back on gas is worth it. Even if you never shop at Costco*, never visit a Costco gas station.
* They give the cash back in the form of a voucher you use to buy stuff at the store. So you will need to visit the store once per year. But you can buy a cheap item and ask the cashier for the remaining balance on the voucher as cash. You actually want to do this even if you visit the store regularly, since buying stuff in the store using the credit card instead of via the voucher gives you 2% cash back (3% with the business Visa).
@ $5/gal, 4% back = $0.20/gal. 5% back = $0.25/gal savings.
@ $4/gal, 4% back = $0.16/gal. 5% back = $0.20/gal savings.
Or if you're outside California and its insane gas taxes
@ $3/gal, 4% back = $0.12/gal, 5% back = $0.15/gal savings.
Factor in the base gas price being cheaper at Costco, and you're probably better off refueling at Costco. But you can see the dynamics of the % cash back vs flat discount as gas price varies. Higher gas prices make the % cash back better. Lower gas prices make the flat discount better.
$60 annual membership fee (Visa card is free, just need to apply for it). If you figure Costco gas is 15 cents/gal cheaper than neighboring gas stations, and you're getting $0.16/gal back ($4/gal price), then you'll only need to purchase 193.5 gallons to make back to membership fee.
If your car gets 30 MPG, that's 5805 miles worth of gas. Most people put 12k miles on their car per year. So you actually end saving an extra $64/yr just buying gas at Costco, even after you account for the membership fee. (There's a $7000/yr cap on the 4% cash back for gas, but @ $4/gal that's 1750 gallons, meaning you need to drive 52.5k per year @ 30 MPG.)
The distance to Costco isn't what matters. It's how much of a detour it is from your typical commute. If it's 15 miles from your home, 15 miles from your work, but sits exactly between the two (i.e. right on your 30 mile commute), then it's a 0 mile detour on your way home. For most major cities, it will be less than a 5 mile detour. And if you shop there regularly (which you probably will once you get a membership), then it's no extra distance driven.
If it really is a 15 mile detour, then you're left with just the $0.16/gal cash back from using the card at other gas stations. At 30 MPG, that's 11250 miles to make back the $60 membership fee. So it's pretty much break even for most people even if you never go to Costco to buy gas. i.e. If your car gets substantially worse than 30 MPG, or you drive a lot more than 11k miles/yr, or gas prices go back above $4/gal, then paying $60 for a Costco membership just to get their Visa card with 4% cash back on gas is worth it. Even if you never shop at Costco*, never visit a Costco gas station.
* They give the cash back in the form of a voucher you use to buy stuff at the store. So you will need to visit the store once per year. But you can buy a cheap item and ask the cashier for the remaining balance on the voucher as cash. You actually want to do this even if you visit the store regularly, since buying stuff in the store using the credit card instead of via the voucher gives you 2% cash back (3% with the business Visa).
And I don't know if you saw, but this offer stacks, so I can save over $1/gal with the offer which is way cheaper that I'd pay at Costco. I also regularly get Kroger fuel rewards or other rewards/discounts (I just saved $0.40/gal off with Shell Fuel Rewards). So it's not like I'm always paying full price for gas anyway.
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