Line Up for Cheaper Gas at Costco or Walmart?

[luckydude]

Drove to Costco today with the intent to fuel up. Took one look at the long line around the block and kept on driving. Would have liked to save some $ on gas but just didn't have the patience to wait half an hour or more to save a few bucks.

Wonder if anyone here has the patience to wait in line at Costco or Sam's Club to save on gas?

Edit: Not sure if this thread belongs to FIRE & Money. Mods: please move it elsewhere as you see fit.

 

[Dash man]

I filled up today at a WaWa using my Costco credit card. Paid $4.89/gal (Premium) plus I get 4% back on the card. Still more than the Costco price, but I saved a lot more in time.

 

[Retireby45ish]

I haven’t seen lines yet but I agree with you. Time = money. But say you save $0.20 a gallon. That’s like $3. For a 20 minute wait you are valuing your time at $9 an hour. No way! **

I work hard and value my time (off) much more than this.

**Although I understand that if someone earns very little this might be a trade off they might be ok with.

I know plenty of people who feel differently. One relative who is 80 and sitting on 7 figures will drive to Costco to save the $2 even if it takes him 30 mins extra. Or he’ll return two $0.74 cent screws he bought at Home Depot. That alone isn’t worth the gas or time. But I guess it’s a mentality. Or maybe at that age that is what he likes to do to keep busy.

 

[RobbieB]

I don't line up for gas. Anywhere. If all pumps are busy, I'm down the road.

 

[Jerry1]

You’re retired and therefore you have flexibility. I went to Costco tonight. I had some things to pick up. I went 1/2 hour before close. Not many people there. After shopping I went and filled up. No waiting.

I have waited in line to save money on gas at Costco. The other day it was backed up as much as I have ever seen. I was in DW’s car and one of my objectives for the day was to get her car filled. While it’s true that the lines were long, they move surprisingly fast at Costco. The good thing at Costco is that it’s just gas. No one going in for a soda or leaving their car for any reason. Gas and go.

 

[audreyh1]

The line at Costco gas was so long on Monday that they blocked a cross street in the parking area. I had never seen that before here. But since Costco wouldn’t be open for another 15 mins, we decided to get in line and it didn’t take that long - maybe 10-12 mins.

The longest gas line I have ever been in, and this was years ago, was Costco Maui twice.

Costco gas was 3.49 that day. Walmart was 3.58.

 

[W2R]

Drove to Costco today with the intent to fuel up. Took one look at the long line around the block and kept on driving. Would have liked to save some $ on gas but just didn't have the patience to wait half an hour or more to save a few bucks.

Wonder if anyone here has the patience to wait in line at Costco or Sam's Club to save on gas?

Edit: Not sure if this thread belongs to FIRE & Money. Mods: please move it elsewhere as you see fit.

I got gas yesterday. I went to my usual Exxon station which is not bargain basement gas. There were a couple of available pumps, so I drove up to one, got my gas (at $4.19/gallon, oof!!) and came home. I can always cut back in other ways if I feel the need to do so.

 

[ownyourfuture]

Drove to Costco today with the intent to fuel up. Took one look at the long line around the block and kept on driving. Would have liked to save some $ on gas but just didn't have the patience to wait half an hour or more to save a few bucks.

Wonder if anyone here has the patience to wait in line at Costco or Sam's Club to save on gas?

Edit: Not sure if this thread belongs to FIRE & Money. Mods: please move it elsewhere as you see fit.

Isn't there a popular thread titled 'blow that dough' ?
It could've gone there

But seriously, I would've kept on driving as well.

 

[F.I.R.E User]

$3.15 here and 3% CB.

 

[tb001]

$5.60 something for premium at Costco yesterday. Lines during the day were pretty average. I tried to go Sunday morning and they were nuts, so figured I would coast on EV til later in the week. I’m ridiculously frugal about stuff like that, mainly on principal. I also returned a carton of bad blueberries while I was there, so I know I’ve likely become officially old.

I always find the Costco lines move way faster than you would expect and the efficiency of the process appeals to me.

Some of it is as much out of habit as anything else. The other, more convenient stations, are insanely overpriced, so I would have to find a decent Costco alternative. As long as I’m not running on fumes I would just rather wait and try again next time I’m there.

 

[luckydude]

You’re retired and therefore you have flexibility. I went to Costco tonight. I had some things to pick up. I went 1/2 hour before close. Not many people there. After shopping I went and filled up. No waiting.

I have waited in line to save money on gas at Costco. The other day it was backed up as much as I have ever seen. I was in DW’s car and one of my objectives for the day was to get her car filled. While it’s true that the lines were long, they move surprisingly fast at Costco. The good thing at Costco is that it’s just gas. No one going in for a soda or leaving their car for any reason. Gas and go.

The gas at Costco was $5.25/gallon. I ended up going to a Shell a mile down to pay $5.51/gallon for 12.65 gallons, so I paid an extra $3.28 for not waiting.

You're right that Costco gas lines usually move pretty quickly and lines usually look worse than they actually are.

Oddly enough, now that I am FIRE'd and have a lot of free time, I am actually a lot less patient when it comes to running errands and get annoyed when I have to wait for anything. The other morning I went to a bank and there were 5 people in line. I got annoyed, turned around and walked right out because I didn't want to wait 10 minutes. I think I'm turning into a grumpy old dude

 

[RetiredAt55.5]

Wonder if anyone here has the patience to wait in line at Costco or Sam's Club to save on gas?

My Sam's club is only about 12 cents cheaper, but I have to drive 5 miles out of my way to get there. So, on a 15 gallon fill up I'd save $1.80.

But, my car gets about 25 miles per gallon so I'd burn $0.85 in gas making a special trip there.

So, my net savings after making a special trip and waiting in a long line is $0.95

Just not worth it unless I'm already shopping there and I happen to need gas. I try not to shop at Sam's much since I always end up buying more stuff there than what was on my list.

I do use my Sam's credit card to get 5% back on gas, but that's at any gas station.

 

[luckydude]

Isn't there a popular thread titled 'blow that dough' ?
It could've gone there

But seriously, I would've kept on driving as well.

Yes, paying high prices for gas could be considered a form of "BTD". On the other hand, I always think of BTD as spending $ on something fun/enjoyable, and for me at least, having to gas up my car every so often just isn't fun/enjoyable.

 

[milford]

If I see the line of cars go out to the streets (which means at least a 30 minute wait) I'll pass, the "savings" is just not worth the time and effort. I always thought Costco shoppers were more savvy, but I never understood how so many people are willing to wait 30+minutes to save ~$5 or less (for most cars). If you do the calculation you are probably burning close to a dollar of gas waiting in line on top of idling your car for 30+ mins can't be good for the car.

 

[daylatedollarshort]

We went to Costco on a Friday afternoon for recently for gas and there was a long line. We decided to bail and went to a regular gas station instead and got $20 to get us through the weekend. The next time we went to Costco we looked at Google first where they show the busy times by day and hour, and went to fill up during a slow time.

If you haven't done this before try typing in Google -


Costco gas city-name

and you may get a graph on the right side of the page showing how busy they usually are every hour for every day of the week and sometimes the current hour even shows live data.

 

[Dtail]

No way waiting for gas, plus besides Costco and BJ's, the Shell I use is the next cheapest.

 

[target2019]

$4.29 less 5% Penfed card. Well-groomed assistant pumps my gas, not much waiitng at all.

WaWa.

 

[FloridaJim57]

I am going to wait in line to vote in November. Read that any way you want.

 

[Pellice]

$4.29 less 5% Penfed card. Well-groomed assistant pumps my gas, not much waiitng at all.

WaWa.

See my lament on the likely loss of this comfort in the other gas thread. We can mourn together.

 

[levindb]

I haven’t seen lines yet but I agree with you. Time = money. But say you save $0.20 a gallon. That’s like $3.

To put things in perspective, those $3 can get you 2 Hot Dog combos at Costco, so by waiting a few minutes, I get a free lunch for me and DW.

Unfortunately, we then walk around the store and get $100 worth of things we don't need...I think that is why they always put milk in the back of a store...

 

[target2019]

See my lament on the likely loss of this comfort in the other gas thread. We can mourn together.

Meaning? I am not entirely sure what you referring to. Maybe the Penfed card goes away? WaWa gonna hire deadbeats?

In any event, we'll survive.

 

[Accidental Retiree]

Even before this, DH has abhorred waiting in line for fuel, so when he makes a Costco fuel run, it’s at the opening time of 5:30 am.

That’s between our first and second sleep, anyway, so it’s not a problem.

 

[pb4uski]

.... Costco gas was 3.49 that day. Walmart was 3.58.

Assuming a 20 gallon tank, why would someone wait in line to save $2? What is you time worth?

 

[Montecfo]

I don't wait in line. Amazed that people do.

My go-to for gas is Harris-Teeter or Kroger gas. Usually get $1.00 per gallon off due to points. No waiting.

 

[Aerides]

Costco, I save about 40-50c per gallon vs anywhere as close. I go pre-lunch on weekdays when things are at their best. In my case costco is also relatively close as it's about 2-3 miles drive.

I find the line is always faster than it looks, usually about 10 mins even if all rows are at their max. I play on my phone while I wait.