Caution when using your credit card at the gas pump....

Just was on GMA this morning...

Some gas stations are charging you more when you put your gas on a credit card....As soon as you swipe your card, check the amount...one station was charging 50 cents more per gallon until he was fined......

It is a bait and switch....people don't look at their receipts....  The signs at the curb are now for cash only at some stations....You think you are paying that price....Some were charging 10 cents

more per gallon....

The gas pump price jumps up as soon as you put in your little plastic card.....(they did not say debit cards)

Not all gas stations, but they focused on the ones out east.....They do get fined if caught...or else they have to put a double sign out front , with the cash and credit charges both listed...

The one gas station attendant says, " well, cash paying customers will not get a break anymore"...probably meaning , they will add the extra fee 2%...to the original price and everyone will pay.....

The closest gas station to me has always charged 3% more if you use plastic.  That's 3 % on your whole order.  Even if you just go by a drink or whatever,he charges that.  He did have a sign up front that if you use plastic at the pumps,its .25 more per gallon.

Pretty soon they will all be charging extra for using credit and debit cards.  I even saw a couple of signs on our trip through MN and WI advertising a cash price and a credit price.  Right now it can make the difference between the station making money on the gas they sold you or losing money.  The profit a station makes per gallon hasn't changed much the past year but the price per gallon has changed.  So if it takes 15 gallons to fill your vehicle at $2.50 a gallon it costs you $37.50 to fill -  at $4.00 it costs you $60.00 to fill.  But the gas station is making .02 - .05 per gallon profit no matter what the price is.  But the credit/debit card processing company is getting its 3 - 5 % no matter what.  So as the prices go up the credit card companies get more and more.

However if they are charging a different price for credit they should have to post it!!!

In California they are required to post the price, and if there are different prices, they must post them all (cash, credit, full service).  Oddly, I believe that they are not allowed to charge extra for credit card use, but they can give a discount for cash payments.  Same effect, different label.

On GMA.....they did post the price at the curb...but,,,,,once you put your credit card into the gas pump, unless you LOOKED, it jumped up a large amount....

The curbside price was on the pump BUT unless you were watching your own pump price....the price on the pump JUMPED up after you put your charge card in....NOT what was posted curbside....