pinniped

Agreed. Gas stations are the only category where it seems to get close in some areas (in the U.S.).

tmiw

On that note, the one gas brand with a surcharge that's a bit bothersome is Arco. The vast majority around here are debit only yet still charge a 35c fee for using a card. You would think that their processing costs are low enough due to not running credit cards (and the Durbin Amendment capping most debit) that it's not necessary to charge on top of that.

storewanderer

There are some merchants in CA who are grandfathered into charging a fee for PIN-debit use. Arco is one of those merchants. Another are the corporate owned Carl's Jr. locations (which charge a whopping $1 fee and discourage PIN-debit usage unless the customer wants cash back; if they process as Credit without PIN, no fee is assessed), of which few are left as most got sold to franchisees, some of which kept taking PIN-debit and others of which stopped taking it. Another is the EG Group owned Quik Stop in CA (none of the other former Kroger c-store chains charge a PIN-debit fee; only Quik Stop).

Arco reduced its Debit Fee from 45 cents to 35 cents, after Durbin, citing reduced processing fees.

Arco was sued in OR and was required to eliminate the 35 cent debit fee. Arco in WA also eliminated the 35 cent debit fee a number of years ago as BP piloted credit card acceptance at those Arcos (with a 10 cent per gallon fee for credit/debit).

So really the main Arcos that fee for debit are in CA. Arcos outside CA generally do not, as they have transitioned to credit card acceptance with two price points. There are still some Arcos in NV/AZ with the 35 cent debit fee but they are becoming fewer and fewer. The CA Arcos are holding firm to the 35 cent debit fee/no credit card policy.

cbn42

The difference is that one is false advertising, because one price is displayed and then a higher price is charged. This can be misleading and violate consumer protection laws. There is nothing misleading about charging a lower price than what was displayed on the shelf, and no one will complain about it.

That's probably because the more expensive brands tend to have differential pricing, while the cheaper brands don't. I don't think there is any collusion. Prices and surcharges match because of market forces.


Yeah, I was a bit surprised by that one. I suppose many customers are still using debit cards from small banks/credit unions.

There's no grandfather clause. Any merchant in CA can charge a fee for PIN-debit use as the settlement terms only pertain to credit cards. I'm surprised that they are doing it, because PIN debit is generally pretty cheap.

Interesting, I didn't know that. One Arco near me was accepting credit cards for a while, I'm not sure if they still do.

I think that's because they are licensed by different companies. Andeavor owns the Arco trademark and BP owns the am-pm trademark. From what I know, NV/AZ/some of CA is licensed by Andeavor, while the rest of CA plus OR/WA is licensed by BP.

tmiw

On the other hand, if there's explicit signage and warnings before you go to pay indicating that you'll be charged extra for using a card, is that really false advertising? After all, the customer was notified and given the option to use another form of payment instead yet continued to use a payment method that results in an extra fee.

storewanderer

The grandfather clause on the debit fee is on the card processing side because most card processors (not the card networks) would prohibit a debit fee to be charged. Those merchants get to keep doing it because they are grandfathered in. Go try to get a merchant account in CA or any other state and tell them you want to do a .35 debit surcharge and you will be hard pressed to find a processor who will service you.

The CA Arcos that hold firm to the debit only policy are both Marathon and BP owned. There are a few in CA that take credit cards on BP's network now (like the one by Sacramento airport) and also a few that take credit cards on the Arco network that is controlled by Marathon (mostly around Fresno).

jebr

Even then, it seems to be in some certain pockets. I've rarely seen it here in the upper Midwest, even when traveling to neighboring states. The couple times I've rented a car recently, I haven't noticed it there either (though admittedly I'll often try to find a Costco gas station, just because it's often the cheapest option in the area.) I'm sure it's prevalent in certain areas of the US, but I've rarely seen it, especially at "name-brand" gas stations.

pinniped

IIRC, there are laws in many places about how gasoline prices in particular are displayed. That may be a factor.

Barciur

Which areas of the US have credit/cash gas pricing differences common? I admittedly don't travel around as much in the US, but living in PA, there is only one gas station within a 50 mile radius that I know of that charges a separate cash and credit price. It's an old, broken down Shell which used to be have Subway as it's service station and now there is signage on it saying 'pumps work 24/7 business closed down thanks for years of patronage' so who knows how long that will last in its current form. Interestingly, though, debit card usage incurs a cash price, it's only credit card that charge more.

Other than that, travelling around here I only see that on independently-owned gas stations in NJ. When I travel through Maryland or Virginia or Delaware, I really do not see any of that.

tmiw

Cash/credit pricing and car wash/no car wash pricing are fairly common here in Southern California (even at major brands) but it's not impossible to avoid.

storewanderer

Very common in California. Even some corporately run stations (like some Speedways and some 7-Elevens - but not ALL of them) have cash price/credit price. All Safeways have cash price/credit price too (and at one time did at all of their gas stations, but have since stopped it in some states). Costco, Sams, the few stations Kroger has, the few Pilots, few Loves, the few corporate Circle Ks, the corporate Chevrons, and most of the Speedways do not engage in the cash price/credit price practice.

Somewhat common in Las Vegas, Oregon, and Washington.

Not real common elsewhere from what I've seen. Supposedly some pockets of it back east around NY.

Basically where there are strong corporately operated gas stations you do not see this practice. So in the middle of the US, like TX, OK, etc. where Quik Trip is common you do not see this. In the east where Sheetz and Wawa are heavily present you do not see this. Where most gas stations are run by independent dealers, you see this practice. California has very few corporately run gas stations; most there are run by dealers. Same goes for OR/WA. As for Las Vegas, many years ago the dominant operator there Rebel Oil started a cash price/credit price set up. Circle K is also common in Las Vegas and they too do cash price/credit price there (have never seen them do it anywhere else). The other dominant operator there, Terrible Herbst, did cash price/credit price in some but not all locations.

MASTERNC

I mainly see price differentials in NY, NJ, and MD, even with chains such as Wawa/Royal Farms and Speedway not doing this. There are a few stations around Philly that also do that, though some of them are also the most expensive stations in the area (even for cash).

g289t

My home area is southeastern Pennsylvania between Philadelphia and Harrisburg (I'm not there at the moment as I'm living abroad for a few years). There are many Sheetz, Turkey Hill, Wawa, and (a few) Royal Farm convenience stores around. I cannot think of a single store selling gas anywhere around that has separate cash and credit prices. I mean, there might be some, but I do not recall seeing any. They are certainly not common if they do exist.

Redhead

I'm in the RDU area. Every gas station around, except Costco, has cash/credit and, if applicable, car wash/no wash pricing differences. The car wash discount is applied to both cash and credit pricing.

tmiw

Weird, it's usually one or the other if there's any sort of discount at all. Then again, I could also not be paying too much attention.