WDML think: Gas points for discount?

[4speedy]

Mar 26, 2015 14:03:28 GMT -5 lurknomore said:

Mar 26, 2015 13:52:39 GMT -5 4speedy said:

We're allowed to buy gift cards at our Kroger and it counts toward our fuel points. Gift cards always count as at least 2x the face value and occasionally they count as 4x the face value when there is a special promotion.

We just bought Anderson windows through Home Depot and asked the sales rep if we can use gift cards to pay for the windows. The windows are being installed June 1, so in March, April, May, and June, I will buy about $8k worth of Home Depot gift cards for a total of $32k at my Kroger. That will be a minimum of 64 fill ups at a dollar off, up to $35 per fill up. that's over $2200 saved on our gas purchases this year. Plus, we participate in a cash back to the community program so a fraction of what I spend is donated to my daughter's school. Paying for our windows with gift cards purchased at Kroger means $640 will be donated to the school.

Do they expire?  Ours expire three months after earning them so we'd never get 64 fill ups worth!  That's awesome tho!

They do expire eventually.  That's why we'll buy the gift cards several each month rather than all in one month.  that way we have longer to use them up.  DH and I both drive Suburban's, so we'll use most of them.  Sometimes we share our gaspoints with our babysitter and our nephews.

[papie]

Mar 26, 2015 13:18:35 GMT -5 @randomcdn said:

If the grocery store cares, they'll change the program to limit it. Personally, it's too much effort to take two cars at the same time and fill up with gas. Or get them close to empty at the same time to be worth that effort.

This is why I'll never be rich, I'm lazy.

Same. Except I only fill up with gas when it's empty, so at least I maximize my discount per car.

[pantsparty]

I can't imagine coordinating with my H to fill our cars. #lazy

[dottyblue]

I am in no way saying "BUT THINK OF THE COMPANY!" LOL

It just seemed off to me. Probably because DH and rarely have our schedules coincide during the week where it would be reasonable to meet up just to fill up both cars. And I wouldn't waste time on the weekends doing it either. DH is the only one who uses our points because I have a hybrid and only fill up like 1x per month. Put me in the lazy pile.

[frenchies]

We do this. There is a 35 gallon limit which is plenty even if our cars are empty. Our tanks are on opposite sides of the car so one of us backs up end-to-end with the other so we're not having to circle cars in the middle of the process.

We live 5 minutes from the gas station so it's easy enough to run over when we are getting low on gas. We buy tons of gift cards to get points and I do a lot of shopping for work and use my own card to accumulate points as well. We pretty much always have $1 off per gallon. You can use the points either the month you earn them or the next month before they expire. I think right now we have 2000 points leftover from last month ($2 off) and another 2000 for this month. If we can't use all of last month's points before the end of this month we will tell one of our parents to fill up with our points.

Unless they state that it's for one vehicle only, I see this as making the best use of the discount. Saving up to $35 when you fill both cars is nothing to sneeze at, and we definitely shop that grocery store loyally. They aren't losing money on us.

[Deleted]

You know, this post is doing nothing for my efforts to convince myself that a Tesla would pay for itself.

[kadams767]

Mar 26, 2015 13:52:39 GMT -5 4speedy said:

We're allowed to buy gift cards at our Kroger and it counts toward our fuel points. Gift cards always count as at least 2x the face value and occasionally they count as 4x the face value when there is a special promotion.

We just bought Anderson windows through Home Depot and asked the sales rep if we can use gift cards to pay for the windows. The windows are being installed June 1, so in March, April, May, and June, I will buy about $8k worth of Home Depot gift cards for a total of $32k at my Kroger. That will be a minimum of 64 fill ups at a dollar off, up to $35 per fill up. that's over $2200 saved on our gas purchases this year. Plus, we participate in a cash back to the community program so a fraction of what I spend is donated to my daughter's school. Paying for our windows with gift cards purchased at Kroger means $640 will be donated to the school.

Am I doing the math wrong, or do you just buy a ton of gas to make this worth it?  

[jlt19]

You think this is bad? There are entire blogs and websites dedicated to how to work systems to get you the most bang for your buck and it's about way more than getting some discounted gas. It's fascinating really.

[prairiedawn]

We don't do it often but when we wind up with enough points, heck yeah we take both cars

[Deleted]

Our grocery store has a 35 gallon limit and if you use points the pump shuts off a 35 gallons. Also they don't allow you to pump gas into two different cars in 1 transaction. You can do 1 car and a bunch of gas cans though. Which is what H usually does.

[pinkpinot]

My husband's friend tried to fill his tank and his wife's tank using the grocery store points and a guy that worked at the gas station saw what he was doing and flipped out on them. So, I've never tried anything of the sort. I usually let H use the points because his truck is expensive to fill.

[Deleted]

Mar 26, 2015 13:56:47 GMT -5 CurlyQ284 said:

Dang 4speedy. Well thought out!

For some reason I thought your points reset each month. Do they roll over?

We do what @speedy4 does too but not to that extreme.  I think it varies by state but in Michigan you can use fuel months the month they are earned and the next calendar month before they expire.  So anything earned in March expire on April 30th. 

[pinkpinot]

Mar 29, 2015 7:47:37 GMT -5 jlt19 said:

You think this is bad? There are entire blogs and websites dedicated to how to work systems to get you the most bang for your buck and it's about way more than getting some discounted gas. It's fascinating really.

Can you link the blog? I want to read it!

[Deleted]

Mar 26, 2015 14:04:58 GMT -5 emoflamingo said:

Mar 26, 2015 14:03:28 GMT -5 lurknomore said:

Do they expire?  Ours expire three months after earning them so we'd never get 64 fill ups worth!  That's awesome tho!

Yeah, they do expire, so watch your points 4speedy.

H does this as well when we need to make big purchases. We used HD gift cards purchased at Dillons when we carpeted our old house and he does it with eBay gift cards on occasion too.

Just remember that your credit card purchase protection won't be in place if you use gift cards. We do this too for a lot of things, but any major purchases where we want the extended warranty, we don't go this route.

[whitemerlot]

I'm too lazy to bother with gas points. I think I'm pretty mm usually, but not with that.

I found that a little odd.

[isabel]

This bothers me not in the slightest.

[jlt19]

Mar 29, 2015 8:06:46 GMT -5 pinkpinot said:

Mar 29, 2015 7:47:37 GMT -5 jlt19 said:

You think this is bad? There are entire blogs and websites dedicated to how to work systems to get you the most bang for your buck and it's about way more than getting some discounted gas. It's fascinating really.

Can you link the blog? I want to read it!

I read Million Mile Secrets and flyertalk mostly. Google manufactured spending and much more will come up. I plan on having an almost free Hawaiian vacation in 2016 or 2017 with the things I've learned.

[4speedy]

Mar 29, 2015 6:48:02 GMT -5 kadams767 said:

Mar 26, 2015 13:52:39 GMT -5 4speedy said:

We're allowed to buy gift cards at our Kroger and it counts toward our fuel points. Gift cards always count as at least 2x the face value and occasionally they count as 4x the face value when there is a special promotion.

We just bought Anderson windows through Home Depot and asked the sales rep if we can use gift cards to pay for the windows. The windows are being installed June 1, so in March, April, May, and June, I will buy about $8k worth of Home Depot gift cards for a total of $32k at my Kroger. That will be a minimum of 64 fill ups at a dollar off, up to $35 per fill up. that's over $2200 saved on our gas purchases this year. Plus, we participate in a cash back to the community program so a fraction of what I spend is donated to my daughter's school. Paying for our windows with gift cards purchased at Kroger means $640 will be donated to the school.

Am I doing the math wrong, or do you just buy a ton of gas to make this worth it?  

We buy a ton of gas, but only because we use it all.  DH and I each drive Suburbans with 30 gallon tanks.  His commute to work is 40 miles each way so that burns a lot of gas.  We live in the country and have 26 acres of land.  We have a revolving door of people at our house all the time because we have all kinds of power sports here.  In the winter, we have a ranger and snowmobiles that we use to run kids out to our sledding hill.  The sledding hill has a rope tow that runs on a gas generator.  In the summer, DH has a motor cross track and 5 or 6 dirt bikes and both kids have dirt bikes.  So there are always people out here riding.  Plus all the equipment to maintain the track runs on gas.  Plus DH has a few tractors, and about 10 classic cars.  In the winter, it taks gas to plough the drive.  In the summer, it takes about 8 gallons of gas a week to run the zero turn to mow the lawn.  It all adds up.

coming to our house is like being on a fun outdoorsy vacation all the time but it takes a lot of gas to manage.

[illgetthere]

This makes me sad our state doesn't allow gas discounts. I only shop at kroger and see how many points I have, but we can't use them. I would fill up two cars if we could though; I've never been able to get even 10 gallons in my car.

[emoflamingo]

Mar 29, 2015 8:20:28 GMT -5 @gingerbb said:

Mar 26, 2015 14:04:58 GMT -5 emoflamingo said:

Yeah, they do expire, so watch your points 4speedy.

H does this as well when we need to make big purchases. We used HD gift cards purchased at Dillons when we carpeted our old house and he does it with eBay gift cards on occasion too.

Just remember that your credit card purchase protection won't be in place if you use gift cards. We do this too for a lot of things, but any major purchases where we want the extended warranty, we don't go this route.

He is buying video games mostly (I married an overgrown nerd child) which would be covered by "not as described" if he had issues. I don't worry about it because he has been selling on ebay forever and generally knows his shit. So far, we haven't had to use any credit card protections on purchases because he overthinks everything.

[illgetthere]

Mar 29, 2015 9:17:42 GMT -5 4speedy said:

Mar 29, 2015 6:48:02 GMT -5 kadams767 said:

Am I doing the math wrong, or do you just buy a ton of gas to make this worth it?  

We buy a ton of gas, but only because we use it all.  DH and I each drive Suburbans with 30 gallon tanks.  His commute to work is 40 miles each way so that burns a lot of gas.  We live in the country and have 26 acres of land.  We have a revolving door of people at our house all the time because we have all kinds of power sports here.  In the winter, we have a ranger and snowmobiles that we use to run kids out to our sledding hill.  The sledding hill has a rope tow that runs on a gas generator.  In the summer, DH has a motor cross track and 5 or 6 dirt bikes and both kids have dirt bikes.  So there are always people out here riding.  Plus all the equipment to maintain the track runs on gas.  Plus DH has a few tractors, and about 10 classic cars.  In the winter, it taks gas to plough the drive.  In the summer, it takes about 8 gallons of gas a week to run the zero turn to mow the lawn.  It all adds up.

coming to our house is like being on a fun outdoorsy vacation all the time but it takes a lot of gas to manage.

While I'm sure having all those toys could be a lot of fun, I would truly love to read the article Mr money mustache would write if he met you.

[4speedy]

Mar 29, 2015 10:30:44 GMT -5 illgetthere said:

Mar 29, 2015 9:17:42 GMT -5 4speedy said:

We buy a ton of gas, but only because we use it all.  DH and I each drive Suburbans with 30 gallon tanks.  His commute to work is 40 miles each way so that burns a lot of gas.  We live in the country and have 26 acres of land.  We have a revolving door of people at our house all the time because we have all kinds of power sports here.  In the winter, we have a ranger and snowmobiles that we use to run kids out to our sledding hill.  The sledding hill has a rope tow that runs on a gas generator.  In the summer, DH has a motor cross track and 5 or 6 dirt bikes and both kids have dirt bikes.  So there are always people out here riding.  Plus all the equipment to maintain the track runs on gas.  Plus DH has a few tractors, and about 10 classic cars.  In the winter, it taks gas to plough the drive.  In the summer, it takes about 8 gallons of gas a week to run the zero turn to mow the lawn.  It all adds up.

coming to our house is like being on a fun outdoorsy vacation all the time but it takes a lot of gas to manage.

While I'm sure having all those toys could be a lot of fun, I would truly love to read the article Mr money mustache would write if he met you.

I have no idea who Mr. Money Moustache is.

[illgetthere]

Mar 29, 2015 10:52:44 GMT -5 4speedy said:

Mar 29, 2015 10:30:44 GMT -5 illgetthere said:

While I'm sure having all those toys could be a lot of fun, I would truly love to read the article Mr money mustache would write if he met you.

I have no idea who Mr. Money Moustache is.

He's a blogger that is talked about on MM. I probably should have said that my post would make more sense over there

Edit: extremely frugal and "retired" at 30 or something like that. He despises SUVs and the like

[lime]

Mar 29, 2015 11:54:55 GMT -5 kevin arnold said:

Mar 29, 2015 11:53:20 GMT -5 @jezebel said:

Psh, what's a fuel crisis? There are plenty of dead dinosaurs to go around.

But it's so cheap right now! That means I don't have to worry about it!

.... or think about the environment....

[frenchies]

We filled up our 2 cars from empty for under $40 yesterday using out $1 off per gallon. And the gas station guy was right there and said nothing so... we will KOKO.

[kadams767]

Mar 29, 2015 11:56:22 GMT -5 tillie said:

Mar 29, 2015 9:17:42 GMT -5 4speedy said:

We buy a ton of gas, but only because we use it all.  DH and I each drive Suburbans with 30 gallon tanks.  His commute to work is 40 miles each way so that burns a lot of gas.  We live in the country and have 26 acres of land.  We have a revolving door of people at our house all the time because we have all kinds of power sports here.  In the winter, we have a ranger and snowmobiles that we use to run kids out to our sledding hill.  The sledding hill has a rope tow that runs on a gas generator.  In the summer, DH has a motor cross track and 5 or 6 dirt bikes and both kids have dirt bikes.  So there are always people out here riding.  Plus all the equipment to maintain the track runs on gas.  Plus DH has a few tractors, and about 10 classic cars.  In the winter, it taks gas to plough the drive.  In the summer, it takes about 8 gallons of gas a week to run the zero turn to mow the lawn.  It all adds up.

coming to our house is like being on a fun outdoorsy vacation all the time but it takes a lot of gas to manage.

Yeah, we're in the same boat with gas. A large truck, SUV, sports car, Harley, trike, 2 mini-bikes, snowblower, leaf blower, generators, UGH!!!  I'll take all of the discount s I can get!!

LOL at "UGH!!!".  Ugh, I can't believe all my expensive shit is expensive.  UGH.  Give me a break.  These are all choices that are pretty easily avoidable, you just choose not to care.  

[LeggsBenedict]

I don't even HAVE a car!

[lime]

Mar 29, 2015 13:39:56 GMT -5 tillie said:

Mar 29, 2015 12:53:08 GMT -5 kadams767 said:

LOL at "UGH!!!".  Ugh, I can't believe all my expensive shit is expensive.  UGH.  Give me a break.  These are all choices that are pretty easily avoidable, you just choose not to care.  

I agree that these are all personal choices. If it's any consolation the trike, minibikes, Harley and sports car are not used in the winter. Some of the generators are for DH's work and the generator at my house is only for power outages. 

No, not really. 

[tictac]

DH and I both drive cars with 12 gallon tanks ... and they're the only thing that we buy gas for.

I feel like I don't even speak the same language as some of the people in this thread.

[tictac]

Mar 29, 2015 13:58:51 GMT -5 toledo said:

Mar 29, 2015 13:58:17 GMT -5 tictac said:

DH and I both drive cars with a 12 gallon tanks ... and it they're the only thing that we buy gas for.

I feel like I don't even speak the same language as some of the people in this thread.

The language of entitled selfishness?

"Entitled selfishness", "environmental apathy", po-tay-to, po-tah-to.