Will a Costco or Sam’s Club membership save you money on gas

[Jesda]

The short answer is: no, not really... if you assume standard annual mileage and accept the prices in my neighborhood as a reflection of the normal discrepancy between member and non-member gas prices.



SCENARIO ONE: REGULAR UNLEADED

2010 Malibu I4 Auto – 26mpg combined

Regular unleaded gasoline
12,000 miles/year

$3.69 per gallon at Shell, 87 octane
Annual fuel cost: $1703.08

$3.59 per gallon at Costco, 87 octane
Annual fuel cost: $1656.92 + $50 membership = $1706.92

Annual Loss: $3.84 <—-



SCENARIO TWO: PREMIUM UNLEADED

2010 Cadillac DTS Performance V8 Auto – 18mpg combined

Premium unleaded gasoline
12,000 miles/year

$3.96 per gallon at Shell, 93 octane
Annual fuel cost: $2640.00

$3.79 per gallon at Costco, 93 octane
Annual fuel cost: $2526.67 + $50 membership = $2,576.67

Annual Savings: $63.33 <—-

http://jesda.com/2011/04/07/will-a-cost ... ey-on-gas/

[Bubba1]

The short answer is: no, not really... if you assume standard annual mileage and accept the prices in my neighborhood as a reflection of the normal discrepancy between member and non-member gas prices.



SCENARIO ONE: REGULAR UNLEADED

2010 Malibu I4 Auto – 26mpg combined

Regular unleaded gasoline
12,000 miles/year

$3.69 per gallon at Shell, 87 octane
Annual fuel cost: $1703.08

$3.59 per gallon at Costco, 87 octane
Annual fuel cost: $1656.92 + $50 membership = $1706.92

Annual Loss: $3.84 <—-



SCENARIO TWO: PREMIUM UNLEADED

2010 Cadillac DTS Performance V8 Auto – 18mpg combined

Premium unleaded gasoline
12,000 miles/year

$3.96 per gallon at Shell, 93 octane
Annual fuel cost: $2640.00

$3.79 per gallon at Costco, 93 octane
Annual fuel cost: $2526.67 + $50 membership = $2,576.67

Annual Savings: $63.33 <—-

http://jesda.com/2011/04/07/will-a-cost ... ey-on-gas/

Good stuff. Something else to consider the convenience factor. For example, is the location of Costco/Sams gas station close to where you do most of your driving. If it's out of the way, then the small savings in price could easily get erased by the travelling to/from the station. Plus in order achieve the maximum savings, you must use that station exclusively.

[coupecrazy1232]

Or you be a major mooch and use your room mates sams card to fill up and let him pay the membership fee!! Then you save quite a bit! lol

[Jesda]

Or you be a major mooch and use your room mates sams card to fill up and let him pay the membership fee!! Then you save quite a bit! lol

[Bubba1]

Or you be a major mooch and use your room mates sams card to fill up and let him pay the membership fee!! Then you save quite a bit! lol

WIN!!!

[Eikon]

The discount at Sam's Club varies in my experience. Some days it's $.10 less and some days it's the same as what I see everywhere else. In my experience, I would not save the cost of my membership in a year. However, I have a family of four and we do shop for household goods and food at Sam's Club and we more than cover the membership in that way. Heck.. I bet I can save the membership just from buying lunch at their cafe... The $1.70 hotdog combo just about makes a lunch meal for me.. I'd spend at least $5.00 everywhere else... and that is about the best hotdog known to man.

[BusyBadger]

The discount at Sam's Club varies in my experience. Some days it's $.10 less and some days it's the same as what I see everywhere else.

^ ^ This ^ ^

I actually filled up last summer at Sam's (gas, not hot dogs) and on the way home the gas at Murphy's (Wal Mart) was actually cheaper.

The $1.70 hotdog combo just about makes a lunch meal for me.. I'd spend at least $5.00 everywhere else... and that is about the best hotdog known to man.

Thanks for the idea...Nathan's dogs are great! I know where I'm going for lunch.

[OriginalWheelman]

Based on your numbers CNN will be reporting that you can save $67 a year by driving a V8 sedan.

[Kompresshun]

Thankfully for myself, there is a Sams on the way home from Lexington, so if we're out it's almost always on our way back to the house. I vary between Sams's and Kroger though for fuel, occasionally Kroger is cheaper, especially if I have $.10 off on my Kroger Plus card. I stay pretty exclusive to Sam's in my car though, since they're almost always cheaper for premium here.

As far as the membership goes, I totally agree that it's a waste to get one just to save on fuel. We always get more than our moneys worth out of our membership though, I got a 42" LCD TV with a Bluray player built in to it last year for $450(reg. $899). Then we buy milk and other assorted groceries that don't go to waste in bulk form, or are cheaper in bulk form.

[r34 gtr]

On occasion my Costco will have gas at almost $.50/gal cheaper than other places. Its usually only about $.10-$.20/gal cheaper, but its still pretty significant. It really varies a lot, so you have to be on the lookout. That being said, I use my membership primarily for cheap beer, candy, and $1.50 hot dog and drink combos.

I guess my Costco just keeps it realer than other Costcos. Hmm. It is kind of inconvenient though, unless I stop on my way home from work.

[Jesda]

Based on your numbers CNN will be reporting that you can save $67 a year by driving a V8 sedan.

[s0m3th1ngAZ]

I share my safeway card with my Mom. How it works is the more stuff you buy at safeway, the bigger discount you receive on gas. One month I was able to fill up for 50 cents less per gallon.

[Jesda]

I have a hankering for a $1.50 hot dog and soda.

[C-Kwik]

I think one factor is whether or not a person gets a Costco membership for the purpose of buying gas or not and/or if they will use other benefits of the membership (and to what extent it saves them money overall).

But personally, I don't get Costco Gas even though I have a membership. They don't say where they get the gas, the lines are generally horrendous, and the only one along my daily drive requires me to get on and off the freeway at a location where street traffic is chaotic.

[gwoods]

I share my safeway card with my Mom. How it works is the more stuff you buy at safeway, the bigger discount you receive on gas. One month I was able to fill up for 50 cents less per gallon.

I punch in random phone numbers at the Safeway pumps until I find one that works and has a discount and never ever shop at safeway

[MinisterofDOOM]

Based on your numbers CNN will be reporting that you can save $67 a year by driving a V8 sedan.

NO!
V8s are expensive, fuel-hungry, and evil. That belief keeps resale values low. Keep spreading it.

I think one factor is whether or not a person gets a Costco membership for the purpose of buying gas or not and/or if they will use other benefits of the membership (and to what extent it saves them money overall).

But personally, I don't get Costco Gas even though I have a membership. They don't say where they get the gas, the lines are generally horrendous, and the only one along my daily drive requires me to get on and off the freeway at a location where street traffic is chaotic.

Pretty much exactly what I was going to post. My parents have a Costco membership for food, but generally fill up the car when stopping for food, too. Costco is nowhere near close enough to their house for it to be the regular stop for refueling, so they don't go there most of the time.

And yeah, every time I've ever seen a Costco filling station, it has always had a ridiculously long line of cars waiting. The Chevron across the street from my apartment never has a line at all. So...better gas and no wait, or a chance of saving $2? Yeah, I'll stick with Chevron.

[orangeNblue]

The Costco here usually varies between $ .20 - $ .28 per gallon over the competition. Also if you have the membership usually you are using it regularly not only for gas, but for items like groceries, beer, or the occasional great deal. The more you spend the more you are rewarded back depending on the membership card you have. I know that on the plan my family uses, the money spent over time pays for the membership itself, so in retrospect I'd still be saving a boatload o cash buying my gas at costco....

thats just me tho

[downedzephyr]

I have a hankering for a $1.50 hot dog and soda.

this. costco usually saves me like 15 cents/gallon and i typically buy groceries there at the same time, so it's a win for me.

[AZhitman]

We (actually, Bex's idea, I can't take the credit for this) have a much better plan:

Fry's (local grocer, great prices, great coupons) offers 10 cents off per gallon to VIP cardholders (people who spend more than X amount a month). 5 people in the house makes that real easy...

Their gas prices are about on-par, or a couple cents lower already than other local stations.

So, 10 cents per gallon is a couple bucks per fill-up... THEN, we pay with our Rewards Card, which pays double points towards travel for all fuel purchases, and we get a couple flights and a few hotel stays each year for free.

[Beancooker]

I live 1/2 a mile from Costco. It's the nearest grocery store. It's also the nearest and by far the most convenient gas station. Prices + convenience = win.

[szh]

What the heck? Apparently, you can also get a big discount on that monster diamond ring when you are there for the gas.

http://www.costco.com/Browse/ProductSet ... ngItemName

Z

[Jesda]

They have great casket deals too.