If you live in an area where you have a Bi-Lo, you have an opportunity to save money, so we think. For every $50 you spend, you can save anywhere from 5 cents to 20 cents (the more you spend cumulatively) per gallon of gas for up to 20 gallons. This is a GREAT concept however my pop-in-law made a good point. You basically spend $50 to save 5 cents. In the grand scheme of things, you save $2. I guess every penny counts, which is why I do coupons, but this just seems a little nuts to me. So...I tried it for the first time today and decided I won't do this again. There are some things you do in life that make it worth it if it is convenient.
When I signed up for the new fuelperks card last time I was at Bi-Lo, they gave me a sheet that showed all the gas stations (which are only BP or Shell) in the Charlotte/Rock Hill area that were participating with the program. There are three in Rock Hill and none that are close to the house. As I drove by the Citgo station that I usually use, I noted that the cost was $2.41 a gallon. Once I got to a BP station that I thought was participating, I saw it was $2.47 a gallon. So if we all do our math correctly, that's still paying 2 cents more WITH my 5 cents off. I thought whatever - let's just give it a try to see if it works. You're supposed to be able to scan your Bonus Card when a prompt comes up asking you if you want to use your Bonus Card, but I never saw it. I just got frustrated (mostly because it was freezing and the pump kept beeping at me) so I got 10 gallons and went to work. Once I got home this afternoon, I looked at the list again and realized that the station I went to was in fact NOT participating in the fuelperks. DUHO! I felt dumb.
So in summary, if I happen to get up to 20 cents off and I'm close to a station that is participating, I'll give it a try again. But I'm definitely NOT going to go out of my way to save $2 in the long run. Great concept though Bi-Lo!
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okay, so i tried this, too. i had $0.10 per gallon and went ahead and used them b/c it said $0.05 were going to expire. i didn't think they expired? so, does this mean you can't save up or you have to do so within a certain time frame? i don't really think it's worth it. but, it SOUNDS good :)
ReplyDeletei think the amount resets itself after a month. not quiiiite sure on that, but i think that's what it is. the month of december, i bought more groceries than i usually do since we had two functions at our house that we did dinner for. i spent enough at bi-lo that month to get 20c off / gallon and it really did help, but that was really the only time i felt like it was worth it.
ReplyDeleteyeah i tried it AGAIN this morning at a listed station. it did ask for my card, but did NOT take the 5 cents off per gallon. i was so ticked! arggg!
ReplyDelete