Looks like the WALL STREET JOURNAL got a hold of this too....
What a nice plug for a great sports book...
Do you think that people involved with the gasoline industry might have an "inside" edge?
http://online.wsj.com/public/article...public_home_us
With Price of Gas Likely to Rise
Even Higher, Credit-Card Issuers
And Retailers Race to Offer Deals
By RON LIEBER and THADDEUS HERRICK
Staff Reporters of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
August 16, 2005; Page D1
Gasoline prices are expected to rise even higher in the next few weeks and not begin dropping until the fall. But the good news is that there are more ways than ever to reduce the pain -- and you don't have to trade in your car for a hybrid to take advantage of them.
Consumers have an array of options for cutting their fuel costs, from new places to buy their petrol (Home Depot is getting into the retail gas business) to credit cards that offer discounts on gas purchases. Many of the retailers are hoping the lower gas prices will help drive traffic into their stores. One Web site, meanwhile, has even found a way to turn rising gas prices into a form of Internet gambling.
Gaspricewatch.com recently listed this Evanston, Wyo., station as having the lowest prices in the U.S.
A site called Gasbuddy.com, where volunteer spotters post the latest prices from gas stations around the country, has grown so fast that there are now 350,000 postings a week, triple the figure from a year ago. A similar site, gaspricewatch.com, plans to launch a service this month that will allow users to tap into its database from the road with a mobile phone.
Credit-card companies also are rushing out new offers. Citibank is offering its cardholders in the New York City area and Miami double American Airlines frequent-flier miles for gas purchases until Oct. 31. Other cards, such as the Citi Dividend Platinum Select MasterCard and the Discover Platinum Gas Card let you earn a 5% rebate on gas purchases -- Citi's card gives 5% back at drugstores and grocery stores as well. (That has led many people to use it as part of a two-card strategy along with the plastic that earns the most travel rewards.)
Even if the savings are only pennies per gallon, the stakes keep rising for consumers. A two-car household using 80 gallons a month will spend $2,448 in a year if gas prices remain at their current level. A 10% savings on that figure amounts to $244.80.
Gas prices in the U.S. have soared nearly 70 cents a gallon in the past year. The latest surge in crude prices -- oil closed yesterday at $66.27 a barrel, up from $43.45 a barrel Jan. 1 -- almost certainly will push retail gas prices higher in the next few weeks.
Still, the gap between the highest and the lowest prices in an area can be significant. As of yesterday, Gaspricewatch.com was posting prices in three adjacent Chicago ZIP Codes that ranged from $2.65 to $2.95. Of course, in some cases, depending on how far you have to drive to get the cheaper gas, it may not make sense to go out of your way to save a dime a gallon.
Another place for car owners to look is the increasing range of retailers that are getting into the gas business. In addition to the usual players -- independent gas stations and branded operations such as BP, Mobil and Shell -- warehouse chains and grocery stores, such as Kroger and Albertsons, continue to make a big push in this area in many communities. Some offer gas-loyalty programs -- the more promotional items you buy in the grocery store, the more money you get toward your fuel purchase. "There's no risk if you're going into the grocery store anyway," says Brad Proctor, Gaspricewatch's founder.
While gas isn't a particularly high-margin product, these retailers are hoping that the gas will entice more people to visit the stores -- as often as possible -- to buy more-profitable items such as televisions and meat.
Some 62% of new grocery stores plan to include gas pumps, according to a 2004 survey from the Food Marketing Institute. Even Home Depot is getting into the act: Four stores in Nashville, Tenn. will get gas pumps as early as December.
The deals can vary widely, though. At Costco Wholesale, for instance, prices can be as much as 20 cents or 30 cents less than those of nearby competitors but are sometimes no lower, says Richard Galanti, the company's chief financial officer.
To keep its posted prices fresh, Gasbuddy.com offers its own version of a rewards program. Members earn points depending on how many prices they post and then can trade them for entries into drawings for free gasoline. Anyone can search for the cheapest rates on the sites by simply typing in a ZIP Code; on Gasbuddy, about 500,000 people a day are doing so.
If you can't be bothered to check the Web before every car trip, carrying a credit card that earns a rebate on gasoline purchases is a simpler way to save money. The cards have some fine print, though. With the Citi Dividend Platinum Select MasterCard, once you earn $300 in any calendar year, the refunds fall to zero. People who reach that mark -- or who live or work near Shell gas stations -- then could turn to its Citi MasterCard, which also yields 5%. It has no annual earnings cap, but you earn the 5% refund only when you buy Shell gas, and can spend the rebate only on Shell gas.
A caveat: Not all card companies are getting more generous with their offers. The AAA motor club is dropping the rebate to 3% from 5% on its credit card starting next month for cardholders in the mid-Atlantic region. (The rebate for AAA credit-card holders in other parts of the country already has fallen.)
One Web site, Pinnaclesports.com, started taking wagers earlier this month on where gas prices are headed. The site effectively allows people with long commutes to hedge their exposure. For example, if you think average gas prices in New York or Los Angeles will hit $3 by Jan. 1, you can bet $110 to win an additional $100. If you think prices won't hit that level, you can bet $106 to win an additional $100.
(About half the states have laws that may forbid a person from engaging in Internet gambling, though they have been rarely applied.)
The sticker shock at the pump reflects rising crude-oil prices and a recent spate of outages at the nation's refineries that turn that crude into gasoline. But U.S. drivers also have to take some of the blame for keeping their foot on the gas pedal. U.S. gas consumption -- which accounts for more than one-tenth of total world oil demand -- is projected to rise 1% this year despite the higher prices, says the U.S. Department of Energy.
Nationwide, the average retail price for unleaded gas climbed 18 cents a gallon to $2.55 for the week ending Aug. 15, according to the Department of Energy's Energy Information Administration. Prices are up a whopping 50 cents a gallon since the week ended May 30, about the time the summer driving season begins. (Prices still haven't reached 1980s levels when adjusted for inflation.)
The high oil prices in the U.S. have been exacerbated by a surge in refinery downtime in the U.S. By late last week, outages had plagued more than a dozen refineries that together have the capacity to run 3.2 million barrels of oil a day, or roughly 19% of total U.S. capacity.
Hurricane season, which extends into the fall, also poses a threat. Last year Hurricane Ivan pushed up oil prices after it disrupted production in the Gulf of Mexico and hampered refining operations along the Gulf Coast.
Write to Ron Lieber at
ron.lieber@wsj.com and Thaddeus Herrick at
thaddeus.herrick@wsj.com
Simon Noble YOU are the man (Simon of Pinnacle Sports)
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