Costco gas lineups

[schocker]

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I do it for the premium savings too. Saves ~$6 per fill up once a week. I get there around 5:15 after work and never have much of a wait.

Yup. Currently 14.5c less than shell or 22.5c less than petro can so the savings are significant.

[ianmcc]

Never waited more than 15 minutes in a Costco lineup. During the big cold snap we had I was able to drive straight to a pump.
And you have to watch the spread between the advertised price which is regular vs. premium. The spread at Costco is 10¢ whereas the COOP at Heritage Meadows is 19¢. On a 65L fill that's almost $6-more than enough to get the double meat at Subway.

[J-hop]

Man beyond is getting boring, onto the 3rd page and not a single junior high chemistry failure has shown up to claim Costco blends their gas with water

[Maxt]

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Current price:

Co-Op: 108.4 with store 1.5c coupon = 106.9
Superstore: 108.4 with 7c coupon = 101.4
Costco: 104.4

Am I missing something here? Why is everyone lining up at Costco?

Disclaimer: I only go to Co-Op now for gas since they are the only one that carries Shell premium. And I also assume the same CC promo applies to all 3.

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Expense the gas, keep the coupon for your own grocery.

With Coop fuel prices and their food prices often being higher, that's the only time that rebate system actually pays. Coop has their own refinery, if anything Shell might be coming from Coop.

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Yup. Currently 14.5c less than shell or 22.5c less than petro can so the savings are significant.

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Never waited more than 15 minutes in a Costco lineup. During the big cold snap we had I was able to drive straight to a pump.
And you have to watch the spread between the advertised price which is regular vs. premium. The spread at Costco is 10¢ whereas the COOP at Heritage Meadows is 19¢. On a 65L fill that's almost $6-more than enough to get the double meat at Subway.

At the Okotoks Costco, the wait is never terrible, I don't think I've waited more than 5 minutes tops there, ever... Also with the premium spread, Costco is usually the first to lower their fuel prices when it drops. Okotoks stations like to hang on to the higher price as long as they can, which means the Costco-Everyone else premium spread sometimes is huge. I've seen it at 25 cents a few times, so when filling up the Srt-10 ram, means significant savings..
Also for the Jerry can argument it depends if you paid for the Jerry cans or not, my old boss gave me 6-5 gallons cans for free, so I don't ever have to weigh that into the equation. I don't Jerry can that much though, usually only if I am going into BC. Just before Xmas, BC diesel was 30 cents higher than ours, I went in and out without buying any fuel there and actually didn't jerry can it, the 1 ton eaked out 940 km's on its Alberta fill. Some people have huge auxiliary tanks in their trucks as well, and thats when 5 cents per litre starts to mean something.

[Aleks]

I used to go to the Deerfoot meadows one just before close when I had my Tundra. Typically you could pull up and pump right away as there were no lines that late in the evening. Usually saved $8-10 per fill up.

The premium to regular spread is always 10c at Costco, whereas at Shell it's 20c.

[Xtrema]

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With Coop fuel prices and their food prices often being higher, that's the only time that rebate system actually pays. Coop has their own refinery, if anything Shell might be coming from Coop.

http://crs.coopconnection.ca/files/P...s-GASOLINE.pdf

Regardless where they got it from, it's the only premium in town without ethanol besides Shell. But premium is 18-20c more than regular so Costco is cheaper. And when I first switch away from Shell to Co-Op, I see 0 difference in gas mileage and been sticking with them ever since since it's on my way home.

And since I do spend some $ at Co-Op bakery time to time and prefer it for quick grabs than our shithole Superstore, I have no problem spending the coupons.

[HiTempguy1]

I did not know that about Costco premium (the 10c spread). I could reasonably afford a vehicle running premium this summer... 10% increase in cost acceptable. 20%+? No way!

[Maxt]

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http://crs.coopconnection.ca/files/P...s-GASOLINE.pdf

Regardless where they got it from, it's the only premium in town without ethanol besides Shell. But premium is 18-20c more than regular so Costco is cheaper. And when I first switch away from Shell to Co-Op, I see 0 difference in gas mileage and been sticking with them ever since since it's on my way home.

And since I do spend some $ at Co-Op bakery time to time and prefer it for quick grabs than our shithole Superstore, I have no problem spending the coupons.

The coupons for me basically shuffles around my own money.
The manager of a Centrex told me that their premium is also ethanol free.

[403civic]

Back when I worked down south, I would gas up at 8:30-8:45am and there was almost never a wait
now since that i work north and live north - I go to the one in cross-iron; go near the end of closing, Gas up once i'm done shopping - never a line up

the trick is to go when the store isn't open
hour before opening or hour after closing; that's the sweet spot

and since I'm filling up premium its essentially getting 91 octane for the price of regular

[Nismorphed]

I have maybe filled up at costco once or twice in my life. Both times I was in the area and line wasnt bad. Most times I fill at Superstore and never have to wait.

[tehwegz]

I'll never wait in a Costco gas line. I found a few Esso's that will only be 3-5 cents more than Costco. Plus I have 2.5 cents off Esso gas cards from work to use. And I collect a bunch of points for gas (1-2x Esso points + 4x AMEX reward points).

Costco is something I don't need in my life, at least not right now and the foreseeable future. They treat both their customers and employees like crap. It always has a pretentious vibe in there. Parking lots and line ups inside are a nightmare overall. On a side note, I occasionally go with a friend who will go a half hour before closing. It really is the best time to go.

[swak]

It boils my blood to even drive my own car around those parking lots in/around the grocery store. Let alone the gas islands... gawd.
I can't imagine what it's like for the truckers delivering fuel to the costco's for retail consumption. Their blood must be through the roof trying to drive a semi through the costco parking lot lol

[J-hop]

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I'll never wait in a Costco gas line. I found a few Esso's that will only be 3-5 cents more than Costco. Plus I have 2.5 cents off Esso gas cards from work to use. And I collect a bunch of points for gas (1-2x Esso points + 4x AMEX reward points).

Costco is something I don't need in my life, at least not right now and the foreseeable future. They treat both their customers and employees like crap. It always has a pretentious vibe in there. Parking lots and line ups inside are a nightmare overall. On a side note, I occasionally go with a friend who will go a half hour before closing. It really is the best time to go.

It’s funny you get the pretentious vibe. I get the exact opposite. With the food court mixed with the lineups of sweatpants wearing folk at the free sample stations I’ve never felt the pretentious vibe. I love it, I walk in, see some guy scarfing down a hot dog, the door person hands me a flyer printed on the thinnest paper known to man and I see the lineups in front of the food stations and I think ‘these are my people’

[LadyLuck]

East hills on the way to work in the mornings with no line ups, never had to wait for more than 5 minutes to fill up gas at Costco...plus I take premium so the savings definitely add up.

[Masked Bandit]

Like MaxT said, Okotoks isn't all that busy. I go weeknights when we're going to the store anyway and if there's more than one car ahead of me I just fill after we're done shopping and it's empty. Lower pump price plus the kick-back at the end of the year on the membership rewards.

[Seth1968]

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Costco is something I don't need in my life, at least not right now and the foreseeable future.

I walked into a Costo once.

Once was enough.

[freshprince1]

I fill up our truck (family car) at Costco almost exclusively. We live right beside one, so if the line is long, I just come back another time. Also, half the people fillings up don't realize that Costco has the extra long hoses (spring loaded on a retracting rope) so even if in my truck there are no open stalls on the gas tank side, they still reach to the other. There will be 3-4 cars waiting behind their tank side pump, when the opposite side is wide open. And with a 120L+ tank, I save $7-$10 per tank. Plus, I use the Costco Mastercard, so I get cash back on that too.

Glad to hear you all hate it so much. Stay away!

[bjstare]

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I'll never wait in a Costco gas line. I found a few Esso's that will only be 3-5 cents more than Costco. Plus I have 2.5 cents off Esso gas cards from work to use. And I collect a bunch of points for gas (1-2x Esso points + 4x AMEX reward points).

Costco is something I don't need in my life, at least not right now and the foreseeable future. They treat both their customers and employees like crap. It always has a pretentious vibe in there. Parking lots and line ups inside are a nightmare overall. On a side note, I occasionally go with a friend who will go a half hour before closing. It really is the best time to go.

I think perhaps you are misusing the word "pretentious".

[Strider]

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They treat both their customers and employees like crap. It always has a pretentious vibe in there.

Not sure if this could be further from the truth...
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/r...stco_n_4275774
http://www.businessinsider.com/why-e...costco-2013-11

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I think perhaps you are misusing the word "pretentious".

Perhaps pretentious to NE trailer park folks who exclusively shop at Walmart otherwise?

[freshprince1]

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Not sure if this could be further from the truth...
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/r...stco_n_4275774
http://www.businessinsider.com/why-e...costco-2013-11


Perhaps pretentious to NE trailer park folks who exclusively shop at Walmart otherwise?

Agreed. They have been shown time and again to provide employees great wages with great benefits. If you're working in retail/grocery, Costco is as good as it gets.

I freaking love Costco. The one I'm near is not overly busy. The employees are great (always taking the time to draw smiley faces on the receipt for my 4 year old...which she loves) and are more than helpful. Their return policy is hard to beat. Their products are great quality for the price you pay.

But again, I'm glad people are hating on it, stay away!