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Costco has hundreds of gas stations spread out across the United States, and the company enjoys the fierce loyalty of millions of customers who swear by the reliably cheap gas Costco offers.
And indeed, the gas for sale at a Costco is almost always lower priced than that available at nearby stations.
But Costco is not necessarily the best place for every American to get gas.
In fact, if you don't drive enough to require at least 35 fill-ups each year, you may well lose money getting gas from Costco - assuming you buy the $60 annual membership just for access to the fuel. And unless you like the idea of potentially waiting up to a half hour to fill your gas tank, you might want to pay a few cents extra for an in-and-out gas purchase from one of the stations on the corner.
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Here are five reasons you should avoid buying gas from Costco, despite its cheap prices.
Costco's long gas station lines are notorious. People have reported waiting more than an hour for the chance to fill their vehicles, an expenditure of time that hardly justifies the few dollars that would be saved by skipping a standard gas station, where there is often no wait at all.
Membership is required
You can't get Costco gas if you're not a Costco member, which means paying $60 for a year's membership. Assuming you have a car with a 16-gallon tank and stand to save 10 cents off each gallon of gas you buy, you would not cover the cost of the membership until 37.5 fill-ups.
Costco gas stations don't take cash — and accept only Visa credit cards
You can't use cash to buy gas at Costco — that is, unless you go through the added burdensome step of going into a Costco warehouse and using the cash to buy a Costco cash card. You also can't use any credit card save for one in the Visa network.
It may not be worth the drive time
Some people don't have a Costco near enough to justify the time they would need to expend in order to get to a Costco gas station.
Such drives are also counter-productive in that they consume fuel — a drive of much more than 20 miles would eliminate the savings most people would get on Costco gas when you consider the gas they'd burn up getting there.
Grocery store reward programs can get you cheaper gas
If you shop at certain grocery stores, such as Kroger or Stop & Shop, you can join a loyalty program that earns you money off each gallon of gas you buy from a partnered gas station chain. In many cases, these rewards programs lead to gas that is cheaper than what you'd get from Costco.