Long lines build up outside Costco and Sam's Club gas stations as shoppers load up on cheaper gas amid further price spikes
- US shoppers are flocking to Costco and Sam's Club to fill up on cheaper gas as fuel prices rise.
- Gas prices are up as much as 84 cents from last month.
Long lines are forming outside Costco and Sam's Club gas stations across the US as shoppers flock there to load up on cheaper gas amid the soaring cost of gas.
Dozens of shoppers at these warehouse clubs took to social media over the past few days to complain about the long lines that start at the crack of dawn.
While gas prices in the US have been rising for some time, the recent spike is driven by the Russia-Ukraine conflict and Western sanctions imposed on Russia that made it harder for the country to sell its oil. Russia is one of the world's largest oil producers and the cost of crude oil is closely tied to that of gas.
This week, gas prices spiked again after the Biden administration said it would ban imports of Russian oil in response to the country's invasion of Ukraine.
As of Thursday, the average cost for a gallon of gas in the US was $4.32, according to AAA Gas Prices, an 84 cent increase from a month before.
Meanwhile, gas at warehouse clubs is typically as much as 30 cents less than regular gas stations, according to IHS Markit's Oil Price Information Service; shoppers say this is one of the biggest perks about having a membership there.
But some say it's increasingly challenging to fill up at these locations.
Shopper Pam Rubitsky told Insider that when she arrived at Sam's Club in Citrus Heights, California, at 5.50 a.m. local time Thursday, there were at least five cars in line at each of the 10 pumps available. By the time she left, the line was even longer, she said.
For Rubitsky though, it was worth the wait. Sam's Club gas cost $4.92 per gallon. Meanwhile, her local Chevron gas station was charging $5.89, she said.