Costco Canada for fuel stops

[barry]

Originally Posted by emers382

John thanks for reminding me of the other reason I like to get Costco gas in the US even if a line up. Anywhere else I have to put in a zip code which I don't have so I have to go inside and prepay and guess how much I'll need. At Costco my Costco card like yours is also my Mastercard, so one card in no zip code or those questions you mention, just fill and go.

Donna don't worry about having to pump your own gas at Costco, there's always an attendant ready and willing to help you through the process.

And yes there is Costco gas in Victoria I was glad to fill up at 1.21 a litre there after spending 1.30 up Island last May.



Adrian

With the Zip code use the 3 numbers of your postal code plus 00, it works 95% of the time. V2V 5W5 would be 25500.
Barry

[emers382]

Originally Posted by barry

Costco is virtually always cheaper but there is two downsides to fueling up there. The ridiculous long lines as others have mentioned and they are almost always in major metropolitan areas so you almost always have to end up navigating busy city traffic to get to the pumps, not always ideal when pulling a trailer. I have a Costco card but never fuel up there, the lines are enough to put me off. I use Superstore with a free loyalty card and get 3.5 cents off a liter to use on groceries and I can also use my cash back Visa there to get another 2% off my bill.
Barry

It's true that most of Costco stores in Canada are in urban areas with traffic. However pretty well every Costco I've stopped at in the US was very close to an Interstate exit. And I've found at the usual Costco we frequent there is usually little line up for gas, because we don't go on the weekend when you can't even find a place to park in the warehouse lot.

Adrian

Thx Barry for the tip I've tried a couple of different things, to no avail, but will try that one next time.

[Ron & Sandey]

FYI Canadian Costco's do not accept American Costco Citibank Cards. The Canadians use Mastercards!!

[emers382]

Originally Posted by barry

With the Zip code use the 3 numbers of your postal code plus 00, it works 95% of the time. V2V 5W5 would be 25500.
Barry

Barry I just realized that I have tried that one, unfortunately our numbers are all zero and they don't accept five zeroes.

Adrian

[emers382]

Originally Posted by Ron & Sandey

FYI Canadian Costco's do not accept American Costco Citibank Cards. The Canadians use Mastercards!!

See posts #5 and #14, I think we've made that clear.

[Eggscape]

Generally the Costco pump attendant keeps the line moving or at least there is someone always there you can give the evil eye to.
On our trip we came across a gas station that had an A&W takeout attached to it. We pulled in behind the vehicle at the pumps thinking they were inside paying for fuel...10 mins later he comes out with his full meat deal! Avoid gas stations attached to food outlets.

[sunrisetrucker]

We have a Canadian Costco Capital One Mastercard (say that 3 times fast) and are planing an extended holiday south of the US border this year. Will that card work at American Costcos or will I have to get a Visa card.

[emers382]

Originally Posted by sunrisetrucker

We have a Canadian Costco Capital One Mastercard (say that 3 times fast) and are planing an extended holiday south of the US border this year. Will that card work at American Costcos or will I have to get a Visa card.

No you must use a visa card at US costco. You'll have to put in your Capital one/membership card first then the visa. We have the same card.

Adrian

[Mike Lewis]

Originally Posted by Brian B-P

I looked more closely and realized that she and her passenger were eating hamburgers and fries, at the pump, before getting out!

What? A rude Canadian?! Well, I guess they had to have one..

[Bill and Earline]

Donna,
One thing no one has mentioned yet is that the gas stations have extended hours, like 7am to late at night, longer than the store at many locations. As a result, you can fuel up during off hours and get away before or after the crowds.

Ditto on the propane low prices at a few stations, and the good deals on tires. I have an actual paper pamphlet that shows which have gas, diesel, and propane.

Bought the last several sets of Michelins there, and just had one tire replaced nearly free based on their included road hazard program.

We have the Costco Visa and the Executive business membership, and come out ahead each year based on rebates versus cost of the card and the membership.

Bill

[sunrisetrucker]

Originally Posted by sunrisetrucker

We have a Canadian Costco Capital One Mastercard (say that 3 times fast) and are planing an extended holiday south of the US border this year. Will that card work at American Costcos or will I have to get a Visa card.

Originally Posted by emers382

No you must use a visa card at US costco. You'll have to put in your Capital one/membership card first then the visa. We have the same card.

Adrian

It's not like I don't have enough cards already.
OK. Thanks for the info.

[emers382]

Originally Posted by sunrisetrucker

It's not like I don't have enough cards already.
OK. Thanks for the info.

You don't have to use a Visa, use your debit card, you probably pay less exchange than a credit card anyway.

Adrian

[Old Fulica]

As already been mentioned, many big grocery chains have customer loyalty cards where you get good discounts. Superstore will give you 7 cents off a liter if you also use your mastercard too and I am sure Safeway has similar discounts. I have a choice here between Costco and Superstore and I choose Superstore for reasons already mentioned. We travel to Arizona quite a bit and the first thing I do is get a Frys card for the gas and groceries while down there..You have to buy groceries with your point savings so not sure if that would suit a transient traveler. One thing about Costco though, is cheap propane.

[TZBrown]

I've also found Costco the least expensive spot to get 6V batteries when needing to replace

[rbryan4]

Originally Posted by TZBrown

I've also found Costco the least expensive spot to get 6V batteries when needing to replace

Yeah, about that. In my experience they seem to have trouble stocking certain sizes. Their website will show a certain size battery in stock at my local Costco, but when I go to get it, I'm told they don't carry it at that store. Then they offer to call other Costco stores for me, as if I don't mind driving 30 miles...lol.

My best advice if you're going to buy a battery at Costco is to call that store first and make sure they have your exact battery.

[John in Santa Cruz]

The Costco here in Santa Cruz has Interstate branded GC-2 6V batts for $83 each plus tax and disposal fees. They are the standard 210AH ones, not the HD 230AH version.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by TZBrown

I've also found Costco the least expensive spot to get 6V batteries when needing to replace

While Costco's battery prices are good, I have not seen the 6-volt batteries typically used in RVs (GC2 size) in a Canadian Costco or on the Costco.ca website. The website doesn't have automotive batteries at all. Like Robert, I've noticed a lack of stock, even in the sizes which they are supposed to carry.

[John in Santa Cruz]

Originally Posted by Brian B-P

While Costco's battery prices are good, I have not seen the 6-volt batteries typically used in RVs (GC2 size) in a Canadian Costco or on the Costco.ca website. The website doesn't have automotive batteries at all. Like Robert, I've noticed a lack of stock, even in the sizes which they are supposed to carry.

Do note that T105 is the same as GC2.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by John in Santa Cruz

Do note that T105 is the same as GC2.

True, Trojan's T-105 is a GC2-size battery. Nope, still none at Costco here, when I last checked (a few weeks ago). No "golf cart" style batteries at all, although I did see an online comment that some Calgary stores had some, a few years ago; of course they would have been Kirkland (probably made by Johnson Controls), not Trojan.

[rbryan4]

Originally Posted by Brian B-P

True, Trojan's T-105 is a GC2-size battery. Nope, still none at Costco here, when I last checked (a few weeks ago). No "golf cart" style batteries at all, although I did see an online comment that some Calgary stores had some, a few years ago; of course they would have been Kirkland (probably made by Johnson Controls), not Trojan.

The Costco's around here seem to sell Interstates almost exclusively. It's just that they don't seem to carry the right sizes. That's OK however, since there's an Interstate store nearby with good prices.