Apparently, Costco Gas Station is treated as a separate entity on Yelp instead of being lumped together with the Warehouse.
Here goes, the place serves only one function, that is selling discounted gas to Costco members. Some might argue you pay the membership dues and that's where the "savings" went. Trust me, if you have multiple cars and most families do, and you have to have a car to get anywhere in Texas, the annual $55 membership fee for a basic membership isn't a whole lot if you really want to do the math of how many times a year you go to a different gas station to get the lowest prices, how often you go fill up a week/month/year and how many $ per gallon less, etc. I think the answer is pretty clear.
There is no cashier there to take your cash, the booth there is the attendants' office. So you pay at the pump with your credit card after first inserting your Costco Membership Card. You have the option of paying with a Costco Cash Card, your own Visa Credit Card, or Costco's Visa Credit Card (issued by Citibank). One advantage of using Costco's Credit Card is that you get 4% cash back at gas stations (not just at Costco gas stations) for the year's first $7000 of gas purchase (1% after that). So unless you have a card that earns more or have other benefits, it is almost a no-brainer that this will be your primary card for gas purchases if you spend less than $7000/year at the gas pump, you may then choose to go with another card that earns more than 1% from the $7001st dollar.
The cash back you earn doesn't actually translate to credit onto your monthly statement, you get a check (in the mail if you paper statement, e-mail if you are on paperless) on the February of every year. This is your spending money to buy more Costco stuff! But it can also be redeemed for cash at the Warehouse. So that's where part of the additional savings will show up, the other parts are of course from your other purchases with the card.
Now that we got the boring math part and before turning this into too much of a discussion of the benefits of Costco membership / Credit Card (too late?). I would like to point out that the attendants are generally more friendly and looked happier (like their buddies inside the warehouse) vs. the ones working at say a Sam's Club. The gas station is usually kept pretty clean and tidy and the members are generally pretty courteous to one another.
One of the benefits of Gas pumps here is that the pump handle and the tube is hooked onto a elastic band so that you can actually pull it beyond the normal reach. So if your gas panel is on the driver side, you can actually park to the opposite side and stretch it to reach your gas intake. I have a feeling that some members don't know about this and insists on finding a pump on the correct side before moving their cars forward, or they may be elderly and does not have enough strength to pull. I have seen the attendants there more than happy to help in those situations there, so I think generally more members are now aware of this and the congestions are getting better.
Perhaps one negative aspect that I would bring up, is the location. The Costco / Gas Station is located on the side of US59/69 southbound close to University Blvd, going into Telfair/New Territory. Not far away from the Right hand turn into the road leading to the warehouse is the exit ramp for University Blvd. Car speeds are usually very fast around that area (especially during afternoon commute), it is very dangerous for drivers at that small intersection (whether they going to/from the warehouse) or just passing through. But this is more on the location, not the actual station.
Finally, as many pros as it gets, Costco Gas Station isn't open 24/7, but it does close a little later than the Warehouse. So if it is past the closing time, there is always the Shell Gas Station next to it that I could utilize with the Costco credit card (that gives the 4% cash back) along with saving with Kroger Plus Fuel Points that I earn shopping at Kroger. read more
