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Consumers Face Credit Card Caps at the Pump

By Joe Benton
ConsumerAffairs.com

July 6, 2007

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With gasoline prices hanging close to the $3 per gallon mark, some customers paying at the pump with big-name credit cards are finding themselves cut off at either $50 or $75, depending on the card or the gas station.

Gas stations put the limits in place to stop credit card fraud and they shut off the pumps because of the limited protection available to them from credit card companies.

Many credit card companies only protect gas stations up to $75 in the event of a purchase with a stolen card and Visa and Discover cards offer station owners only $50 of protection per transaction.

With gasoline prices lingering near $3 a gallon, consumers can hit the cap quickly.

Across the country, gasoline prices have remained fairly steady despite record numbers of July 4 travelers.

The average price for a gallon of regular self-serve across the country is now $2.95, 19 cents less than last month and only 2 higher than last year.

Midgrade gasoline is selling for $3.13 and premium sells for $3.24 a gallon.

The price of a gallon of regular gasoline remains below $3 in 30 states with the lowest statewide average in South Carolina where a gallon of regular sells for $2.75. Hawaii is the state with the highest average price with regular gasoline costing $3.28 a gallon.

At $3.92 a gallon, drivers in Beaver Island, Michigan are paying the most for gasoline. Drivers in Spartanburg, South Carolina are seeing the lowest prices at $2.59 a gallon.

Here is a look at some gasoline prices from around the country in the ConsumerAffairs.com Gas Price Round Up.

California: Gas prices continued dropping across Southern California for the eighth straight week and are now about 10 percent below the all-time records they hit in May, according to the Automobile Club of Southern California's Weekend Gas Watch.

The average price of self-serve regular gasoline in the Los Angeles-Long Beach area is $3.11, which is 3.3 cents cheaper than last week, 24 cents below last month, and 13 cents under last year.

In San Diego, the price is $3.12, which is two cents below last week's price, 23 cents under last month, and 13 cents cheaper than last year.

On the Central Coast, the average price is $3.34, down 5.4 cents from last week, 16 cents under last month, and five cents lower than last year. In the Inland Empire, the average price is $3.08, 3.8 cents below last week, 25 cents less than last month, and 18 cents cheaper than last year.

"During the Fourth of July holiday week in 2006, Southern California gas prices started rising again after dropping in May and June," said Auto Club spokesperson Carol Thorp. "Summer gas prices have presented a mixed picture in recent times. Some years had steady declines throughout summer, and other years have brought increases in July and August."

Texas: Retail gasoline prices have dropped throughout Texas for six weeks now according to AAA Texas.

The statewide retail average for regular, self-serve gasoline is $2.85 a gallon, which is down 3 cents from last week.

In San Antonio, drivers can expect to pay $2.83 a gallon for gasoline. The price is down 2.4 cents on average from last week.

Amarillo drivers are paying the most for gas in the state at $3.08 a gallon, virtually unchanged from last week. Corpus Christi drivers are paying the least for gas in the state at $2.71 a gallon, according to AAA Texas' survey.

Oregon: Gasoline prices are still falling in Oregon with the average price for a gallon of regular down 4 cents to $3.03, according to AAA Oregon.

In the Salem and Eugene/Springfield areas, though, the average prices nudged upward slightly, but they are not likely to rise substantially, said Elliott Eki, AAA Oregon public affairs director.

"As long as refinery output outpaces demand and inventories are able to build, we should see prices continue to fall," said Eki.

At $3.03, Oregon's average gasoline price now ranks 21 highest in the nation.

South Dakota: Sioux Falls gasoline prices are expected to rise after heavy flooding halted gas production at a Kansas oil refinery.

The refinery, which produces 108,000 barrels of oil a day in Coffeyville, Kannsas, is now under 2 to 6 feet of water after record flooding hit southeastern Kansas.

Mark Madeja, a spokesman for AAA South Dakota, said that although there wasn't an immediate spike in Sioux Falls gas prices, drivers might see a price increase in the next few days.

"Anytime a refinery goes offline, it's a problem," he said.

The refinery shutting down is one more factor that will contribute to high prices, he said. The halt in production will affect Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota and Minnesota.

These states might see the highest gas prices in the nation in the next few weeks.

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