(WXYZ) — Gas prices have spent more than a week above $5 per gallon, but at wholesale clubs like Costco and Sam's Club, members are getting a special perk – significantly cheaper gas prices.
Those retailers are selling gas for as much as 20-30 cents below the national average. It's leading to long lines at the pump for those shoppers, but those people waiting say it's worth the wait.
Sometimes members save as much as 40 cents per gallon when filling up.
Gasoline sales at Costco make up about 10% – or $20 billion – of all sales. For Sam's Club and BJ's Wholesale Club, it's about 9%. But what's the trick? How can gas prices be so much cheaper there?
"The Costco's, Sam's Clubs, BJ's – their strategy is completely different. That's to get you to their store, filling your tank for a 20-cent discount, and then going inside and buying 100 rolls of toilet papers at once or all sorts of other products," Patrick De Haan, the head of petroleum analysis at Gas Buddy, said."
Basically, De Haan said the stores are willing to make less money at the gas station because they'll be able to get you inside their store.
Is the membership worth it, and is the fuel at the wholesale clubs just as good as at any other gas station?
"Their gasoline comes probably from some of the same refineries as other gas stations have," De Haan said.
Costco sells top-tier gasoline, and Sam's Club sells high-quality gasoline, so the fuel quality is there, as well as the cost savings.
