New Service Lets US Drivers Save on Gas by Offering Fixed Price Gasoline
Posted on July 8, 2008
Filed Under Uncategorized
Starting this month, American drivers concerned with rising gas prices can seek relief with the launch of MyGallons.com, a fixed price gas savings program that allows people to pre-purchase gas at today’s prices. Mygallons.com is a new service that lets you purchase gasoline at the current rate, and lock in that price for future fill ups.
After registering on the MyGallons website and receiving a MyGallons Card, members will be able to pay the current price for gas to be stored in their accounts as a credit balance in gallons. Secure MyGallons Card can be used at over 95% of the nation’s gas stations. The MyGallons Card is swiped right at the pump just like a standard debit or credit card.
“The price of gasoline was changing all the time. It seemed unpredictable,” Steven Verona, founder and owner of the Miami-based company, said on Monday.
“It seemed there had to be a way to fix the price,” he said.
A member’s price per gallon at the time of purchase is based upon the average gasoline price in the zip code of their account’s billing address. For example, if a customer pre-purchases fuel for $4.00 per gallon and redeems 6 months later when gas prices have risen to $5.00 a gallon, the consumer saves $1.00 per gallon. If analysts’ predictions of much higher prices prove correct, the average American driver will experience significant gas savings with MyGallons.
“By allowing consumers to pay for quantities of gas at current prices, MyGallons provides them with a solution to cope with gasoline price increases,” said Steven Verona. “While everyone seems to want to point fingers and place blame for the staggering rise in gas prices, I am proud to say MyGallons is actually doing something to help the consumer save money on gas.”
Members may access their account via the MyGallons website to check their balance in gallons, savings, transaction history, and pay for additional gas to add to their account. Customers can be notified via text message and/or e-mail when their balance is close to zero, so they may purchase additional gallons to their account.
“We don’t sell futures. It’s prepurchased gas,” said Verona, who said MyGallons.com uses a sophisticated hedging strategy to protect and meet obligations to members.
The risk to the consumer is if price of gasoline in the future becomes cheaper rather than more expensive. But if members are dissatisfied, they can drop out of the program and receive a lesser of the current price or what they paid as a refund.
“There is that risk that the price could fall significantly,” said Verona.
“But I think that most people would agree that risk is pretty minimal. Overtime, it is going to go up even if there is no change in the supply/demand relationship because inflation alone would push the price up.”
The company has no time limit on your purchased gas, so you can wait to fill up as long as you want. With gas prices predicted to hit $7 per gallon in the next two years, it might be a good idea to stock up on gas now.
[via mygallons.com]
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