Chrysler's $2.99 gas card promo pretty worthless, for now

Alex Nunez — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 13:30:00 EST

Oh well. Those Chrysler "Let's Refuel America" gas cards undoubtedly sounded good to car buyers over the summer when gas was well over four bucks and it seemed like there was no limit to how high the price could go. Offered in lieu of rebates, the gas cards essentially locked drivers into the then-cheap pump price of $2.99/gallon. Now, several months (and countless hysterical media reports) later, the economy is in the tank and so, as it happens, is the price of gas. In what feels like a time warp, $2-per-gallon gas is suddenly not uncommon. That's great news for drivers in general, but less so for drivers holding the $2.99 gas cards, which don't seem like such a hot deal anymore. This is the gamble you take when you agree to a fixed price on a commodity subject to market fluctuations. It's the same issue some people now face with heating oil: over the summer, customers who locked-in a contracted price in fear of astronomical costs this winter are now set to pay through the nose, while others who gambled and decided to just pay market price are at an advantage. The good news for the Chrysler gas card holders: the price is good for a couple more years, so if gas shoots up again, they're back in the game. Thanks for the tip, Soh Won Cha!

[Sources: BNet, KPTV]

Chrysler's $2.99 gas card promo pretty worthless, for now originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 24 Nov 2008 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Chrysler extends $2.99/gallon gas offer another month

John Neff — Mon, 19 May 2008 15:31:00 EST

Filed under: Car Buying, Marketing/Advertising, Chrysler

Much hubub has been made over the current Let's Refuel America program in which buyers can choose to lock in the price of gasoline at $2.99/gallon for three years courtesy of Chrysler LLC, but the incentive has apparently been successful. Chrysler announced this morning that the program, launched on May 7th and scheduled to end May 31st, will continue for more than an extra month to July 7th.

The deal is that purchasers who choose the Let's Refuel America program will get a gas card that's linked to their credit card. They can use the gas card at 97% of the nation's gas stations, and while the price on the receipt will reflect the actual price/gallon of gasoline, only $2.99/gallon will show up on the purchaser's actual credit card. The deal doesn't apply to every Chrysler vehicle (the Viper, Challenger, Crossfire, all SRT models, Sprinter, Ram Chassis Cab and Jeep Wrangler are excluded), and there are limitations like a yearly allotment for gallons and a cut-off after 36,000 miles. Of course, customers can also choose plain old cash back or 0% financing, too.

According to Chrysler, however, many are choosing the Let's Refuel American program (we'd love to know a raw number, but none were given in the press release after the jump), and the vehicles with the highest take rate are the most fuel efficient ones in the company's lineup like the Dodge Caliber, Journey, Avenger and Chrysler Sebring. The states that in which the program is most popular are California, Connecticut, Indiana, Ohio and Washington.

So clearly the program is working for Chrysler, enough at least to extend it another month. This means that it's helping dealers sell cars, though we wonder what happens if the cost of gas goes up as much in the next three years as it has in the last three years. Could this program end up hurting Chrysler's bottom line in exchange for the short term gain of selling more cars, or has the automaker somehow hedged its bet against that scenario?

[Source: Chrysler]

Continue reading Chrysler extends $2.99/gallon gas offer another month

Chrysler extends $2.99/gallon gas offer another month originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 19 May 2008 15:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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