Drivers To Name Their Own Gasoline Prices

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) may not be increasing oil production, and the United States seems unlikely to release some gasoline from its strategic fuel reserves, but with the retail price of gasoline at a 10-year high, Priceline WebHouse club, a licensed affiliate of priceline.com, believes that it has a way for the approximately 170 million adult drivers in the US to reduce the price they pay to fill up the gas tank of the family car - name their own gas price via the Internet.

In an interview with Newsbytes, Robert Padgett, spokesperson for Priceline WebHouse Club, said that starting May 20, just in time for the Memorial Day Weekend, his company will launch a new service that will make it possible for drivers to ignore the price of gasoline at the pump. Instead, drivers will be able to go to http://www.priceline.com on the Internet and name their own price for up to 50 gallons of gas a month. After locking in their price, drivers can get their gas at local major-brand gas stations selected by Priceline WebHouse Club.

Padgett confirmed that, unlike the WebHouse Club's online grocery service which is available in just a few areas, the gasoline service would be available in cities and towns across the US.

According to Priceline WebHouse Club, drivers can expect to save between 10 cents to 20 cents a gallon, and sometimes more. Priceline WebHouse Club claims that these savings are possible because it gets money from several sources to lower the gas prices paid by its customers. For example, Priceline WebHouse Club says that local gas stations pay it a few cents per gallon to get the incremental business that will be coming to their stations. In addition, the Priceline for Gasoline service will carry paid online advertising, and that some of this ad revenue will be used to subsidize the reduced gasoline prices.

Also, Priceline WebHouse Club says that, at the launch of its service, over 100 national sponsors will contribute to subsidizing customers' gas purchases in return for customers agreeing to try the sponsors' products and services.

Finally, Priceline WebHouse Club expects that the major oil companies will support the system with additional savings in return for getting new customers for their branded gasoline and related products, as well as for the oil companies' own proprietary gasoline credit cards.

According to Jay S. Walker, founder of the Priceline WebHouse Club and priceline.com, "This is a perfect time for consumers to do something about the high cost of gas. It's the battle of the titans - the global Internet versus global gas prices. OPEC was a force to increase the cost of gas. Now, the Internet is the new counter-force to lower it."

Padgett told Newsbytes that there are three steps that consumers must follow in order to take advantage of the Priceline WebHouse Club gasoline system.

The first step is that consumers need a Priceline for Gasoline gas card, which is available for free from Priceline WebHouse Club. These cards can be requested at the priceline.com Web site. All prior priceline.com customers and all current WebHouse Club members will automatically receive the Priceline for Gasoline card.

The first time a consumer goes to the priceline.com Web site to name the price they are willing to pay for gasoline, the consumer enters the identification number on the back of their gas card and gives Priceline the details of their major credit card or debit card. This information is then stored for future use.

The second step is for the consumer to select: the grade of gas they want; the price per gallon that they wish to pay; and how many gallons they wish at that price (up to 50 gallons per household per month). Consumers then select three or more local gas stations at which they are willing to get their gas.

Priceline says that consumers will receive an approval or rejection of their per-gallon price within 60 seconds. If the price is accepted, that price is locked in, the consumer's credit or debit card - which is already on file - is charged for the purchase, and the consumer is given the name and address of the designated local gas station where they can go to get their gas. If the per-gallon price offered by the consumer is not accepted, there is no cost, and the consumer can try again the next day.

The third step has the consumer going to the gas station for their gas. Priceline WebHouse Club will automatically e-mail the consumer a receipt and tell how much gas the consumer has available at that price. The consumer will also be able to access this information at any time by going to the Priceline for Gasoline Web site.

Padgett also gave Newsbytes some assurances, the first being that a consumer cannot overpay. If the price at the pump is lower than the price that the consumer bid, Priceline WebHouse Club says it will refund the difference to the consumer's credit or debit card.

The second assurance is that any un-pumped pre-paid gas is automatically carried over to the following week, and at the end of the 30-day period, the dollar amount of any pre-paid, un-pumped gas is fully refunded to the consumer's credit or debit card.

The third assurance is that consumers who use up their pre-paid gasoline allotment can always pump up to two extra gallons of gas at the pre-approved price. Thereafter, the consumer will be charged the pump price.

The Web site for more information about Priceline for Gasoline, and to sign up for the service, is http://www.priceline.com

Reported by Newsbytes.com, http://www.newsbytes.com

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