Has anyone thought about a consumer prepaid gas cards ... We have pre-paid cards for many things ... Why not pre-paid gas cards ?
Ha, ha. Saw a brochure about a $5K gas card if you buy a house in a local development. Funny thing is the deal must be done with their mortgage company at a rate higher than BAC's rate! No doubt with a lot of nifty loan and closing fees. So, I guess that 5K gas card will cost a buyer about 15K, financed over 30 years! Does that work out to $12/gallon gas? Are we there yet?
I heard Chrysler has something similar ... I was thinking more of somehow capturing a spot price when you sell the card online. Lets say 500 gallons of regular gas at $4. the price offered is somehow tied to the current gas/oil futures. You immediately hedge against it. Then hedge against the current gas futures based on some avg gas price. Many "somehows" in this model
Right, a pre-paid gas card that's denominated in gallons, not dollars. Kinda like a micro futures contract for gasoline. Ya know, along these lines I was thinking about forming a gasoline coop with a bunch of friends. We all agree to buys so many gallons of gasoline over the next few months and pitch in on one gasoline futures contract. Locks in the price and we all benefit.
I looked at this idea 2 years ago and found that the major gas station chains (ie oil companies) would not go for it as it is not in their interest. Might work as a local co-operative with an independent gas station.
No, I meant I'd buy a NYMEX futures contract in my Interactive Brokers account that the coop members chip in on. Everyone just buys gas like usual at the gas station, and the coop pays out a dividend when the contract rolls over. The mini gasoline futures contract is "QU" on NYMEX and is for 21000 gallons. Even if this isn't applicable to a group of individuals, I could see a landscaping contractor using it.
Iwas thinkng more about consuemr based online purchase. You go into site. Teh price is detemined in realtime. You buy 2000 gallons fo diesel for $5/gallon (I am sure trucking industry will use it). The card also has an expiration date. The price is detemined in real-time based on the currnet future price and national avg diesel prices. Now I fill my tank with 100 gallons and I paid $6. I submit my diesel bill (or receipt) and I get back $1 gallon. The only caveat I see is that the driver overpays @ $7/gallon. But you only gain $1 on the futures, hwo do you handle the extra $1 refund ....
I've thought about this time and time again. Any company that comes out with something on a large scale will be guaranteed instant success. There is already a place up north that does it http://www.firstfuelbank.com/ Then there is the guy that owns http://www.fuelbank.com/ ... Apparently he patented the idea, but I call bs until they actually roll something out... http://www.google.com/patents?id=puenAAAAEBAJ&dq=09/805,950 His stupid CNBC video says that they'll be up and running in September... if you look at the ticker on the CNBC box oil was at $70 when that interview was done...
I heard a radio commercial for some website you could go to and join to lock in your fuel cost/gallon, but I can't remember what the website's name was. If I get some time, I'll try googling and see if I can come up with it. Sounds about like this.