I, too, thought that Arco didn't accept anything other than debit cards, and that I had to pay that blasted $0.35 transaction fee for using plastic...until I found an Arco station on my regularly traveled route that accepts credit cards. Strangely, they don't advertise this fact, and instead of charging $0.35, they charge $0.45, but only if you use a debit card. More interestingly, they accept American Express (Blue Cash), which is nearly unheard of for a gas station. My point here is that you should always check the limits of what you can do with your plastic.

Now, instead of paying that transaction fee, I will get cheaper gas at Arco, and when I finally get the 5% cashback Citi Dividend Platinum card I'm lusting after, I'll net about $68.70 in cashback just on my gas purchases.

For those who have a Pocket PC and care about such things, there is a great program that tracks vehicle-related expenses, gas fillups, gives maintenance reminders, and most importantly to me, tells me what kind of mileage I'm getting. Very handy for assessing your driving habits' effect on your mileage, as well as giving you a heads-up for car problems when mileage drops.