"The US is considered a service economy, which essentially means that not much is manufactured there any more."

Not sure where this poster is getting her information, but she's wrong. There have been plenty of changes in manufacturing, but manufacturing industries in the U.S. are far from dead.

I pulled this quote from a Washington Post article:
"The U.S. is manufacturing more now than it ever has, but much of that work can be done by machines — which don’t require salaries or health care coverage."

Nochblad:

In states other than New Jersey and Oregon, most stations are primarily self service but usually have an attendant on duty to accept cash payment. If purchasing fuel by cash, you usually must enter the station and advise the attendant of that. If you advise you want $20, he sets that amount in the pump electronically and you get only $20 worth of fuel. If you want to fill up, you must provide cash in excess of that amount and at the conclusion of your transaction, you are refunded the excess amount in cash. (I know, it does not make a lot of sense, but remember, I stated earlier, trust is a fleeting thing. There is somewhat of an issue with drive-offs, those whom fill their tank and drive off without paying.)

If you are using a credit card, you insert that card in the pump, choose the fuel grade that you desire and fill the tank. At the end of the transaction, you are offered a receipt if you so desire and you simply drive off to return your rental car. Sometimes, the clerk at the rental location wants to see the fuel receipt but usually not.

Clear as mud?

It is now very difficult to find a "full service" station in the US. My father owned a retail general store (foodstuffs, hardware and fuel). Either the customer filled their own tank, entered the store and advised my father of the amount of purchase or he pumped the gas himself, checked the oil level, offered to wash the windows and fill the tires with air. Of course, gasoline at that time was an outrageous 25 cents (US$) per gallon (US measurement.)

>>Obviously paying by cash you get exactly what you put in the machine but if you pay by card you can fill the whole tank and your card is only charged the exact amount. Is this how it works in the States?<<

Yes. As far as filling up using cash: You go to the attendant, give him or her the cash, tell them you're filling up, and return for the change. Never heard of the situation described in La Jolla so I can't address it.

vincenzo - as I said I was referring to a fully automatic situation without attendants.

So returning to my request - how do you completely fill up a hire car in the US just using a credit or bank card?

Nochblad:

What in my paragraph 2 was not clear?

Huggy - which 2nd paragraph?

Again - So returning to my request - how do you completely fill up a hire car in the US just using a credit or bank card?

"how do you completely fill up a hire car in the US just using a credit or bank card?"

Some experts advise not to use an ATM card for gas in the U.S.

The answer to your question depends on the gas pump you visit and perhaps the station. Some pumps will only let you designate a certain dollar value before you pump. Other pumps will allow you to bypass this "prompt" by pressing "enter" with no amount selected so you can perform a fill-up. Sometimes, it takes an attendant (if there is one) to manually set the machine to fill-up for a credit card customer. You don't really know what situation you have until you're in it or you visit often.

Obviously your solution is just to come vacation in Oregon:) It's a beautiful state with a lot to see and do.

It's true, all of our pumps have to be serviced by an employee. The only exception is some highly rural counties between 6 pm and 6 am are allowed to have self-serve.

The gas lobby tried to get us to overturn this law but we have refused. While the law began because of fire safety, for many of us, our motivations for supporting it have changed. We want our senior citizens and disabled residents to be able to get their gas pumped at any station. Our gas does not cost a lot more than other states; many times we can't tell the difference.

I give up! Good luck with all your travels here in the US Nochblad!

I have never seen a pump that doesn't give instructions. Just read and follow.

For what it is worth, when "paying at the pump" 99.999% of the pumps at US gas stations in about 25 different states (not including the ones in NJ and Oregon) that I've used in the last 25+ years DO NOT have any buttons that restrict the amount of gas you can pump so it's very easy to fill up your tank (in fact in all that time I can't recall the last time I actually used one that had "pre-set amount buttons). I'm guessing there may still be some older pumps out there that have "pre-set amount buttons but if memory serves me correctly they always had a "Fill" button in addition to the "pre-set" amounts.

So, for all practical purposes you simply insert your credit or debit car in the slot and follow prompts on the display screen to enter a pin number or zip code. Then remove the nozzle from the holder, select your fuel grade and pump your gas. You can stop pumping at any time or fill up the tank - whatever your preference. Once you finish pumping your transaction will be processed and there will be a prompt asking you if you want a receipt.

It's all rather simple.

:-)

What RoamsAround said. I've never seen a pump that required you to pre-designate the amount you wanted. I'm sure they exist since others have said they do, but I've never seen that in the U.S.

I have never in my life seen the LaJolla situation anywhere in the US.

Assuming we are still talking about the abysmal state of the rental car industry, here is my latest annoying experience:

Arrived in Austin, TX for the F1 USGP, a Super Bowl scale event. Hundreds of people are lined up to pick up rental cars, but each and every agency has a sign up that says "We have cars available!"

When it's our turn, the agent tells us that because our flight was delayed (by less than one hour!), the mid-size car we reserved is no longer available. He offers us a larger car for more money. I say, give it to me for the same price, he says he can't. He says he has a smaller car, which we agree will suffice for our needs, and I say "the price will be lower then, right? Since it's a smaller class of car." He says no! Claims he simply cannot, the system won't let him, etc. etc.

I argue for a bit, and then accede, stating that I find the so-called policy unreasonable. He then gives me a song-and-dance about how he's a nice agent (he used those words) and would "help us out" (!) if only he could, etc. etc.

Was I "scammed"? Sort of. Should I have dug my heels in? Maybe. But I wanted to get going, and figured that at least I wasn't paying any more than I had planned to, albeit for a smaller car which would have been cheaper when I reserved.

My point is that this type of thing is all too common, and leaves a bad taste in a traveler's mouth.

By the way, many times in the past, in different locations in the US, from different rental agencies, I have been given a larger car at the same price when the one I had reserved wasn't available.

I assume that this agency's sudden adherence to an alleged policy stemmed from the fact that with tens of thousands of visitors streaming in, they felt they could do as they jolly well pleased.