OK, so I usually get gas at Vons…use my card & get that .03 cent savings (every penny counts, right?!) and I put in my usual $50…sometimes less.  For instance, this morning I put a quick $15 in (at another gas station) just to get me to work & back. (7:15a.m. work rush)  I check my bank balance online to find that I have a $75 hold on my account.  I call the bank & it turns out that the gas stations put a hold for $60-$70 on your account when you pay by card, used as credit, regardless of how much you actually spent.  Did anyone else know this??  I mean, I use to have to put that much in my tank anyway, so it didn't affect me, but now that I'm putting less, I finally noticed.  So I put in $15 & the store holds on to $75 of my money over the next 5 days!!!  That's outrageous!!  And of course, I ask about using it as a debit card & if the same "rules" apply and the answer is no, however, I'm warned to look at the pump to make sure there's no "extra" equipment or anything on it, because the cashiers/and others apparently have devices that can "read" your pin number…which then puts you at risk for theft.  And there's "nothing the banks can do about it".  So, the gas stations are in control of my $75 for a week?? HUH???  I don't know about anyone else, but I don't even have that much to spare for a week.  So, CASH IT IS….apparently that's the answer.  Craziness!!