In a growing trend, gas stations are offering discounts of as much as 10 cents a gallon to customers who pay with cash while those who pay with a credit card are paying full price and more.

The rub for gas station owners is the degree to which both the high price of oil and credit card fees are eating into their profits. For the station owner, cash payments represent a higher profit potential.

Paul Kelly, the owner of a New Jersey Sunoco station quoted in a CNN report said, "If we pay 3 percent or even a little less than that at $4 a gallon in a credit card fee and I'm making 12 cents a gallon, that's my entire profit.

The cash phenomenon is only the latest way in which high gasoline prices are changing the buying preferences and driving habits of Americans. Drivers used to paying with plastic now find themselves carrying more cash than they have in years.

A Connecticut driver, Miles Walcott, also speaking to CNN said, "I don't normally carry that much money around with me cause it'll probably take about $90 to $100 to fill my tank up. So I mean if I was gonna save some money by using cash as opposed to using a credit card then I would go to the ATM first.

Although both Visa and MasterCard have cut and capped their fees on petroleum purchases, station owners are still feeling the pinch since fewer gasoline customers also means fewer sales in stations combined with convenience stores.