Is ChargePoint worth joining?

[Gizmotoy]

I have ChargePoint and Blink, and have used both in the year I've owned the car. They've been useful on trips up to Napa, and once when I forgot to charge overnight and needed some range while at work. They're worth having, I think. You may never need them, but if you find yourself in such a situation, you'll be glad you do, if only to give you a little bit of buffer to get to a faster charger.

 

[fluxemag]

I have a wallet that only has charging company cards and fobs that is in my car. This was because I didn't have a reliable place to charge at home for a few months and pretty much every station around me was different. I just hold the wallet up to the station and it figures out which one to use. Now that I have a house again, I almost never use them. Also a lot of them started charging by the kWh instead of by the hour. $0.49 per kWh is not good, Semacharge. That works out to a "full tank" costing over $40 on an S85.

Semacharge
Blink
Chargepoint
Aerovironment
One for the old apartment garage
I'm forgetting one...

 

[David99]

Semacharge
Blink
Chargepoint
Aerovironment
One for the old apartment garage
I'm forgetting one...

eVGo maybe?

 

[Blu Zap]

just got Chargepoint cards this week. What the heck, it is free. There are lots of places around Northern California where that is the only charging option. Charging at home is always best. But if I end up in the far reaches of the wine Country, This is my insurance to make it home, especially since some wineries have these chargers!

 

[Rifleman]

I keep a chargepoint and blink card in the Model S, and a chargepoint card in the Volt. I have used the charge point card on the volt on 3 occasions, but never the blink card.

 

[JPP]

I have a wallet that only has charging company cards and fobs that is in my car. This was because I didn't have a reliable place to charge at home for a few months and pretty much every station around me was different. I just hold the wallet up to the station and it figures out which one to use. Now that I have a house again, I almost never use them. Also a lot of them started charging by the kWh instead of by the hour. $0.49 per kWh is not good, Semacharge. That works out to a "full tank" costing over $40 on an S85.

Semacharge
Blink
Chargepoint
Aerovironment
One for the old apartment garage
I'm forgetting one...

? SemaConnect ??

 

[PlanB]

ChargePoint is great, I also have a BLINK card but they are not around Portland and the one that I did try to use did not work.

 

[hpjtv]

As a Canadian, I have ChargePoint (has arrived) and Aerovironment (set up account already) on order. Can not order the Blink card as you need a US address.

 

[tliving]

Its Free, and you can't use a chargepoint charger without the card. I don't run into them much but when I do i'd be out of luck without the card. Also the charging so far has been free because here in MA theres some kind of law preventing them from charging for the electricity.

 

[GSP]

As a Canadian, I have ChargePoint (has arrived) and Aerovironment (set up account already) on order. Can not order the Blink card as you need a US address.

It never ceases to amaze me how silly charging station operators are about making it difficiult to buy their product. What gas station ever required customers to register in advance with a local address to make either a cash or credit purchase? Before gas stations existed, what general store or pharmacy would not accept the local currency for gasoline in gallon tins?

WTF are they thinking?

I have to conclude they do not drive EVs. There seems to be some sort of cognitive dissonance with non-EV drivers that keeps them from understanding that EV owners *need* to charge their cars. Every other car needs to be refueled, so I don't see why they do not get it, but they don't.

GSP

 

[Nigel16494]

I have Blink and Chargepoint cards. I have used Chargepoint many times for the volt and Tesla. I tend to use the free chargepoint e.g. Target Fremont (2 free hours), Treasure Island marina (free all day). You don't need a card to use chargepoint, I have used the phone app to unlock and start the session. I have blink in case I run across one, but I never did.

 

[gglockner]

It never ceases to amaze me how silly charging station operators are about making it difficiult to buy their product. What gas station ever required customers to register in advance with a local address to make either a cash or credit purchase? Before gas stations existed, what general store or pharmacy would not accept the local currency for gasoline in gallon tins?

WTF are they thinking?

I have to conclude they do not drive EVs. There seems to be some sort of cognitive dissonance with non-EV drivers that keeps them from understanding that EV owners *need* to charge their cars. Every other car needs to be refueled, so I don't see why they do not get it, but they don't.

Amen.

 

[Owner]

I've used mine a few times in 34K miles. Just get all the cards and leave them in the glove box.

 

[artsci]

Most of my charging will be done via my home HPWC, or Superchargers. But having backups when out of town is smart.

Is the ChargePoint network any good? Are most of the their stations working all the time? For example, I've heard that Blink is not very reliable.

It's saved me once or twice, but that was before the supercharger network was more extensive. Now that it is, no need. But it's free, so why not as a backup?

 

[kevincwelch]

Like others, I have Chargepoint. I've used them from time to time, but they are almost never needed for me. Perhaps I use them to "show support" for the businesses that have them installed.