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Televisions have been kicked to the curb and iPods are so 2005.

Now, if you want to lure in customers or entice public service out of people, there's new bait: the gas card.

The hot item that generated foot traffic used to be an iPod or a flat-screen. Now everyone, it seems, is hoping that offering a little plastic relief at the pump will be the new "get." From Realtors to car dealers — shoot, even drugstores — it's the quintessential, "You scratch my back, I'll scratch yours" offer.

"It's all the craze now... just because of the gas prices," said Josh Miller, a real estate agent with 360 Realty. He's offering a $1,000 gas card as well as a percentage of closing costs for a full-price offer on a town house he has listed.

Feeling the pinch at the pump himself, Miller just bought a scooter. "I figured if I was going to the extent to buy a scooter, I can offer people money toward gas prices. I know I'm not the only one thinking about that."

There's a reason the gas card has become the prize du jour: Gas prices are hitting $4 a gallon. A fill-up on the average, four-door family sedan now tops $50.

Gas card offers are even being tacked onto one of the most tried-and-true customer incentives — coupons.

Drugstores regularly try to steal away competitors' customers by offering coupons for transferring prescriptions. In this week's sales circular, Rite Aid upped the ante, offering not only a $30 gift card with a transfer but also an entry into a weekly drawing for free gas for a year.

But some groups were in on the trend before prices became so painful. The Greensboro Chapter of the American Red Cross has entered donors' names into a gas card drawing for at least the past two summers, spokeswoman Melanie McDonough said.

"Thankfully, back then gas wasn't as much, but we realized it was a great way to partner and get those items donated and reward our volunteers so they could take a road trip during the summer," she said.

This year, donors in June are entered into a drawing for two $750 gas cards. For the organization, the offer is a way to lure occasional donors into more regular visits.

"We're really trying to encourage those donors who donate once a year to try to donate twice a year," McDonough said.

Contact Lanita Withers at 373-7071 or lanita.withers@news-record.com