Welcome to Tesla Motors Club
Discuss Tesla's Model S, Model 3, Model X, Model Y, Cybertruck, Roadster and More.
Register

Is ChargePoint worth joining?

This site may earn commission on affiliate links.
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.
 
I have both Blink and ChargePoint cards. In 35+K of driving over 21 months I've never used either. As long as there is no monthly charge, having them does no harm--just means you are a belt and suspenders person.
 
Blink you can likely skip, but I come across CP stations quite often (especially in NYC). There's no fee to have them, but it can be a PITA to get one turned on at an odd hour if you don't have a card. I say get one and store it in the car somewhere.
 
Absolutely worthwhile. I have a Chargepoint card and use it at least once a month when I go up to Boston. I got a Blink card not thinking I'd use it but my in-laws are outside Knoxville and I've been there twice with the S and used the network on free chargers a few times. Options are useful.
 
I joined when I got the car and put my charge point card in the little kangaroo pouch in the seat, just in case.

In the ensuing 12 months/21,000 miles I haven't needed it once. Starting each day fully charged has made any L2 charging around DFW completely unnecessary for us.
 
There's no reason not to have it. I rarely use it, but it's just better to have the account setup in advance, just in case.

I don't have a physical card, and just use their app.

I have both - the physical card is sometimes important to have. The App requires you to be within 250ft of a station to have it unlock and start charging.
Sometimes the stations are in the wrong place on the map and you won't be able to use the App :(

Card always works since you just swipe on the station.
 
I have all three major cards, Blink, Chargepoint and Semacharge. I can't imagine not having them if you travel away from home. I consider their prices ridiculous but with them, you are almost always fairly near a charge location. I have used each at least once. Joining is free. Why not?
 
We are from Québec and traveled to Florida last month. Just to be on the safe side we joined the Chargepoint network. Used it once in Melbourne, FL. All in all our 8000 km trip cost us 0.13 US cents!! Indeed, as you most likely deducted, all but 1 Kw/h were on SuperChargers (at 45000km in 10 month of ownership, it was our first use of SC as there are none yet in Québec). Being on a very tight schedule and the ChargePoint charger being a long way to the Hotel we we stayed, it became a faster alternative to go to the Port Ste-Lucie SC than to wait it out at that Melbourne ChargePoint. So after about 10 minutes of charging I unhooked and headed towards Port St-Lucie.

Back to ChargePoint!! Before leaving for the trip I did order the cards for 4.95$ but the cards did not reach our mailbox before departure time. I had installed the ChargePoint app so that is what I used at Melbourne. The way ChargePoint say they will bill you is the way they bill you : when joining ( October 4th) they charged us 4.95$ for the optional plastic cards (which were in our mailbox when we returned) and on October 25th they charged us 25.00$ (Usage credits). Because we used 1 Kw/h, we now have 24.84$ on credit for future use. The support offered by their phone staff is outstanding to say the least.

So I guess you understand I do recommend you join!! I intentionally put more details than less as I understand the need of newer owners for detailed info as it can appear to be overwhelming at times.

Also, if you would like to come and visit our beautiful country, in my area there are actually two network I carry card for (great service too) :

Home
Charge your electric car in Québec – Le Circuit électrique

To conclude, if your on the fence either for getting an S ,joining ChargePoint or going a long road trip, just go for it, you will greatly envoy it!!

Cheers to all
 
As others have noted, it is always good to have backup plans. I have ChargePoint but not Blink. I have the physical ChargePoint card (got it at no cost). 98% of the time, my home charger and Superchargers (when on the road) have served my needs. But there have been a couple of occasions when it was good to have another source of power, and a ChargePoint station was nearby. I have used ChargePoint in Richmond, Virginia before the supercharger was open --- I was at the Science Museum and there were two ChargePoint charging stations there --- they were not free but the fee was reasonable (it was a long time ago, so I don't remember the amount). We were at the Museum for several hours, so I got enough charge to enable the return trip home to Northern Virginia. And when I was in Savannah, GA, I initially topped off at the Supercharger, but then did a lot of local driving around town. I spent time in the downtown area, and had to pay to park anyway -- it just so happens that there are no-cost ChargePoint stations in a couple of the city public parking lots, so I plugged in while I was visiting museums, etc. My advice: have as many back-up options as (reasonably) possible ---- you never know when you might need one!
 
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.

Doesn't hurt. Neither ChargePoint nor Blink have a monthly fee. I got a card from all EV charging networks just in case. I have used both ChargePoint and Blink quite a few times here around California.
 
Yes to all the above. As the SC network comes to completion and destination HPWC are everywhere, the likelihood of needing third-party charging capabilities will diminish to near zero. However, there will be certain connector highways that will not have either SC or HPWC but might be a fun drive that might have ChargePoint or other public charging stations to enable an overnight charge or a lengthy lunch charge.

For example, I would suspect that US2 across northern Idaho and Montana to reach Glacier might never have Superchargers, but would have public charging around Sandpoint or Kalispell. Or maybe I am dead wrong! Time will tell :smile:
 
We have Chargepoint, Blink and AeroVironment. All are used in the NW. Some Blink networks stations are more reliable than others. It depends on who is running them.
AeroVironment is a part of the West Coast Electric Highway in Washington and Oregon. AE's fob used to be free, but now there is a $15 activation fee.
 
I have Chargepoint, Blink, and have recently added Semacharge and eVgo. I have only ever used Chargepoint and it is very reliable and they are usually pretty good to respond to broken stations. I don't have home charging so I rely heavily on public charging.