Debit, cash at Pilot and Flying J questions

[Ozz]

What are your ideas on buying fuel, concerning cash or debit cards, This discussion does not include credit cards.
my first thought is paying cash does get you maybe a 6 cent discount
And with a debit card loaded with 4 or 5 hundred dollars, do you have to worry about them holding a certain amount of money in that account until it clears, or how does that work? I read where a guy at Flying J had $151 held on his card in addition to the money he charged off of it for fuel over a week-end. Isolated event?

[DQDick]

No it's not an isolated event. When you fuel up and for a lot of other show your card in advance stuff they put a hold on whatever amount the pump is set to shut off on and it may take a day or two before that hold is released. Many pumps have a small notice on them somewhere. $151 is kind of high, but he may have been in the truck or RV lanes. I've seen $90 frequently. Also, some places won't give you the cash discount if you use a debit card. We have the Pilot/Flying J card from Good Sam and get a greater discount and don't have to worry about a hacker getting into my checking account. We had our discover card # stolen from a gas station in Georgia and used to buy a bunch of stuff. Got with Discover and didn't pay a dime of it. A friend of ours got their debit card # stolen in a similar way and had their checking account cleared out. They eventually got most of it back, but it took a while and they bounced a house payment and a car payment before they even knew it had happened.

[Ozz]

Good info Dick, is the total fee higher getting a card from good Sam?

[H. John Kohl]

I will not use Debit because it is deducted immediately. One time I had $500 deducted at truck pump and returned three or four days later. Their computer slow. I use the Pilot/FlyingJ RV credit card which gives me cash price and $.08 cents off the cash price. The credit card has $1000 limit per month unless I pay it off early. That way I also have better documentation and tracking of my expenses.

[Ozz]

Hi John, good info as well, I really hate to go to a credit card. That one sounds attractive, but I just hate to go to credit even if we pay it back at the end of the month.
Just my personal preference.

[mhs4771]

We too have and use the GoodSam/Pilot-Flying J card. Used it as much as possible on our recent all summer trip. We do everything online with them, so when the statement post I just log in and pay it online through our checking account. Eight cents a gallon off the cash price make a pretty good deal, plus you pull into the truck pump, swipe your card, enter you PIN, fuel up, and go. No need to go inside unless you want a hard copy receipt, I just right the amount in a note pad and enter into our Quicken data base that evening.

[Ozz]

That 8 cents off the cash price is VERY attractive. Sue would go nuts if we didn't get a receipt, but no big deal to go inside I guess.
1,000 miles, (IF) 10 MPG, 100 gallons, 8 Cents: $8.00? What would the card associated cost and fees be? 0 if you pay it off at the end of the month?

[Rondo]

Ozz-- We have the Pilot/Flying J credit card also and there is not fee or associated cost with the card. We get our statement via internet and I pay the bill via USPS. Since I'm a retired carrier I like to us them as much as possible and make sure my retirement check keeps coming!;) I've had no problems with it and it's really easy. I do get a receipt each and every time I fill just by going in to the desk and asking for one. I also like to keep track of what I'm putting on the card so I'm not surprised at the time the bill pops up on the computer!
By the way, this is NOT the RV card that you get discounts for using it but an actual credit card from Pilot/Flying J! You actually get more of a discount by using the credit card rather than the user card.

[Ozz]

Thanks Rondo, enjoyed the PM :)

[DonandBonnie]

We recently had our debit card compromised, so we no longer use it for purchases. In our case we have more fraud protections with our credit card. If you decide to use your debit card for the cash savings option, you had better check with the counter clerk first. We have had some places that advertise the split cash/credit price to deny us the cash price for using the debit card. For them it was paper money only to get the discount.

[Charli]

We got the Fling J card with our Good Sam membership but have only used it a few times so far. They Flying J debits my bank account each month for the accumulated purchases. Works ok if we are towing all day but once we are unhooked we look for the lowest price. Often .20-.30 cents cheaper when off the Interstate

[8.1al]

quote:Originally posted by Ozz

That 8 cents off the cash price is VERY attractive. Sue would go nuts if we didn't get a receipt, but no big deal to go inside I guess.
1,000 miles, (IF) 10 MPG, 100 gallons, 8 Cents: $8.00? What would the card associated cost and fees be? 0 if you pay it off at the end of the month?


To get 8 cents off you must be buying diesel, be a Good Same Life member and use the Pilot/Flying J credit card
http://www.goodsamclub.com/fuelsavings/

[stengels]

We got a "rewards" credit card from Bank of Am. Use it only for gas (diesel). Get 3% discount on gas purchases (calculates to .10 - .12 savings per gallon. Get all the safety benefits of a credit card and nothing extra withheld at the time of purchase. Pay it off at the end of the month. No annual charge.

[Mudchief]

We use the COSTCO AX card and get 4% off of each gallon. Our last trip Diesel averaged $3.79 that is 15 cents a gallon back.

[jfaberna]

Just a few comments on Debit cards. A young friend of mine works in a bank fraud department. She is actively trying to get people to NOT use their debit card except to redraw cash from an ATM or present it inside a bank for account identification. A merchant can withdraw all of your cash from your checking account. If you can get it back, it requires a lot of waiting, while your checks start bouncing for other legit items.

I've also seen signs at gas stations that say they consider Debit cards the same a Credit cards with no cash only discounts.

[c214dick]

We also use the Flying J/Pilot with our credit card. Not only do we get the Flying J discount but a discount from Chase. Every other quarter we get cash back based on fuel purchases. Also with a credit card it's much easier to protest a charge than with a debit. I only use debit when I want cash back.

[Ozz]

There would be no way I would give authorization to Flying J or anyone else to withdraw money from any account I have.
We have never had a debit card, doesn't look like I will start now. As I stated, I want to get away from credit cards, so will probably just use cash when we travel.
My initial thought was just to pre-load a card to use for fuel, but If I bought a $500 card, bought $200 worth of fuel in a day, they could put a hold on the balance of $300 if I am understanding the process??

[Rondo]

Jim-- We pay our Pilot/Flying J credit card off monthly and that way there is no finance charge and I DO NOT let them take it out of any account. I write the check and send it to their headquarters in Utah each time I receive a statement via the internet. They do not bill you via USPS. Besides the 8 cents per gallon off at the pump, and that comes up automatically when you swipe your card, you also get discounts from the store when you purchase items from there too but I do not remember what that % amount is! I really like the credit card but never thought about doing it the way Dick and Louise do it. I might be a better savings. May have to look into it!

[capn chris]

Ozz, We, too, use the Pilot/Flying J RV Plus credit card, and like it a lot. Used only for fuel at their truck stops. I think the actual discount is 9 cents off the CASH price! When towing we use the truck lanes. As was stated, you do have to go inside if you want a paper receipt. We record all purchases in our truck and RV logs, anyway. Pay off the statement every month. The $1,000/mo. limit can be eliminated if you use "Autopay." We do not, however. Pay ours online. Works great for us, and we like the discount off the cash price!

[bw2]

What Capn chris said. We have the $1000 limit and receive the monthly bill via email and then we send in the payment electronic through our bank account. This is how we pay all of our bills.

[mhs4771]

We used our Pilot/Flying J as much as possible during our all summer trip. We were worried that we might exceed our monthly limit, so I requested an increase via e-mail and received a reply that raised our limit to $4000.00, never got near that level, but nice to kown it was there if needed.

[commish]

Cash is king. We have a 100 gal aux fuel tank (Transfer-flow) for a total of 144 gallons. With the use of Gasbuddies and cash we generly save 25 to 30 cents per gal.

[mhs4771]

Afraid Cash wouldn't have been King for our 17,000 mile plus, 6 month summer trip as we burned through $7500.00 of Fuel

[iowaone]

I have settled on the new SAMs club MasterCard. 5% off all fuel purchase everywhere but costco and BGs and 3% off meals. Pay off at end of month. The rebate is in the form of a card though. But that usuall amounts to more than 15 or 18 cents per galleon

[Ozz]

We have a group of creative folks here on the MOC, I bet many of us were not aware of some of these money-saving ways. Appreciate the feedback for all those who contributed.

[steelpony5555]

I use the Pilot/Flying J card too. I also pay them at the end of the month too and do not allow them to withdraw money. The only difference is you get a higher limit if you let them withdraw the money. But either way lots of companies do automatic withdraw with no problems. But using it the pumps don't shutoff at $75 and it is a easy way to keep track of fuel costs along with getting the cheapest rate for fuel at the interchange. You might find a cheaper rate but you will have to search. Using the card I have never seen another truck stop or gas station with cheaper fuel. The card also gets you discounts on stuff inside the store too. I have used the card since it was started and have never had a problem with them. If you are a Vet you do get a discount on the Lifetime Good Sam membership you will need to get the Flying J card.....

[travelinsparky]

I to use the flyingJ/Pilot card. Easy in and out through the truck lanes, most of thier RV lanes are hard to get in and out and also slow pumps. I go to the Kios AND slide my card for a reciept, no waiting at the counter. Used the card in Canada on our way to Alaska. Searching for cheaper fuel is time consuming and you don't know about access until you drive up. I do shop when not hooked up, be careful on getting bad fuel for a cheaper price, not always so cheap. Happy travels.

[dieselguy]

Hate to be Johnny Downer, but at least in Kansas ... Flying Flip J had better give you 8 cents on the gallon off their cash price as just 1/2 mile down the road or even on the turnpike is still cheaper than FJ's cash price. I just don't get it up around Emporia. As for the ease of access to the pumps argument ... I'm 68 ft long and fuel up at will pretty much anywhere besides the Quick Trips that have their pumps perpendicular to the road.

[Ozz]

Ha, you aren't Johnny Downer, you are Johnny realist. We use a couple of aids, Next Exit and another I can't remember as well as gas buddy to Ferret out good gas prices along the road along with the indicators of 'Big rig friendly'
That way you can have more options.
Good post.

[DQDick]

I agree. That one in Emporia is aways higher than any we find on our travels.

[stengels]

I normally try to catch either the Lawrence rest stop or the Belle Plain rest stop. Their diesel prices are about as low as you'll get, and are a few cents cheaper than the other rest stops.

[Ozz]

I like the Belle Plain stop, ready to take a break by then from K.C.
I don't like the road's no-pull off stretch in the Flint Hills, but love the scenery there.

[DQDick]

quote:Originally posted by stengels

I normally try to catch either the Lawrence rest stop or the Belle Plain rest stop. Their diesel prices are about as low as you'll get, and are a few cents cheaper than the other rest stops.


Yes, it's quite a change from the old days when you could count on the turnpike stations to be the highest in the state.