Anyone used GS Pilot/Flying J travel card

[Alan_B]

Other than an occasional Mom & Pop truck stop, I've never been asked to leave a credit card at the counter. With the major brands, you can go in and swipe your card for a pre-authorization amount. I usually over-estimate what I'll need by about 25%. They will give you a receipt for that amount, you go outside (with your credit card in wallet) and fill up...

When towing I normally stop at Loves truck stops and it works as described above. It results in two walks into the office, once before and once after. The counter people at the Loves' truck desk are normally very friendly and helpful.

 

[Oregon_Camper]

You guys have Costco's out there with Diesel?

The one here has 3 islands (which mean 6 lanes of cars)....each island had 6 stations (3 one side...3 on the other) ....and EVERY station has diesel...that is 18 stations I can use!!! I'm no longer stuck waiting for the lonely 1 pump at a station to open up that has diesel.

Oh...and they are always 15-20 cents less per gallon then everyone else. And I get 4% back on my fuel purchase.

 

[MCTalley]

We seem to have greatly diverged off the original topic.

 

[travelin2]

We seem to have greatly diverged off the original topic.

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[danemayer]

We prefer not to get a credit card. Right now we only have one credit card for emergency so getting another credit card, even for rebates, is out of the question. 99% of the time, we pay as we go so that was why the hesitation about getting the RV plus card.

RV Plus is not a credit card. Nor is it a debit card. And if I recall correctly, you have to set up a debit path to your bank account. Each month used, you get an invoice (ours is email) and go to the RVPlus website to authorize a debit against your bank account.

The RVPlus Card doesn't show up on my Credit Report so it's apparently not reported to the Credit Bureaus as a credit account.

 

[Oregon_Camper]

We seem to have greatly diverged off the original topic.

Still seems on track to me...

 

[HornedToad]

I'm not sure if we are talking about a credit card or a discount card... or both.

Most Flying Js, including the one on my way home from tailgating, have long pull through RV islands with gas / deisel fuel pumps on one end and a dump station on the other including a non potable hose for flushing separate from the fresh water hose.

The dump fee is $10, or $5 with the discount card that cost $5 and also gets you a discount on fuel...

for me the discount card was a no-brainer!!!

I use my debit card for everything, I don't like credit cards.

 

[uncledon]

I've been using the RV Plus Card for a while. I typically use it in the truck lanes. The control code (PIN) authorizes it outside. So it avoids a pre-authorization walk inside and the need to leave my credit card inside as happens at many other truck stops. Because it's not a credit card, and you pay monthly via bank account debit, they pass along the pump's cash price, less the Good Sam discount of $.06 on diesel. So pricing is more competitive. I'm sure you can still get a few cents per gallon better deal if you use an app like GasBuddy. But at smaller stations you never know about age or quality of the fuel, or how good the access is when towing.

Apart from the card, using the truck lanes at Pilot/Flying J gets me bulk DEF fill up at a much lower price. $2.79/gallon beats paying $11-13 for a 2.5 gallon jug at most Walmarts ($4.40 - $5.20/gallon). The savings on DEF far exceeds any difference you're likely to find in the price of diesel.

I'm sure you can occasionally find DEF on sale and you could stock up. But using old DEF is an invitation to DEF quality issues.

So my net is that it is convenient, it helps with fuel cost, and using Pilot/Flying J truck lanes really helps with DEF cost.

2X Dan! Although I have an '02 and don't have to deal with the DEF situation, I concur with all that you say. I have the same card and use it when it's convenient, but don't go out of my way to find a PFJ.

 

[TravelTiger]

Tony mentioned that PFJ are not the cheapest to begin with, so to us the discount may not be worth the effort to seek them out. For example, at one exit of Cisco on I-20 where the Pilot and Sunoco truck stops are located, fuel can be as much as 20 cents higher than the next Cisco exit, where there is a Alon (regional chain) and an independent. Both of which you could fuel at, towing.

Gas buddy lists diesel at 2.50 for Sunoco and 2.34 for Alon this morning.


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[jjwink]

We have had the RV Plus card for several years with no issues. You " pay" at the pump, get an email with your statement listing all charges, it is debited from your checking account and you get another email saying it has been paid. Love the convenience. You can also put whatever brand of food that location sells - Wendy's , Subway ? - on your card. We don't go out of our way to find one but do use them when they are on our route. Be loyal to our governor😉

 

[Nabo]

Thanks for all of ya'll responses. We have decided to go ahead and order the RV Plus card since it doesn't cost anything, having it as a good resource or back up while traveling this summer. This might come in handy since there are Pilots located in Canada.

 

[BusManRG]

Thanks for all of ya'll responses. We have decided to go ahead and order the RV Plus card since it doesn't cost anything, having it as a good resource or back up while traveling this summer. This might come in handy since there are Pilots located in Canada.
View attachment 49718

Thanks for asking about this. I've decided to order one also! We occasionally use PFJ for convenience and were only getting a 2 cent discount. With this new card it will be 8 cents and we can pay at the pump! Thanks again for bringing this to my attention.

Sandy

 

[ATLJOHN]

We have the RV Plus Card and only use it when the diesel price is cheaper with the 6 cents discount then other stations. You must pay the bill 100% each month.


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[Nabo]

Thanks for asking about this. I've decided to order one also! We occasionally use PFJ for convenience and were only getting a 2 cent discount. With this new card it will be 8 cents and we can pay at the pump! Thanks again for bringing this to my attention.

Sandy

Glad to have helped Sandy. Yes we understand that these stations might be higher in fuel cost but the convenience of finding a station while traveling in unfamiliar areas of the country out ways the cost.

- - - Updated - - -

You must pay the bill 100% each month.


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Yes, we understand about paying in full at the end of the month which is ok in that we usually pay at time of purchase anyway so setting that amount back into a sub-account is no big deal. Since financial institutions now have on-line banking, we will just transfer that purchase amount into a sub-account designated just for fuel purchases. That way we are prepaying to pay at the end of the month.

 

[pegmikef]

A little off the subject, but one thing I did was open a separate account for this card. I only keep sufficient funds in it to cover my fuel bills and replenish it as needed. (I look at it as "spent" money after I replenish it)

 

[Nabo]

A little off the subject, but one thing I did was open a separate account for this card. I only keep sufficient funds in it to cover my fuel bills and replenish it as needed. (I look at it as "spent" money after I replenish it)

That's just what we are doing. Our credit union doesn't charge to have a sub-accounts within the main account so we will set it up as like your say "spent money".

 

[Geodude]

Thanks for the info on the RC card, I just ordered one. We use Flying Js a lot! We find them convenient with their truck and RV lanes when you're towing a big 5er. Never had an issue getting in/out of one and they are typically handy, as far as location goes, which is important to us on travel days when it's shake and bake time. It'll be nice that I can link it to auto-pay from my USD account.

We don't use Flying Js in Canada very often because there aren't as many of them and we where they do exist isn't where we typically go.

 

[jnbhobe]

I don't use them at all they are way too high priced

 

[danemayer]

Someone noted that searching for a lowest price station could yield a savings of $ 0.20 / gallon.

How much is the actual savings for a 1,000 mile trip?

Let's assume the comparison is using the Flying J cash price.
Let's assume a best case $ 0.20 difference in price, before the RV Plus Card discount
Let's assume you get 10 mpg.

	Pilot/Flying J	Local Truck Stop
Price	$3.00	$2.80
Discounted	$2.94	$2.80
MPG	10	10
Trip Length	1000	1000
Gallons Used	100	100
Cost of Trip	$294.00	$280.00

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So that's a net savings of $14 for a 1,000 mile trip. And if you have to get a DEF fill during that trip, the bulk
DEF price will save you about $8-10 over Walmart pricing for 2 2.5 Gallon jugs.

That reduces the net savings to $4-6.

If you have to drive 1.5 miles (3 miles round trip) further to get to that $0.20 lower price, 4 fuel stop detours will cost you an extra $3 in fuel cost.

Now your savings is down to $1-3. And for that you get a greater likelihood of fresh, clean fuel and fresh DEF.

If prices change, not much difference. If MPG changes, not much difference.

Anyway, that's why I stop at Flying J/Pilot stations whenever convenient.

If you have a 5% rebate on your credit card, the savings opens up by $6.00 because you lose the discount at Flying J/Pilot. You also lose the cash price, but that's likely true at the other truck stop as well.

 

[jnbhobe]

Around here the difference is 45 to 50 cents a gallon but this is Pa. with the highest fuel taxes in the country.