Fuel Credit Cards

[patrick51]

Will be going cross country soon and wonder if the truckstop credit cards are worth the bother.
Thinking Flying J, Loves, or Pilot since they are all along the interstates.
Anyone use them or similiar gas cards?

[Ford_6L_E350]

Since they all take VISA/MC, why would you want a store card?

Mike

[Roonie]

You can do prepaid gift cards to Chevron or Shell or any other gas station.

Our kids school uses script which means we have to buy a certain amount of gift cards and a percentage of that purchase goes to their school. I always buy a lot of Chevron and Shell. Works at most of the gas stations I have used locally and on the road.

[Zeta]

Local gas stations have been cutting me off at $125! Baby is thirstier than that. No biggy, just run it again to top it off.

Z

[Advanturetrek]

One small benefit of a truckstop card is "free" showers.

[Viejo]

Free showers is good and the truck stop cards probably won't have that $125 transaction limit. (Around here it's $75.)
A fill up on a big rig probably runs around $500 these days.

[yvrr]

I was recently talking to a friend who works at Safeway Stores corporate (the grocery chain out west which also has associated gas stations at some of its stores) about this problem. They realize that the $80 or so limit means that the fuel tank isn't full on a lot of vehicles before the dollar limit is reached and that some owners will just reinsert the card and start again which seems to be defeating the purpose. (Safeway allows the same card to be used to purchase gasoline 3 times in a 24-hour period before it is rejected.)

However, here is the problem they are trying to avoid. Gasoline purchases are apparently one of the most common thefts with stolen credit cards (when the thief physically has the credit card). When that happens and the credit card is reported stolen or you see the fraudulent charge on your bill, the law says that the cardholder isn't liable. But the credit card company doesn't want to absorb the loss and kicks the charge to the business owner, in the case, the gasoline company. Apparently the fine print in the contract between the two requires the business owner to verify the owner of the credit card using a second form of ID before making a charge. That isn't done when the card swipe is at the gasoline pump so the bank is off the hook and the gasoline company is liable and takes the loss. Hence, the gasoline company is trying to minimize their losses by limiting the amount that can be charged at one time.

I haven't tried it yet, but my friend says that if you go inside the gas station and show proof of who you are, they should be able to disable the kick-off for that transaction. But if they want to keep my card until I'm done filling up, I won't do it. One of the few times we have ever (so far) had a fraudulent charge on our credit card was when someone charged $25 to the card while we were outside filling up.

[Viejo]

Hell, if you have to go inside and beg for an exemption to the rules, it's just as easy to drop a couple of Franklins on the counter. Not using a card also makes it harder for anyone (Card Company, bank, FBI, NSA) to track your travels. Not that I would have anything to hide, but for the tinfoil hat contingent it's a plus.

[Silver350]

I think I've taken more showers in truck stops than in my own home. Not proud of that, I'm just sayin'.

"Fuel Cards" are usually different than credit cards in that the fuel is paid for instantly by automatic withdrawal from a designated account, for a fee, so that the driver can pay cash price without carrying cash.

To get a "free" shower at most truck stops you need to buy at least 50 gallons at once, some it's 75 gallons. I don't think most vans carry 50 g. Flying J used to give partial discounts for fill ups of less than 50g. but since Pilot took them over that probably has changed. The shower credits are usually put on a rewards card of some kind like "Frequent Fueler" or something similar, no matter how you pay.

IMO, get of the superslab and find a community rec center or pay a drop in fee at a local gym, have a swim, have a shower and enjoy the trip. You will see more and smell great.

Somebody once said of the Interstate system,

"It is now possible to travel from coast to coast without seeing anything."

After 2 million miles of trucking, I could not agree more.

[WVvan]

After 2 million miles of trucking ...

That's more than four round trips to the Moon and back! Amazing. After just 200 miles I'm usually ready for a nap.