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Credit cards for fuel-need advice


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Safeway stores also include Tom Thumb:

 

Chains
  • Carrs-Safeway (Alaska)
  • Pak 'n Save (California)
  • Pavilions (Southern California)
  • Randall's (Texas)
  • Safeway (Alaska, Arizona, Northern California, Colorado, District of Columbia, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Maryland, Montana, Nebraska, Northern Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, South Dakota, Virginia, Washington, Wyoming)
  • Tom Thumb (Texas)
  • Vons (Southern California and Southern Nevada)

Barb & Dave O'Keeffe
2002 Alpine 36 MDDS (Figment II), 2018 Ford C-Max HYBRID
Blog: http://www.barbanddave.net
SPK# 90761 FMCA #F337834

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We had a Visa card compromised last month at a Flying J when we got fuel. Less than 1/2 hour later, got a text from the bank fraud unit about several suspicious charges. Had the card cancelled and fortunately, had other cards available, as we were just heading out for a couple weeks. There had to be a reader on the fuel pump, but they are not visible, so, just be aware, and if your bank has a rapid fraud alert system available, use it.

 

We've gotten so that we use Pilot instead of Flying J with the Pilot RV Loyalty card - cash price plus 3¢ off, auto start the pumps, but then walk in and pay and get the receipt. Yes, I have to walk across the line of trucks, but a lot of them now have iPhone readers and I can use either cards in Apple Pay and the number the store uses isn't my card number, but a one-time number. One of the reasons I use ApplePay whenever I can. BTW - most Loves also will take ApplePay and other smartphone pay apps.

 

Barb

Barb & Dave O'Keeffe
2002 Alpine 36 MDDS (Figment II), 2018 Ford C-Max HYBRID
Blog: http://www.barbanddave.net
SPK# 90761 FMCA #F337834

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Thanks Dutch, I just opened a Pen Fed VISA card account, all work was done online and by phone. I made a $25 charity donation and opened a savings account with $10 a few months ago. The card application was approved yesterday in a few hours and has been mailed to our address of record. Using the phone yesterday I opened a money market account for $25 using another credit card for the deposit so I can get the full 5% back on diesel. Greg

Greg & Judy Bahnmiller
Class of 2007
2014 F350
2007 HitchHiker Champagne

Both sold 2/19, settled in Foley, AL after 12 years on the road

http://bahnmilleradventure.blogspot.com/

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Interesting question posted above: How many gallons of fuel do you use a year?

 

If you go from Seattle, WA to Miami, FL (according to Google Map via I94 3447 so I rounded up) it is 3,500 miles one way or 7,000 round trip

 

At 10 mpg that would be 700 gallons or 700 * $3.00 a gallon $2,100

 

If you only get 5 mpg then $4,200

 

On average how many miles a year do you drive your RV?

 

What is the most miles you have driven in a year?

 

What is the least amount of miles you have driven in a year?

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We don't know the actual numbers on any of those questions. We could look up the fuel cost on quicken as we categorize . We are now 1560 miles into our summer road trip that would be about 156 gallons of diesel the price has ranged from 2.0499 to 2,3999. We will know at the end of the month what it cost us.

 

We have had two trucks in the last 10 years with a total mileage on the trucks of 110,000 miles .Since we pretty much use the trucks only to pull the RV and we estimate@ 90% of that mileage is pulling we estimate about 100,000 miles in 10 years that is the best we can do.

 

Last year both Helen and I were down with medical issues and had no summer road trip so we did less than 3K miles and that has got t o be the lowest ever. I think our longest road trip was 2008 with at least 13K miles.

We were not happy to pay @ 40.00 to travel the KC TPK to Oklahoma city but it was the best road so we did. We do a "We do a "how did we do" at the end of every year on quicken. So far so good.

 

We saved and planned a very long time to be able to live this lifestyle and when we run out of $$ we will stop. It is 10 years down the road and we are still in the black.

Helen and I are long timers ..08 F-350 Ford,LB,CC,6.4L,4X4, Dually,4:10 diff dragging around a 2013 Montana 3402 Big Sky

SKP 100137. North Ridgeville, Ohio in the summer, sort of and where ever it is warm in the winter.

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Costco and Sam's are both attractive but they have limits on fuel annually ($7K/$6K) and I really have no idea how much I'll spend on fuel

 

Even when we were fulltimers, we never came close to spending $7,000 a year on fuel! We spent a little over $3,700 on fuel the year we went to Alaska...of course, that was back when fuel was under $2.00 per gallon! If we were to go to Alaska today, perhaps we'd come close to $7,000.

LindaH
2014 Winnebago Aspect 27K
2011 Kia Soul

 

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Most money on diesel was $7589 in 2008 and most miles of 9363. It was near $5/gallon then!

Least money on diesel was $3158 in 2015 and least miles of 5103.

We average 8135 miles a year. Greg

Greg & Judy Bahnmiller
Class of 2007
2014 F350
2007 HitchHiker Champagne

Both sold 2/19, settled in Foley, AL after 12 years on the road

http://bahnmilleradventure.blogspot.com/

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Hi Greg,

 

Thanks Dutch, I just opened a Pen Fed VISA card account, all work was done online and by phone. I made a $25 charity donation and opened a savings account with $10 a few months ago. The card application was approved yesterday in a few hours and has been mailed to our address of record. Using the phone yesterday I opened a money market account for $25 using another credit card for the deposit so I can get the full 5% back on diesel. Greg

 

Thanks for these details. This Pen Fed card does beat the heck out of our current US credit card (which is also a VISA, issued by the US bank associated to our our Brazilian bank): it costs us $120.00 for the annual fee, the cashback reward is only 1%, and it actually *charges* us a 1% fee for every outside-of-the-US transaction! (Paypal for instance has a sad habit of charging our card from their Luxembourg branch, so we end up with zero net rewards on all our Paypal spending).

 

We would really like to get one of these Pen Fed cards... can you tell us whether they will open an account and issue such a card for someone who is currently not a US resident (but travels frequently to the US) like us? If you prefer, PM me the name of your account manager and his/her phone and we can call them directly.

 

Thanks again,

--

Vall & Mo.

Getting ready to join the RV full-time lifestyle in 2017!

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I have no account manager and either contact them through their website, or phone, here's their info. Greg

 

PenFed Website:

https://www.penfed.org/homepage.aspx

 

Contact us by e-mail at info@HQ.PenFed.org. Please do not use email to send confidential information.

 

Toll Free U.S.: 800-247-5626
Monday - Friday: 7:00 am to 11:00 pm Eastern Time
Saturday: 8:00 am to 11:00 pm Eastern Time
Sunday: 9:00 am to 5:30 pm Eastern Time

Greg & Judy Bahnmiller
Class of 2007
2014 F350
2007 HitchHiker Champagne

Both sold 2/19, settled in Foley, AL after 12 years on the road

http://bahnmilleradventure.blogspot.com/

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Well I guess we average about 10K miles a year which means nothing as some years we travel much less and some years much more at 100K miles of travel over 10 years that would mean about 10K gallons of diesel.We have paid over 5.00 per gallon for diesel and every price in between. That would be a BIG number.We have to stay someplace every day we are on the road and that means C.Gfees.Two trucks and two 5th wheels cost a few bucks.

 

We could go back 10 years in quicken and get a accurate number of the cost but we won't do that.We are just going to go on doing

what we are doing.Perhaps one day we will look at Quicken and say.....enough..But I doubt it.

Helen and I are long timers ..08 F-350 Ford,LB,CC,6.4L,4X4, Dually,4:10 diff dragging around a 2013 Montana 3402 Big Sky

SKP 100137. North Ridgeville, Ohio in the summer, sort of and where ever it is warm in the winter.

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Highest we ever paid for diesel was a little over $6/gallon in Nova Scotia in 2008. Lowest was $1.69 in Texas in 2009. In 10 yrs we've put on over 100K miles. Highest travel was 15K miles. Lowest will probably be this year at less than $5K. Paid $2.55 for diesel this week in Washington state. I budget for $3600 a year and usually have some left over.

Barb & Dave O'Keeffe
2002 Alpine 36 MDDS (Figment II), 2018 Ford C-Max HYBRID
Blog: http://www.barbanddave.net
SPK# 90761 FMCA #F337834

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Hello Greg,

 

I have no account manager and either contact them through their website, or phone, here's their info. Greg

[...]

 

Thanks! We will contact them and then post a summary here if anyone else is interested.

 

Cheers,

--

Vall &Mo.

Getting ready to join the RV full-time lifestyle in 2017!

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  • 3 months later...

The Costco Visa that LindaH recommended pays 4% cash back on fuel, up to $7000 of fuel per year.

 

But not at "convenience stores". It has to be a stand alone gas station ... the COSTCO Visa card has a LOT of small print that you should be aware of. 3% back at restaurants (but not fast food restaurants that are inside of discount stores) ... like subway in WalMart. I have a COSTCO Visa, but use it sparingly due to the many caveats. You are more likely to get 1% than 4% at most "gas stations" in the US.

2017 KZ Durango Gold 381REF, 8K morRYDE IS, Disc brakes, 17.5" Hi Spec Aluminum Wheels w Goodyear G114 H rated tires

2016 F350 King Ranch DRW, 3.73, 4x4, Super Duty Crew Cab, 6.7L Powerstroke Diesel.

26,760 CGVW

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But not at "convenience stores". It has to be a stand alone gas station ... the COSTCO Visa card has a LOT of small print that you should be aware of. 3% back at restaurants (but not fast food restaurants that are inside of discount stores) ... like subway in WalMart. I have a COSTCO Visa, but use it sparingly due to the many caveats. You are more likely to get 1% than 4% at most "gas stations" in the US.

What card do you use at convenience stores and fast food inside a discount store that gives you more than 1% cash back?

2004 40' Newmar Dutch Star DP towing an AWD 2020 Ford Escape Hybrid, Fulltimer July 2003 to October 2018, Parttimer now.
Travels through much of 2013 - http://www.sacnoth.com - Bill, Diane and Evita (the cat)
 

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What card do you use at convenience stores and fast food inside a discount store that gives you more than 1% cash back?

 

Not a lot better, but Capital One's "Quicksilver" rewards Master Card pays 1.5% on all purchases.

Dutch
2001 GBM Landau 34' Class A
F-53 Chassis, Triton V10, TST TPMS
2011 Toyota RAV4 4WD/Remco pump
ReadyBrute Elite tow bar/brake system

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We rarely fuel at convenient stores, mainly because many of them accept only cash or debit cards. While we do have a debit card, about the only place we use it is at Winco, the reason we got a debit card in the first place.

 

As far as fast food inside discount stores, we don't very often partake of fast food, but when we do, I'm not going to worry about the difference in points for a $10-$15 bill...what would that amount to, a few cents? (We do eat at Subway, especially when we're on the road, but they've almost always been stand-alone places, not inside some other store.)

LindaH
2014 Winnebago Aspect 27K
2011 Kia Soul

 

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It's not a long term fuel discount solution.. and I'm not one to encourage folks go out and pick up a new card on a whim.. but the Discover It card has some nice bonus features for a new card member. The first quarter of the year they offer 5% cash back on fuel purchases (which is nice), but for a new card member, they will double your cash back earnings at the end of your first year. The rest of the year it's a flat 1% on everything else and those annoying 5%r's per quarter you have to "activate".

 

I DO like it because Q4 has the 5% for Amazon and Sam's, and the fuel discounts (and wholesale stores) in Q1. That first year I used it pretty heavily, but the year end double cash back IS limited to an additional $1500 back.

 

To be aware.. the 5% bonus categories are also limited to $1500 of purchases per category per quarter.

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  • 2 weeks later...

We don't know the actual numbers on any of those questions. We could look up the fuel cost on quicken as we categorize . We are now 1560 miles into our summer road trip that would be about 156 gallons of diesel the price has ranged from 2.0499 to 2,3999. We will know at the end of the month what it cost us.

 

We have had two trucks in the last 10 years with a total mileage on the trucks of 110,000 miles .Since we pretty much use the trucks only to pull the RV and we estimate@ 90% of that mileage is pulling we estimate about 100,000 miles in 10 years that is the best we can do.

 

Last year both Helen and I were down with medical issues and had no summer road trip so we did less than 3K miles and that has got t o be the lowest ever. I think our longest road trip was 2008 with at least 13K miles.

We were not happy to pay @ 40.00 to travel the KC TPK to Oklahoma city but it was the best road so we did. We do a "We do a "how did we do" at the end of every year on quicken. So far so good.

 

We saved and planned a very long time to be able to live this lifestyle and when we run out of $$ we will stop. It is 10 years down the road and we are still in the black.

So what is your average annual full time expenses?

2017 KZ Durango Gold 381REF, 8K morRYDE IS, Disc brakes, 17.5" Hi Spec Aluminum Wheels w Goodyear G114 H rated tires

2016 F350 King Ranch DRW, 3.73, 4x4, Super Duty Crew Cab, 6.7L Powerstroke Diesel.

26,760 CGVW

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What card do you use at convenience stores and fast food inside a discount store that gives you more than 1% cash back?

Citibank double cash back ... 2% on everything, everywhere.

2017 KZ Durango Gold 381REF, 8K morRYDE IS, Disc brakes, 17.5" Hi Spec Aluminum Wheels w Goodyear G114 H rated tires

2016 F350 King Ranch DRW, 3.73, 4x4, Super Duty Crew Cab, 6.7L Powerstroke Diesel.

26,760 CGVW

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We use a Costco Visa for fuel and anything we buy at Costco, I am a member of Sam's club also but we don't have a CC from them, I got the Costco Visa mainly for the purchase of fuel. Other wise we use a Chevron CC or a Shell CC for fuel purchases. We went to Reno for a week a couple of months ago. We used two Credit Cards, Our Credit Union Master Card, and our Shell Credit Card.

Remember..."Without Truck Drivers America Stops" 

"I woke up still not dead again today!"
"Take me to the Brig....I want to see the real Marines" Lt.Gen. L.B. "Chesty" Puller during a Battalion inspection.
"Semper Fi"

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We have Pilot and Pacific Pride; each of us has a different card because that is the way these companies roll. However, a tip - we find that even with the discounts, their gas is not the cheapest. We use the Gas Buddy App and search for diesel. We then scout the location for clearance. Often there are not dual truck pumps but we just turn the truck around; a minor inconvenience. We save a typical 10 to 20 cents per gallon. Sam's Club and Cost Co usually have the clearances and are often the cheapest but we have found Mom and Pop stations across the country with dual pumps and lower prices.

2010 Volvo VNL 670 D13 500 HP Ishift - "THOR"

2016 DRV Elite Suites 38RSSA - "Freya"

2012 Smart For Two - "Loki"

 

Ron & Shelley Johnston, pilots

Toy, Nika, and Piranha, feline co-pilots and Demi-gods (at least if you ask them).

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We use a Costco Visa for fuel and anything we buy at Costco, I am a member of Sam's club also but we don't have a CC from them, I got the Costco Visa mainly for the purchase of fuel. Other wise we use a Chevron CC or a Shell CC for fuel purchases. We went to Reno for a week a couple of months ago. We used two Credit Cards, Our Credit Union Master Card, and our Shell Credit Card.

Any Visa will work at Costco BTW. Sam's will take Mastercard, too.

2010 Volvo VNL 670 D13 500 HP Ishift - "THOR"

2016 DRV Elite Suites 38RSSA - "Freya"

2012 Smart For Two - "Loki"

 

Ron & Shelley Johnston, pilots

Toy, Nika, and Piranha, feline co-pilots and Demi-gods (at least if you ask them).

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