Creative Solutions to high fuel prices?

[RandyA]

30 minutes ago, Dutch_12078 said:

Many PFJ's have the same price for cash or credit. I've never been asked for a PIN with my Good Sam Swipe & Save card, but my CC usually asks for my ZIP.

Never seen one with the same price for cash or credit.  I'm east coast if that makes a difference.  Mostly along the I95, I85, I81, I40 corridors (N-S).  My Good Sam card is not a swipe and save.  It is a PFJ credit card which includes the GS negotiated discount.  It will not complete a sale without a PIN to authorize the card on my end and hopefully prevent any one else from using the card if it is lost or stolen.

[Ray,IN]

12 hours ago, hemsteadc said:

I've never understood pump limits.  If you have to use a legitimate CC to operate them, isn't the fuel paid for?

Gas was $5 and over years ago.  Didn't bother me then, nor now.  I'm too old to worry about fuel prices.

Years ago Discover card responded to my email query about this card dollar limit.

I've since lost that email but the jist of it was;

It would be counter-productive and contrary to our business model to limit the amount a customer would charge to their account. We do not limit customer charge amounts. Those limits are imposed by credit card processing companies, as they get paid by the number of charge accounts they process not the amount.

[Dutch_12078]

6 minutes ago, RandyA said:

Never seen one with the same price for cash or credit.  I'm east coast if that makes a difference.  Mostly along the I95, I85, I81, I40 corridors (N-S).  My Good Sam card is not a swipe and save.  It is a PFJ credit card which includes the GS negotiated discount.  It will not complete a sale without a PIN to authorize the card on my end and hopefully prevent any one else from using the card if it is lost or stolen.

In the past 10 days on I-81 and I-88 I filled up at the Flying J in Winchester, VA and the Pilot in Rotterdam, NY. Both stations had the same price for cash or credit. The PFJ's at Fort Chiswell and Wytheville, VA don't list separate prices either on the PFJ website, but I won't actually see those stations until January.

My Good Sam Swipe & Save card is just my membership card, not a credit  or debit card. I use it in conjunction with my PenFed cash rewards Visa card that rebates 5% per gallon.

[palmeris]

10 hours ago, Trainer said:

Randy,  when you purchase fuel with the EFS card from TSD Logistics, you owe the fuel stop nothing.  TSD owes the money and to keep its EFS account, it will pay the bill.

Now you owe TSD.  If you do not pay, the number is a way to chase you down.  The ladies I know at TSD have shared that if you do not trust them with your number, they do not trust you with their card.

They have issued over 34,000 cards to RVers and there are no reports of folks having money issues wth TSD.

Do what you think is best for yourself.  Very many others are saving lots of money on their diesel purchases.

X2....been using tsd for couple years now, never a problem

[Jinx & Wayne]

According to a cartoon in yesterday's Tampa Bay Times, the biggest issue for high fuel prices may be endangering vulture survival by reducng the amount of roadkill.

Wayne & Jinx
2017 F-350 diesel, dually
2006 Carriage Carri-Lite 36KSQ

[hemsteadc]

12 hours ago, Ray,IN said:

 Those limits are imposed by credit card processing companies, as they get paid by the number of charge accounts they process not the amount.

And here I thought it was done by each individual station, since they're all different.  What's really doesn't make sense is when a sign says they do because of "drive offs."  How the heck does one pay for gas then drive off?

[Lou Schneider]

45 minutes ago, hemsteadc said:

And here I thought it was done by each individual station, since they're all different.  What's really doesn't make sense is when a sign says they do because of "drive offs."  How the heck does one pay for gas then drive off?

You don't pay for gas if the pump was set to start without inserting a CC, i.e. if the gas station relied on you coming into the store after you pump to settle up.

The problem with setting higher pump limits is the amount of hold that's placed on the card to guarantee payment.  It can take a day or two for the accounting to catch up and have the hold released.  If the pump limit (and hold) were raised to say $200, a family on a road trip vacation in their small car that only buys $20 or so of gas at a time could find a large percentage of their credit limit arbitrarily off limits for a while.  Not good if they were planning to push their card's credit limit for other vacation expenses like getting a hotel room, Disneyland admission for themselves and their kids, etc.

Edited November 11, 2021 by Lou Schneider

[hemsteadc]

45 minutes ago, Lou Schneider said:

You don't pay for gas if the pump was set to start without inserting a CC, i.e. if the gas station relied on you coming into the store after you pump to settle up.

(and hold) were raised to say $200, , a family on a road trip vacation in their small car that only buys $20 or so of gas at a time could find a large percentage of their credit limit arbitrarily off limits for a while.  Not good if they were planning to push their card's credit limit for other vacation expenses like getting a hotel room, Disneyland admission for themselves and their kids, etc.

I have never been to a gas station that allows pumping then paying.  A family on vacation should have way more than $200 at their disposal.

Edited November 11, 2021 by hemsteadc

[durangodon]

13 minutes ago, hemsteadc said:

I have never been to a gas station that allows pumping then paying. 

You must be awfully young.

[Pat & Pete]

46 minutes ago, hemsteadc said:

I have never been to a gas station that allows pumping then paying. 

Those existed back when honesty , morals and integrity were real things .

[hemsteadc]

46 minutes ago, durangodon said:

You must be awfully young.

No, I'm old enough to remember when an attendant pumped.  I have not seen a pump then pay gas station in probably 30 years.  Maybe they still exist in some podunk small town where they don't have credit card readers

.

Edited November 11, 2021 by hemsteadc

[Kirk W]

55 minutes ago, hemsteadc said:

Maybe they still exist in some podunk small town where they don't have credit card readers.

They do still exist in many smaller rural communities. There are even a few of those stations that will still pump gas for their older customers at no additional cost. You must also be one of those "city slickers" that the many rural folks have pet names for since you think all small towns are podunk.

Edited November 11, 2021 by Kirk W
repair a typo

[hemsteadc]

You should hear the pet names I have for people who live in podunk towns.

For some strange reason I cannot type in the reply area below a quote.

Edited November 11, 2021 by hemsteadc

[hemsteadc]

4 minutes ago, hemsteadc said:

 

egfefef

[bruce t]

FWIW in Australia you always pump then pay. If they tried, and they did, to make you prepay then folks just go up the road to the next station.

In all our years in the USA will always prepaid with cash. Yes even for our DP. Try wandering into a Flying J with $200.00 cash for pump 4 and watch the attendants face. Just make sure they aren't all new crisp notes. That's a whole nuter story.

Many many many years ago, when first in the USA, I couldn't figure out why no fuel was coming out the pump. I asked the guy on the next pump how to get fuel to come out. He had a look of terror on his face. Pulled the hose, jumped in and drove of without a word. Strange? I heard a knocking on the glass of the station. The cashier motioned for me to come inside. Then it was made clear to me why I wasn't getting fuel! But I could write a book on our gas station experiences.

 

 

[LindaH]

On 11/9/2021 at 4:42 AM, palmeris said:

Problem with Gas buddy is the 75.00 per day transaction limit. 

How does using Gas Buddy to find the cheapest gas in an area limit you to $75?

[rickeieio]

I don't want to pay too much for fuel, but I absolutely despise playing games with fuel points, special cards with "cash back" and the like.  Bottom line is, the vendor has to make up all those savings, and spread them out among all the customers.  Yes, that 3% or 5% is charged to the vendor.  So in the end, the price has to get higher to make up for those getting discounts.

The TSD program however, seems to be based on a company hedging large quantities of fuel on the commodities market, then paying the stations a percentage to dispense the fuel.

I'll keep looking for those mom/pop stations that offer a good price without gimmicks.  And yes, I live in a rural area, podunk or not.  I often stop by a local station where you fuel up, then walk in and pay.  The lady behind the register knows my name. Good people.

[Ray,IN]

12 hours ago, Jinx & Wayne said:

According to a cartoon in yesterday's Tampa Bay Times, the biggest issue for high fuel prices may be endangering vulture survival by reducng the amount of roadkill.

Wayne & Jinx
2017 F-350 diesel, dually
2006 Carriage Carri-Lite 36KSQ

And Opossums. Which reminds me, last month there was a dead squirrel in the road in front of my house. A huge bald eagle swooped down and grabbed it, then lit in a dead tree behind our house to eat lunch. I got so excited I forgot to snap a picture.

[Ray,IN]

14 minutes ago, rickeieio said:

I don't want to pay too much for fuel, but I absolutely despise playing games with fuel points, special cards with "cash back" and the like.  Bottom line is, the vendor has to make up all those savings, and spread them out among all the customers.  Yes, that 3% or 5% is charged to the vendor.  So in the end, the price has to get higher to make up for those getting discounts.

The TSD program however, seems to be based on a company hedging large quantities of fuel on the commodities market, then paying the stations a percentage to dispense the fuel.

I'll keep looking for those mom/pop stations that offer a good price without gimmicks.  And yes, I live in a rural area, podunk or not.  I often stop by a local station where you fuel up, then walk in and pay.  The lady behind the register knows my name. Good people.

 

Lately retailers are adding that CC transaction fee to your bill instead of adsorbing the fee, and have signage so stating. Then if the customer chooses they may pay cash instead of paying the transaction fee to use their credit card.

[Dutch_12078]

1 hour ago, LindaH said:

How does using Gas Buddy to find the cheapest gas in an area limit you to $75?

The $75 daily limit refers to using the Gas Buddy discount card. $75/day and $300/month. Of course you can buy all the fuel you want without the discounts just using Gas Buddy to locate stations.

[palmeris]

12 hours ago, LindaH said:

How does using Gas Buddy to find the cheapest gas in an area limit you to $75?

Card limits

To help prevent abuse and fraud, there is a $75 daily limit and a $300 weekly limit on all Pay With GasBuddy cards.

 

[LindaH]

13 hours ago, Dutch_12078 said:

The $75 daily limit refers to using the Gas Buddy discount card. $75/day and $300/month. Of course you can buy all the fuel you want without the discounts just using Gas Buddy to locate stations.

 

3 hours ago, palmeris said:

Card limits

To help prevent abuse and fraud, there is a $75 daily limit and a $300 weekly limit on all Pay With GasBuddy cards.

 

Haven't ever used Gas Buddy's credit card.  Never even knew they had one.

[Barbaraok]

Knew Gas Buddy has the card, but the limits are useless when you are talking about summer driving with the motorhome, and in the winter I use which every supermarket gas station has points about to expire from using my app at their store.  

[Rover]

7 hours ago, palmeris said:

Card limits

To help prevent abuse and fraud, there is a $75 daily limit and a $300 weekly limit on all Pay With GasBuddy cards.

 

DH received an email from GasBuddy stating that due to the increase in fuel prices, the $75 daily limit has been increased to $100. He didn’t remember anything being mentioned about a change to the $300 limit. It helps when gassing up the Jeep but we pretty much stick with the TDS card for the motorhome. 
 

Vicki

 

[palmeris]

5 hours ago, LindaH said:

 

Haven't ever used Gas Buddy's credit card.  Never even knew they had one.

They have "deals" on the app that you can only get if you use their card and added savings if you use their card too....

You'll use your Pay with GasBuddy card to purchase gas at the pump. In addition to redeeming your GasBack, the card saves you up to 25¢ per gallon. It's completely free, requires no paperwork or credit check, and is the one gas card accepted at stations nationwide.

its like TSD in that its an ACH link to a checking account....no fees... just the stupid transaction limist makes it pointless for our situation...