Pilot / FJ card

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an RV or an interest in RVing!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
See posts with no answers
Wizard46

Wizard46

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 12, 2009
Posts
2,146
Finally received my new Pilot / Flying J card in the mail yesterday and activated it. I am having a hard time waiting until I can try it out. Maybe a trip to Pigeon Forge would be in order next month, Patsy has been wanting to go.
 
Yep..got mine a few weeks ago...looking forward to the summer too.
 
Took me a minute or so to find out how to activate the card. Once you click on the card number, there will be a box that shows inactive with a button that says active. Click on the active button and that's it. Good luck.

Jerry
 
And how much exactly do you "save" with the card? I have found FJ among the more expensive diesel stations.
 
Not much. For those who use the truck islands, the major benefit is getting the cash price with a credit card, which saves about 7-9 cents/gallon at todays diesel prices. Plus another 3 cents PFJ discount.  That offsets whatever extra PFJ may be charging and usually saves a few cents besides. If you use the RV lanes, you may be just as well off going elsewhere - assuming you fit elsewhere.
 
We rarely use FJ/Pilot any longer.  They are not price competitive, even with the rewards card, and with our PenFed Visa card we get 5% cash back at pay at the pump, which you can't do at the truck stop truck islands.  We've found other brands, like Valero or even Shell, are less expensive than FJ/Pilot and we haven't had a problem finding accessible pumps.
 
One other thing...I see it is a credit card but didn't see anywhere at the application page the rules nor the interest rates. I'm just naturally skeptical about "good deals". Are they trying to hide something? Can the card be paid off at the billing cycle interest free?
 
On our way south on this trip, I made the mistake of using a credit card at a Pilot/FJ station. When I had the desk clerk pre-run the CC, he asked "how much?" I gave him an approx number of gallons and he mentally calculated out loud "50 gallons at $4.25", and I suggested he pre-approve $300. After fueling, I went inside and picked up the CC receipt from "the stack", and saw that the CC price was $4.48. I challenged it, based on the $4.25 he told me up front, but no go.

We drove a short way down the freeway and saw another well-known truck stop with the same cash price as FJ/P, but a much lower CC price. Their CC differential was only $0.07 instead of FJ/P's $0.23. Given their gouging, methinks we won't fill up at FJ/Pilot again.

When we get home, we have a $0.70/gallon discount waiting for us at our local Safeway.
 
Tom, If you used your RV card and Pump Start you should have been given the cash price less 3 cent.

Added: Sorry, just re-read your post. With Pump Start you don't have to "pre-authorize" your CC. But the "rewards" (cash price and 3 cent discount) don't seem to apply if you don't use Pump Start.

 
[quote author=Ken & Sheila]Tom, If you used your RV card and Pump Start you should have been given the cash price less 3 cent.[/quote]

Aye Ken, but we no longer have a FJ or P rewards card and, after this experience, I have no desire to get one. Diesel at our local Safeway is cheaper and, when I add Safeway rewards of $0.70/gallon, I see no reason to drive 40 miles each way to our nearest FJ/P. These guys lost my business.
 
Wife and I went grocery shopping at Kroger today. After spending about $200 for groceries, we then pulled into their on site gas station and bought a tank of gas. With their card we got a .30 cent discount. That made gas $3.36 / gallon.

Dang, still took almost $50 to fill my Explorer  :mad:
 
BruceinFL said:
One other thing...I see it is a credit card but didn't see anywhere at the application page the rules nor the interest rates. I'm just naturally skeptical about "good deals". Are they trying to hide something? Can the card be paid off at the billing cycle interest free?
Click to expand...
The card charges are due in full at the end of each monthly billing cycle with no interest charge. There's likely a late fee spelled out in the fine print somewhere though.
 
We used to fill at Safeway just before parking, but here in AZ they changed the deal and it's only 3 cents off. Still often cheaper than the Pilot, but not by much and it is much easier to fuel at Pilot.

Fry's still gives up to a $1.00 off, but we never buy enough to get more than $.20. Also Fry's expires after 30 days (the next month) so it is usually expired before we get home. Their lot was very tight even for the Windsor.

ken

ps, I am somewhat loyal to FJ because over the years of crisscrossing the country we have stayed at many FJs for a night. Even though we are no longer racing from one place to another (I don't plan anymore 6 day Eugene, Oregon to Boston type trips!), I still used FJ for 2 overnights last summer.
 
 
[quote author=Ken & Sheila].... here in AZ they changed the deal and it's only 3 cents off.[/quote]

Interesting Ken; Our local Safeways occasionally resets the discount (maybe once a year), but it's always announced well in advance, giving folks plenty of time to redeem their discount, and it doesn't take long to re-build the discount. It takes a little longer to fill the coach using their pumps, but we're retired and we're not in any hurry. Safeways is half way between the house and the place we store the coach, so it's an easy stop. There's plenty of room to get in and out, and we pick a quiet time of day, so it's not a big deal to be able to save significant $$.

... over the years of crisscrossing the country we have stayed at many FJs for a night.
Click to expand...

Understood, but that's not something we've ever felt the need to do, so we don't feel any obligation to support them.
 
One other thing...I see it is a credit card but didn't see anywhere at the application page the rules nor the interest rates.
Click to expand...

Only the Good Sam RV Card is a charge card and that is just revolving credit - paid in full at the end of the month. No interest rate because no no debt carryover.

The Rewards Card is not a credit or charge card - just a discount/rewards card.
 
I was somewhat disappointed in the Good Sam hype about fuel discounts when I found out it was just another credit card. With all the members they have I would have thought they could of worked a better group discount.
I agree with the Safeway choice, by far always the lowest diesel around here even without the shopping rewards. I also use the Capital One CC which gives me 2% back on all groceries and fuel purchases with no cap. It really adds up with a 90 gal tank!
 
On our recent trip to the Fla. Keys and back, I too have noticed that Flying J/Pilot stops were not the cheapest way to go. Since my 5'er is just shy of 37' I usually go for the stations with more ease of entry-exit than worry about the best price. But after the first 2 fill ups at Pilot I resorted to putting them on the emergency stop list only. And with the large number of trucks at every one we passed, the waiting in line was also too much. We have a Flying J maybe 35 miles south of my home. Always a few cents cheaper than the other stations, including another truck stop on the other side of the interstate. When Pilot took over the price jumped substantially. They are now the most expensive in the area, even on cash price. To me it seems like they think since they are Pilot/Flying J people will stop regardless of price. Hmmmm, not me thank you.

So off I go looking for a aux. tank for the truck. The plan is to carry enough fuel for at least one complete day of driving. Stop for the night, unhook and fuel up. Ready to go in the morning. Thus no need for truck stops, and we can stop close to the areas with the best fuel prices.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Members online

Total: 654 (members: 34, guests: 620)

Forum statistics

Threads
131,914
Posts
1,387,298
Members
137,666
Latest member
nativoacai
Back
Top Bottom