Learned something new at Flying J this weekend

**Midnightmoon** · 07-16-2019, 04:07 PM

I know that many of us use Pilot/Flying J locations to fuel when on the road. One of the ongoing issues I've had is that Flying J adds a $500 hold on your standard credit card if you pay at the pump. It became a problem for me coming home yesterday when my credit card company locked my card after seeing that $500 hold.

Anyway, after I got the card reactivated, I went inside and prepaid for fuel on my same credit card. By going inside, they only ding your card for the amount you choose to prepay and then refund your unused balance directly to your card within 24 hours. Sure is better than that $500 hold if you can spare the time to go inside and pay.

Anyway, I thought I would share just in case anyone else has had issues with Pilot/Flying J's high credit card holds.

Rustic Eagle · 07-16-2019, 04:11 PM

Interesting, wasn't aware of the practice.

Bob

Jim Davis · 07-16-2019, 04:15 PM

Thanks. That's a good reason to shop elsewhere.

Wacki · 07-16-2019, 04:24 PM

Wow! That's a little extreme!?

Route 66 Traveler · 07-16-2019, 04:50 PM

Main reason I quit buying gas at Flying J and Pilot. I got two holds within an 8 hour period and my card got shut off. Called the bank and they said they would mail out a new card to my house within three days. That's great, but I was 1000 miles from home. Luckily had a second card from a different bank to use for the rest of the trip....and bought my fuel elsewhere!

wags999 · 07-16-2019, 05:21 PM

Most companies place a hold on your card, some also place a $1 hold. $500 is because it's a truck stop...that would not be unheard of for a truck to take $500 in fuel. Ive never run into an issue but perhaps a larger credit limit would make this hold moot.

Grumpy · 07-16-2019, 05:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wags999

Most companies place a hold on your card, some also place a $1 hold. $500 is because it's a truck stop...that would not be unheard of for a truck to take $500 in fuel. Ive never run into an issue but perhaps a larger credit limit would make this hold moot.

Also if your CC company knows you are traveling they usually don't worry about those kind of holds. You should always let them know that you are out of your home area or let them know you travel frequently. All of my CC accounts are flagged that I travel throughout the year and I have never had any issues.

**Midnightmoon** · 07-16-2019, 05:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wags999

Most companies place a hold on your card, some also place a $1 hold. $500 is because it's a truck stop...that would not be unheard of for a truck to take $500 in fuel. Ive never run into an issue but perhaps a larger credit limit would make this hold moot.

It has nothing to do with credit limits. This issue is the CC company recognizing such a large hold as fraud and locking down your card.

**Midnightmoon** · 07-16-2019, 05:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grumpy

Also if your CC company knows you are traveling they usually don't worry about those kind of holds. You should always let them know that you are out of your home area or let them know you travel frequently. All of my CC accounts are flagged that I travel throughout the year and I have never had any issues.

Capital One no longer requires you to notify them of travel. They stopped when they issued the chip cards.

travelingjw · 07-16-2019, 06:20 PM

Had the same issue even after I notified my bank that I was traveling. But it only seems to occur when out of state. Just filled up in CA on the way home from Tahoe and nothing happened. IBut, it also only seemed to happen to me on days when we had multiple fill-ups.
I just go in and pre-pay while I get my free drink (from the Flying J app).

**norty1** · 07-16-2019, 07:07 PM

Pilot/ Flying J are not competitive on Diesel fuel. We find their prices 10-15 cents a gallon higher. We avoid them at all costs for that reason.

Les7h · 07-16-2019, 07:08 PM

We use the Flying J / Pilot charge card and get an .08 cent discount off of the cash price and can pay at the pump ( still have to go in for the receipt ) but we are going in anyway for snacks and restrooms Les

Grumpy · 07-16-2019, 07:22 PM

I avoided them because of the poor quality and too often only BIO, same for Loves.

Trapper2020 · 07-16-2019, 07:42 PM

I have been avoiding them for years. High prices for the general public but discount programs for all truck lines that shop there. Even your 08 per gallon makes then high. Tired of the dirty bathrooms and smelly buildings. Better places at lower cost out there like Buckees.

Enjoy the journey

2nOZ · 07-16-2019, 09:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Les7h

We use the Flying J / Pilot charge card and get an .08 cent discount off of the cash price and can pay at the pump ( still have to go in for the receipt ) but we are going in anyway for snacks and restrooms Les

X2 but I print my receipt from the pump. We enjoy stopping at Flying J’ s because most of the ones we use have RV lanes which is great for gassers.

Sean1980 · 07-18-2019, 08:18 PM

The only reason we use Pilot/Flying J is for ease of getting into their pumps! When traveling to several other states the mom and pops are sometimes more difficult to maneuver getting into!! But thanks for sharing about the $500 hold on cards that’s pretty much BS!!!

Screwby · 07-18-2019, 09:05 PM

Same exact thing happened to us. My wife called after I’d stopped and filled up driving home. She’s sure someone has stolen the card number after an odd $500 charge hits the account (we have instant notification to our phones). I whipped around and drove back there sure that my card had been skimmed. The teller assured me everything was ok but I called my card company standing there at the register. They assured me it was just a hold charge and I was fine. It was unnerving and unnecessary for them to put a $500 hit on my card. Sure, set up the truck lanes that way, I get it, but maybe a different setup for the car lanes? I never went back there again

SloPoke · 07-19-2019, 10:12 AM

We quit Pilot/Flying J about 5 months ago... the ONLY reason we might step foot on their property is if every other fuel source is closed for 50 miles. We had (past tense) the Good Sam / Flying J plus card where they purported to offer a discount. We found out that they now require an unlimited recurring direct withdrawal authorization on your checking account to keep your account if you purchase over $500/month.

After having two Identity thefts and our WFB checking account emptied of everything - we will not allow anyone to have access to our account number and all outgoing transactions are done with electronic bill pay (or they issue a check that does not have our account number on it). We said good-by to them and are HAPPY WE DID!

Now we purchase fuel at just about any of the truck stops along our way... TA, Loves, BP, Shell, Conoco, Petro, Phillips, QT all follow mostly the same process. We pull into a fuel lane.. if there is a truck in front of us - we note the pump number and go inside and pre-pay a little more than what we think we will use (usually $150) and a coffee. Go back and pull up to the pump and fuel. When done fueling, pull forward to let the next truck behind us to the pumps and go back and get my receipt for our actual purchase. The amount charged to the card is the actual amount we spent, not the pre-payment.

So... we are actually saving more by using our Credit Union rewards card... they give us 5% back on our purchase... so 5cents on the dollar... with fuel over $3/gallon, that ammounts to more than 15-cents per gallon discount.. That is better than Good Sam/ Flying J offers, and that 15cent savings is not factoring in the higher price per gallon that we are saving elsewhere!

Spurticus · 07-24-2019, 11:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Les7h

We use the Flying J / Pilot charge card and get an .08 cent discount off of the cash price and can pay at the pump ( still have to go in for the receipt ) but we are going in anyway for snacks and restrooms Les

Same here. Easy in/ easy out using the RV Plus charge card. Even with saving the .08 per gallon, the diesel may be slightly higher than other stations further off the interstate. Small price to pay for convenience and easy maneuvering.

rkymntsno · 07-24-2019, 12:28 PM

Just been RVing three years and I stopped using them for fill ups. We'll stop there for restrooms/snacks cuz we know we'll have somewhere to park. They're always higher with their fuel than everyone else, even with the 5 cents a gallon discount. Not even worth it filling up there. Just convenient and you know you can get through regardless of the size of your rig. Main reason I put a 60-gallon RDS auxiliary tank in the bed of my truck. I know have 92 gallons capability and it sure is nice. When I have to fill up both tanks without going inside and preauthorizing the fuel, it'll shut off usually at $100 then I have to run it again. Sometimes I'll go inside and they preauthorize $200/$250. That's always too much so the credit automatically goes back on the card. Haven't had problems with that yet. If you guys don't have an auxiliary fuel tank, you really need to look into getting one. Best mod I've done!

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