Buying gasoline

12ptdroptine · 01-15-2018, 04:35 PM

As a new Good Sams elite member I stopped awhile back to buy gas at a Pilot. After thinking I went in to check something out . Found.out that IF you use a.debit car at the pump...the.xompany charges from $75 to $155 to your card. But if you go inside this dont happen...but then its pre-pay. And how do you know the amout to pre pay on a fill up? Dont know exactly how long this secutiry $ stays against your account . But imagine buying gas multiple times on your trip and having that much of your money tied up For how long? The $75 to $155 amount came right from the Mgr's mouth.
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**Midnightmoon** · 01-15-2018, 04:44 PM

Those pump fees have been part of the transaction at many stations/companies for years. Our local Sunoco used to charge $75 when you swipe the debit card and then refund the difference. They also used to limit you to $75 per transaction with a debit card. And back in the late 2000's when fuel prices were very high, that didn't buy very much diesel. From what I understand, they have now changed that charge to $100.

Simple solution for me is to simply use a major credit card in place of the debit card. I track all of my credit card purchases online, and I never see such a fee assessed when swiping the card. Depending on the station/company, there is sometimes a separate $1 fee that appears for a while and then disappears after a day or two. I don't know about you, but I'd rather tie up $1 of the credit card companies money for a while than $100+ of my own.

**Crabman** · 01-15-2018, 04:45 PM

Guess I'm slow but I do not understand any of this lol, perhaps because I have not experienced it, always use credit cards.

GrumpyDad · 01-15-2018, 04:47 PM

I think that pre-pay authorization happens with most pay-at-the-pump systems. These systems are extremely common up here and in my experience the "hold" on the card only stays on for a couple of business days at most. So Even worst case scenario of buying fuel friday, satruday, sunday and monday, you'd have four fills held. If you fuels every few days, it's no big deal.

ifallsguy · 01-15-2018, 05:16 PM

A big part of the hold is the time it takes for the purchase amount itself to clear. The station wants to make sure it gets paid. Since a debit card is a direct draw against a bank account, there is no way for a business to know how much is available.

With a credit card, there is a known maximum amount available to the card system. Besides a credit card gives you more security against theft of funds than a debit card (which has none). There are federal regs on the maximum you are responsible for a stolen card.

29BHS ECO · 01-15-2018, 05:17 PM

If you travel in northern New England you will be happy to learn that BS doesn't happen Larry

12ptdroptine · 01-15-2018, 05:54 PM

Aggree with the credit card for A buck. But Debit is a no go. My truck gets 8mpg towing. It has a 36 gallon tank so I got hit with $155. Going to avoid that charge from now on.
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wags999 · 01-15-2018, 05:55 PM

I use a credit card and get 4% rebate on gas.. I've had a debit card forever...and I have never used it once, see no reason to. I'm one of the brave souls that still carries cash for small purchases and uses a credit card (always paid in full each month) mainly to get the rebates.

spoon059 · 01-15-2018, 07:01 PM

I finally bit the bullet and got a credit card this past fall. More secure than a debit card, less risk if it gets stolen and the ability to earn points or cash back. I am deeply concerned about credit cards, I got myself in trouble in college with one and they make me sick to my stomach. Every month I check with the bride/mgmt and make sure that the balance is paid off before any interest accrues. As a result, we aren't using our debit card for anything except getting cash out.

I'm familiar with the limits on debit cards at pumps. It sounds like that doesn't apply to credit cards though. Since we got a diesel and our fuel mileage increased by 50%, we don't stop as often for fuel... at max twice a day now.

Bookemdanno · 01-15-2018, 07:12 PM

I only have 2 credit cards (no annual fees) and I never use my debit card (had too many friends have debit card #'s stolen and accounts emptied). I was told by my financial advisor to carry a balance on the credit card once every year or so. So every six months I don't pay off the total bill. I'll usually leave a balance of $20-$50 and then pay off the next month. I only do it because the financial advisor tells me it boosts my credit score...whether he's right or not...I have no idea. But for the most part "we don't buy it, if we can't afford to pay it off at the end of the month!"

**Crabman** · 01-15-2018, 08:53 PM

If you have the financial discipline to use them, a good rewards credit card is the only way to go IMO. Besides the enticing rewards especially on fuel purchases, there is fraud protection for unauthorized purchases, and some even offer price protection. I purchased a freezer last Spring with a card, entered the purchase in their price protection program. Several months later they notified me they had found it for 94.00 less and refunded that to my account! A pleasant surprise. Use it like a debit card, just make sure you can pay the balance every month.

ifallsguy · 01-15-2018, 11:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bookemdanno

I only have 2 credit cards (no annual fees) and I never use my debit card (had too many friends have debit card #'s stolen and accounts emptied). I was told by my financial advisor to carry a balance on the credit card once every year or so. So every six months I don't pay off the total bill. I'll usually leave a balance of $20-$50 and then pay off the next month. I only do it because the financial advisor tells me it boosts my credit score...whether he's right or not...I have no idea. But for the most part "we don't buy it, if we can't afford to pay it off at the end of the month!"

You don't have to carry a balance into another month and then get hit for an interest fee. Just make a purchase at least once a year and pay it off when due. And get a reward card, Discover, Citi Double Cash, others and take advantage of the rewards.

I charge all my gas, groceries, dining, etc on reward cards, paying off the bills each month (haven't paid interest on a CC since 2002). And I get several hundred $$ back each year in rewards I can take as a payment credit, cash, gift cards, etc.

And if you haven't done it, sign up for Credit Karma. It's free and once you fill out some information, you can track your credit rating, see if someone opens up a card in your name, and credit history. www.creditkarma.com

us71na · 01-16-2018, 09:11 PM

Get the RV plus card from Pilot/Flying J and you save 5 cents on every gallon, don't get the hassle of excess charges on your card that are later reversed. Simply pay your RV Plus bill once per month.

wags999 · 01-16-2018, 09:49 PM

I use the Costco citi card for gas and get 4% back at any gas stations. Also you don't need to sign up for credit information, almost every Credit card gives you free FICO score updated monthly or quarterly. One also sends me a report each month showing any change. I can't remember when I last paid interest on a CC bill, I pay it off each month, and my Credit score is within 2% of the max.. I also use another card with a 1.5% rebate on everything, between the two I get $400 to $500 back plus I'm an executive Costco card holder and get another $200 - $300 a year back. We are not rich, don't spend much, but only buy when we have the cash to pay it each month.

As I said before, i've never used my debit card, I don't want to potentially give access to my checking account to just anyone. CC gives me some level of protection.

Lots of deals in Credit cards right now, so may want to look into the offers. When I purchased my TT they let me put the down payment on a CC (got 1.5%) back. When I purchased my truck they kidded I could put it on my CC i said great...then they said, well I could put 5K on the card.. another 1.5% back, otherwise we pay cash for whatever we purchase.

Happy Camping and a CC used properly is a good tool to save money and protect yourself.

namusmc65 · 01-17-2018, 06:54 AM

I use a Pilot card and don't worry about any of that. Get about a 7 cents/gallon discount and pay at the end of the month online through my bank.

namusmc65 · 01-17-2018, 06:55 AM

That is only when I am pulling my rig. Pilot is at least 15 to 20 cents a gallon higher than the local stations. You are paying for all the convenience of pulling a big rig in there. Without the rig, I just go to the lowest price.

blujay40 · 01-17-2018, 07:59 AM

I noticed the same type of holds on our CC at Pilot/Flying J. The card I used was NOT a debit card, but rather a CC and with only a 1000.00 credit line that also gives me cash back on fuel purchases. I specifically use this card at the pump to limit any damage in the even it gets skimmed

I called Pilot and of course, they blamed my CC/Bank for these holds which my bank adamantly denies. So who is to blame? I am leaning towards Pilot because I have yet to find another station that does such holds when I use the same card elsewhere.

So I now go inside to pay to avoid them and apologize in advance to anyone that may be behind me in the RV lanes at a Flying J.

Octopus Prime · 01-17-2018, 08:25 AM

They have been putting large holds on debit cards for a number of years now. Once the card skimmers in our area were hitting what seemed to us to be every other gas station and wiping out people's bank accounts, I started using a credit card to pay for gas. They did get my credit card, but didn't get far with it before the card company caught them, and I wasn't on the hook for the charges they made. I was glad it wasn't my bank account.

The Logans · 01-17-2018, 09:41 AM

We just put in the debit card, and when it asks debit or credit, we say credit, and enter the pin number. No hold that way....

Ottawasteve · 01-17-2018, 10:34 AM

These pre-charges are particularly brutal for us poor Canadians. Got burned by this when it first came in years ago on our trip down to Florida from Canada. It really sucked for Canadians because we got dinged with the banks skim on each transaction.

Pre-charged the $100 US which with the bank's skim worked out to $120 CAN. If gas only turned out to be $90 US, then the entire $100 US would be refunded which showed up as $108 CAN on Credit card because of bank fees and then $90 US would be charged to Credit Card and bank/visa would again charge their commission. The 1-2% visa charged was worth it to not have to carry that amount of cash to fill 35 gallons 1 to 3 times per day. But when these fees were charged 3X for every fill-up it was a little excessive. Was really frustrating particularly in the central states, I would offer to let the gas attendant hold $200 US cash as security while I filled up and if my Credit Card did not work, they had cash in hand, but they refused to do this because they had to pre-authorize for Credit Card transactions.

Now have a $US visas for travelling and filling with gas.

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