Community Forums

bprohs · 12-17-2013, 07:00 AM

We are currently on a trip that has taken us from Colorado to Texas, Louisiana,Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia. Unfortunately, we have had two separate credit cards compromised at Pilot fuel stations. The first one was in Texas, and the attendant ran the card twice for $200 and told me the card had been rejected. I gave them another card and it went through. When we called the CC company they said the first charge for $200 had gone through and the second charge had been blocked. So we had been charged $400 for $200 worth of fuel. Mistake…maybe. The second compromised card was again at Pilot in Mississippi. We charged $200 worth of fuel and and additional $500 was charged to my card and another $500 was attempted which froze the card. In both cases ONLY the Pilot attendants had access to my credit card information. We only put in $200 at a time since we don't get below 1/2 full. At completely empty, our MH would only take 100 gallons at the current price of $3.79 it couldn't possibly hold $500 worth of fuel.
Additionally, none of the Pilot fuel stations would honor Good Sam for a discount.
Lessons learned…Never fuel up at Pilot fuel stations. Use cash whenever possible, you get a 10 cent discount. If you use a credit card, only fuel up at pumps that allow you to scan your own card understanding that there is usually a limit on how much fuel you can pump at one time when you use your credit card.

WesinRockies · 12-17-2013, 07:15 AM

I have the pilot Rv card which is not a CC or any other form of payment. I can use it for pump start then go in and pay after I am done. I found sometimes when I went in to prepay they would do a temp authorization for 500 then bill my CC what ever was the amount I put in.

smiller · 12-17-2013, 07:16 AM

I find it pretty unlikely that the company would intentionally commit or condone fraud, I think your experiences are more probably the result of incompetence vs. malfeasance.

If you want to continue to use Pilot/Flying J you can join their Good Sam/RV Plus program that allows you to charge purchases directly at the pump (even the truck pumps) without going inside. You get the 'cash' price, plus a discount of a few cents per gallon... which isn't much considering that they are usually overpriced by a few cents per gallon, but at least it more-or-less nets things out. It also cuts their dump fee in half.

palehorse89 · 12-17-2013, 07:21 AM

On our trip for a month out west: All pay at the pump's shut off at $75.00 - $125.00, Truck lanes - take card inside and they hold it till I am done fueling......
Others - take card inside put $500.00 on the card to pump....done pumping and amount is $375.00..... employee hits done.....gives me a slip for $375.00. The "biggest" thing is to call and tell card company "not" to allow the computers to shut off my card under no circumstances while I am on my vacation(give them the time frame) and I will monitor my cards activity online everyday or so and call them if I see a problem and report it.........no problem after talking to them.

PyrateSilly · 12-17-2013, 07:21 AM

We've had our card numbers compromised at various brand name gas stations at the pump themselves without anyone touching the card but us.
We've also had one compromised at a hotel, that one was the person at the bar running it to pay for the bar bill. Watched her the whole time but it was still taken and she tried to use it over the phone.

myredracer · 12-17-2013, 07:47 AM

We had our credit compromised twice last summer. We are almost 100% certain one was at a Pilot station. The guy at the counter took the card away a few feet and put it under the counter to swipe it. It was the only time our card was out of sight. There's other ways they can get you, but it wasn't too long afterwards our card got shut down by the CC company.

We now have a US credit card attached to our regular account, with a small limit on it. We use it for all our regular and camping trips into the US. If we get compromised, we will have our regular card for backup.

When filling up a few times at gas stations in the US, we've had the person at the counter inside ask us to leave the card with them while we go fill up. Thanks, but no thanks and onto another station. It's common practice in restaurants for the server to take your card away to swipe which is not a good thing.

In Canada, you have to enter a PIN number for all credit cards, unlike in the US. It's not foolproof but has cut down on fraud a lot. I read once that the US is going to convert over to the PIN system in a few years, but not sure if there is a date set for it. In this day and age, I'm surprised that when they swipe your credit card in the US, you can sign with your dog's name and it gets accepted. PIN's are done with debit cards now, why not CCs?

topdownman · 12-17-2013, 07:59 AM

I'll second what wesinrockies said, get yourself a Pilot RV card. No problems.

CampDaven · 12-17-2013, 08:21 AM

P/FJ is 8 to 15 cents higher than regular stations with diesel on the end pump islands for access for anyone. That and cash back on my CC is a double win! And my CC never leaves my hands.

pcurt23 · 12-17-2013, 08:55 AM

Lot's of people report that the J and Pilot are more expensive than other stations around them.
I have found that using their credit card at the truck island the price is at least the same if not a few pennies less than the stations around. And it is the same as paying cash without the hassle. If you happen to need propane and fuel at the same time you can go to the J and get taken care of. It is not free for the business to provide that service.
True, right after you leave any station you find another 10 miles away that is 3 cents cheaper if you are paying cash. So you save a $1.50 on a fill up and have to restart the pump 3 times.

CampDaven · 12-17-2013, 09:21 AM

Yuma.
Today.
Loves is $3.94
The competition is $3.67 to $3.74
That is 20 to 27 cents.
Closest FJ is $3.89, 15 to 22 cents.
100 gallons is $15 to $27, before CC cash back.

Saving for new tires was never easier!

Check GasBuddy.
An extra swipe is about 20 seconds.
The CC never leaves my hand.

smiller · 12-17-2013, 09:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pcurt23

Lot's of people report that the J and Pilot are more expensive than other stations around them.
I have found that using their credit card at the truck island the price is at least the same if not a few pennies less than the stations around.

Yes, people love to pile on Flying J and while their pricing usually isn't the cheapest around the difference is most often a matter of pennies -- and with the RV Plus card the discount makes up for that. Flying J isn't staffed by rocket scientists, no truck stop is, but I don't find them better or worse than anyone else.

spritz · 12-17-2013, 12:59 PM

Has any one tried Gas buddy.com I use it around home and its great, I can find the cheaper stations and its free

JohnFreyja · 12-17-2013, 02:27 PM

Yes, I use GasBuddy all the time. That plus the PenFed Gas Rewards card means $20 or more saving every fill up.

BobGed · 12-17-2013, 02:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WesinRockies

I have the pilot Rv card which is not a CC or any other form of payment. I can use it for pump start then go in and pay after I am done. I found sometimes when I went in to prepay they would do a temp authorization for 500 then bill my CC what ever was the amount I put in.

The problem is PFJ is no longer issuing the rewards/fuel discount only cards and will stop honoring them, including the pump start feature, effective 1/1/15. They will continue offering the RV Plus charge card.

The replacement for PFJ's rewards/discount cards will be the Swipe & Save Good Sam Club Membership card
Instant Discounts on Fuel with New SWIPE & SAVE Card | Good Sam Club News