What happened to our TSD diesel discounts??

[oatmeal]

Originally Posted by Gary.Jones

So, in this one case, the truck stop TSD/Open Road prices are essentially competitive with the non-truck stop prices right across the street. That wasn't the case 6 months ago.... the TA prices always killed the independents.

Maybe it's location dependent?

I avoid using the TSD card whenever I can, and make an effort to find diesel that competes with the discounted TSD price. My experience is that most of the time, the TSD discount serves only to bring the price down to the same level as the other non-major truck stops in the area. Only rarely has it been the case where TSD was enough of a better choice for me to use it, and it definitely didn't always kill the independents.

My most recent diesel purchase was going from Champaign, Illinois, north to the western suburbs of Chicago, last September. I could get fuel anywhere along the route, and chose a Circle K in Champaign that had truck pumps.

I don't remember the exact pricing, but I just checked the current pricing and it comports with what was going on several months ago which is similar to what I've seen over the past couple of years. All the stations I mention have easy-access truck pumps.

Right now, the Circle K where I got diesel is $3.37/gallon. There was another station I went right by that is $3.59.

There's a Road Ranger with a TSD discount in the vicinity, and the discounted price is $3.48 (list is $3.75). There are Love's stations on the interstate east and west of there (not on my route, but perhaps useful for comparison), that are $3.50 with the TSD discount.

Further north, closer to my destination, there's a Circle K in a small town that TSD has at $3.59 ($3.75 list). But a mile further along my route is a Gas & Wash that has truck pumps, at $3.65.

That's for this portion of Illinois, but it's similar to what I've found in most other places--by the time you pay TSD's transaction fee and their cut, and account for any cash back if you use a credit card, the bottom line price is similar to what you can get at other stations.

I have found some places where TSD was a clear winner (when considering only places with easy-access truck pumps), but so far they are the exception rather than the rule. But they do exist, and I wonder if you happen to be in one of those.

Originally Posted by Gary.Jones

If everyone is being treated the same, then I have no complaints. I am happy to have the program and Dee and I could treat ourselves to a hand-full of very pricey meals for the money I have saved, so I am thankful for that.

Make that everyone who has the discount card is being treated the same. I still bristle at lining the pockets of the the big chains that charge very high prices for people off the street (i.e. RVers) but offer much lower prices to truckers. They were happy to let RVers pay the higher price, and certainly didn't advertise that they are among the few who pay the street price for diesel. That's one thing I can say about TSD--it revealed how truck stop pricing works, and I prefer doing business with places that have a more fair and transparent pricing structure.

And knowing that for a very long time these major chains were charging RVers so much more for diesel than they charge truckers, I don't understand why you would object to a discount card that offers a different discount to RVers than to truckers. It would be the same thing they've always done (charge RVers more than truckers), the only difference being that it's under the umbrella of a discount plan.

[Gary.Jones]

Lonmg ago, I used to drive a semi professionally, and we bought fuel mostly from our own terminals. Then I became a road driver for North American Van Lines and a freight driver for a commercial trucking company and we bought from the truck stops and I always was well aware that my company was paying way, way lower prices than I would an an individual truck owner or a motorcoach owner, so yes, a simple coach ower that patronized a truck stop was getting screwed in comparison to the fleet truck fueling right beside them.

Before I got the TSD card, I would spend hours looking at Gas Buddy and finding stations that I could beat the price of a truck stop. However, I am 65' long dragging the toad and getting into and out of those cheap stations right across the street would often require me spending an hour or more looking at satellite images of the stations that were cheaper.... I was often beating the truck stops but it was taking me hours of my life on the road making sure I could get in and out. Several places, I got into but could not get out of without dropping the toad, and at that point, I began to realize the advantage of routinely patronizing the truck stops versus car oriented stations. Then I got TSD and the price savings were significant enough to make me a routine truck stop "patronizer". And that is why I started this thread as I have been able to beat the station across the street by 20-30 cents a gallon by using TA/Petro stations and not spend the time looking at Sat images. Damn well worth it to not to have to deal with all that guessing and hoping. But recently, the discounts that I have been accustomed to have shrunk, and this this thread on the forum to see if it was just here in this area or across the company.

Yesterday, one of the truck-stops in Tonopah, AZ about 60 miles east of Quartzsite was more than a dollar less than the other major trucks tops.... so you can see some really amazing prices in certain places. But now if I just do as well at the truck-stop as I could do across the street, the convenience of the truck stop for rigs the size/length of mine, make the TSD program the great benefit that it is.

Gary

[Dutchstar53]

Originally Posted by Denie

I can't wait to retire this year and get out of California. I just paid $4.89/Gal for diesel. Only got 40 gal. for $200.00. I'm in central CA...SOCAL is like a buck a gallon or more higher.

What are these discount programs you reference here and how does one sign up?

Here you go. https://myopenroads.com/ Some people have issues with giving them SSN. I didn’t list ours on application and they never called me. Got the card within a week. If you don’t want to give them SSN on application make a note for them to call you. Or just call them and ask if you can give over the phone. People are so nice & responsive. Tara Rape has been great. They do not run a credit check, but say at the website they need it in case someone doesn’t pay. Also, people complain about having to pay through checking account. Some set up a separate account from main account and fund it for a trip. We have been using them for 4 years. Never had a problem. And yes discounts are lower than they were in past, except Love’s was $.16, now at least $.24. T/A has been best, but also lower.

[n2zon]

I'll just observe that we don't need to drive very far off the highway to make the savings a price lower than we get with the TSD program evaporate. The reverse is also true. Locally, it's often cheaper to pay higher prices than to drive to the nearest place we get the TSD discount unless we're buying 100 gallons. YMMV.

[brobox]

[moderator edit]
It is great to have options and as mentioned before the TSD card is just another tool in the tool box. Again just my way of using tools, I rarely use anything but cordless tools anymore. Going back to searching stations and Google Earthing if I can get in would be like having my cordless tools all with dead batteries at the same time. Not arguing, just my experience as you found out for Florida, it doesn't work in my home state and that is a lot of area. Which is surprising being one of the largest Snowbird states with many of them diving diesels for their winter homes.

[Gary.Jones]

I gotta admit .... Chuck is expressing my feelings exactly. As I have said in a previous post, I used to spend a lot of time making sure that I could get in and out of some cheaper car-oriented or even car and truck oriented fuel stations across the street to save 5 cents a gallon.... it was the principle of the thing to me. Ask my wife, I will spend a ton of money on something that we need for a while, but will then pinch pennies on buying fuel......

But i found that sometimes it was much more hassle than it was worth to save some money to try to use stations that were not set up to handle rigs my size (~ 65'). Further, the nozzles are much bigger at the truck stops and they can pump more diesel quicker than most independents. So, with TSD, I have been able to have my cake and eat it too (easier access and no worries and a better price).

I have been very happy with TSD until this past couple of months and that is why I was trying to figure out what was going on as the discounts dropped.

Gary

[brobox]

Originally Posted by Gary.Jones

I gotta admit .... Chuck is expressing my feelings exactly. As I have said in a previous post, I used to spend a lot of time making sure that I could get in and out of some cheaper car-oriented or even car and truck oriented fuel stations across the street to save 5 cents a gallon.... it was the principle of the thing to me. Ask my wife, I will spend a ton of money on something that we need for a while, but will then pinch pennies on buying fuel......

But i found that sometimes it was much more hassle than it was worth to save some money to try to use stations that were not set up to handle rigs my size (~ 65'). Further, the nozzles are much bigger at the truck stops and they can pump more diesel quicker than most independents. So, with TSD, I have been able to have my cake and eat it too (easier access and no worries and a better price).

I have been very happy with TSD until this past couple of months and that is why I was trying to figure out what was going on as the discounts dropped.

Gary

Gary, after all of the years, glad you have finally seen the light. .
As for the discounts, currently TSD stations are the same price and lower as Speedway and the other Blvd stations in my area. That has never been the case since I have owned the card. The card discounts is just a sign of the current times with fuel prices.

[jherrin99]

Originally Posted by dedobias

Whrn I went to apply for the TSD card and saw they wanted all my bank info to debit I stopped. Dealing with major hacker/scammer activity on my 90 yr old father threw red flags all over TSD. Am I just being paranoid?

I know that you have to be careful, but have you ever written a check to anybody? If so you gave them your routing number, checking account number, bank name and most likely your name, address and phone number. Most people don't think twice about giving a check to a stranger with all that important information on it. There is no telling how many people handle that check that have access to all that important information before it finally makes it back to your bank. TSD asked for the same information, so when I thought of it that way, I had no problem with it. Especially after so many other people have done business with them for quite some time.

[tonto1]

I guess I need to get up to speed on the TSD card. We just finished a 2000 mile trip down to Naples and found the fuel prices at Pilot, FJ, Loves to be about 30 -35 cents higher than our local Speedway station (with great easy access by our home) So if I am understanding what everyone is posting, this TSD card should bring those prices down to close to what I pay locally; which is $3.05 gallon.
Prior to my '21 Cornerstone purchase, I was using my Freightliner to haul a 45' toy hauler, and so it wasn't to bad easy getting in and out of places at 66' length or fueling locally when unhooked.
Also, am I to understand I can pay at the pump at these big rig places without having to go in and pay?

[Gary.Jones]

Tonto

Well, you have most of that right.

You can pay at the pump in two ways, and you never need to go inside to pay.

First, you are assigned a card and you use the card for all diesel purchases. Only diesel. I swipe it at the pump. That card debits my purchases from a checking account that I set up at a bank that only has that account. I keep a standard chunk of money in that account. When I finish my purchase, within a few minutes my EFS card shows the amount of the purchase and the price that I pay. Two or three days later, someone (EFS ?) debits that amount from that account and sends me an email confirmation of the transaction showing how much diesel I bought, the price I paid, and the discount from advertised price.

Now, I know all of that because the "Open Roads" app from TSD shows me the discounted price to me at any station in the program before I purchase. So I know what price I am paying before I pay it.

Now, there is another way where you somehow set up the purchase in advance and pick the station and then maybe dont even need to swipe a card and it is done wirelessly or via bluetooth, but I have never tackled that process.

When my balance in that debit account gets down to a certain level (which I know all the time), I transfer some money from my real checking acccount into my diesel debit account at a different bank. In my case, it takes a couple of days to move the money from bank to bank, so I keep a reasonable balance in the "diesel" account.

Using this system, I virtually always can get the same price as across the street, but in many cases and with certain national chains, I can beat the price across the street by 20 - 50 cents a gallon. It depends.

Gary

[n2zon]

Originally Posted by Gary.Jones

Tonto

Well, you have most of that right.

You can pay at the pump in two ways, and you never need to go inside to pay.

First, you are assigned a card and you use the card for all diesel purchases. Only diesel. I swipe it at the pump. That card debits my purchases from a checking account that I set up at a bank that only has that account. I keep a standard chunk of money in that account. When I finish my purchase, within a few minutes my EFS card shows the amount of the purchase and the price that I pay. Two or three days later, someone (EFS ?) debits that amount from that account and sends me an email confirmation of the transaction showing how much diesel I bought, the price I paid, and the discount from advertised price.

Now, I know all of that because the "Open Roads" app from TSD shows me the discounted price to me at any station in the program before I purchase. So I know what price I am paying before I pay it.

Now, there is another way where you somehow set up the purchase in advance and pick the station and then maybe dont even need to swipe a card and it is done wirelessly or via bluetooth, but I have never tackled that process.

When my balance in that debit account gets down to a certain level (which I know all the time), I transfer some money from my real checking acccount into my diesel debit account at a different bank. In my case, it takes a couple of days to move the money from bank to bank, so I keep a reasonable balance in the "diesel" account.

Using this system, I virtually always can get the same price as across the street, but in many cases and with certain national chains, I can beat the price across the street by 20 - 50 cents a gallon. It depends.

Gary

We have at least twice had to go inside. Neither time was it a major truck stop, though.

[777 Driver]

Originally Posted by Gary.Jones

Now, there is another way where you somehow set up the purchase in advance and pick the station and then maybe dont even need to swipe a card and it is done wirelessly or via bluetooth, but I have never tackled that process.

You can link the EFS card as a payment method in the Love's app. When you arrive at a Love's fueling station, if your phone is GPS location enabled and has internet connection, the app will recognize that you're at a Love's and inquire which pump you're at. Simply input the pump number ant the pump will be activated for you. No going inside, no EFS card swipe. Within a few seconds of when you turn off the pump, the electronic receipt for the transaction will appear in the Love's app, and, as well, in the EFS app.

Although I haven't "puzzled through" the process to achieve similar capability at TA/Petro stations, I believe that it does exist.

Yes, I know, the Love's discount isn't, currently, as large as the TA/Petro discount.

Take care,
Stu

[Gary.Jones]

In my statement above, I am only referring to major truck stop chains.... I have no idea about smaller mom and pop or just smaller, off brand chains. I did find few of the majors when I was traveling out in Wyoming, New Mexico, Colorado and Tex when off the beaten track and considering smaller chains such as Maverik wnich I had never seen before. However, at some of those smaller off brand places, I did better on a guranteed 5% card that I have that works anywhere that takes a card than I could find in any TSD associated station. In my experience, the savings is most evident along major interstate routes.

TSD does skim off 10% of the discount I receive as its share of my savings. I am very comfortable with that.... that is 10% of my savings, so if I save 50 bucks, then they skim off 5 and give me 45 bucks of savings..... that seems very fair.

Gary

[oatmeal]

Originally Posted by Gary.Jones

But i found that sometimes it was much more hassle than it was worth to save some money to try to use stations that were not set up to handle rigs my size (~ 65'). Further, the nozzles are much bigger at the truck stops and they can pump more diesel quicker than most independents.

I have to admit that I haven't noticed the pump speed at the independents because it always takes me longer to wash the bugs off the front of my coach than it takes to fill the tank.

Here is my underlying fear and question.... [when using the TSD card] are our motorcoach prices the same as major truck company prices or are motorcoach prices now more than truck company prices ??

How do you square this fear with continuing to patronize places like TA that would still be charging motorcoaches much more than trucks if the motorcoaches hadn't lucked into finding out about the TSD card?

This is a big reason I avoid the major brand truck stops whenever possible. I can be bought, though, so if the TSD price at TA is substantially lower than anywhere else, I'll go there, but I try pretty hard to reward the stations whose street price is in the same ballpark as TSD's discounted price, just on principle.

Since you said you fear inequitable of motorcoaches, I'm interested in your thoughts on patronizing and thereby rewarding truck stop chains that have a known history of inequitable treatment of motorcoaches. I just can't get there.