TCS Fuel Discount Card

[kaypsmith]

On ‎9‎/‎25‎/‎2019 at 6:16 AM, manholt said:

Banks don't protect your assets on a debit card, if lost or stolen!

Maybe banks do not, I haven't used a bank for years because of their unwillingness to care about their customers. I use a credit union, and they do offer security on their debit cards, all may not, but the one that I use does, and that peace of mind means much to me. As for the TCS card, thanks for the offer and I hope it works out well for many.

[richard5933]

While I appreciate the additional information provided, still no phone call to get the card set up after two weeks.

Has anyone actually gotten a call and been able to get the card set up?

Dan - is there any timeline on this? Originally it was 24-48 hours, then 72 hours. It's been two weeks since I submitted my information, still nothing.

[manholt]

Richard, call or send a mail direct to Dan...could be a long time before he gets back on.

[richard5933]

Got in touch with Dan, and then with TCS.

Apparently the problem is that I submitted my information through the FMCA website before the email was sent out announcing the opening of the program, and those early submissions did not all go through.

The answer to how the program works is that this is truly a prepaid program. You have to transfer funds to your card ahead of time in order to use it to purchase fuel.

 

[elkhartjim]

Too much pre-planning for me.  I'm sure it'll work for many.

[hermanmullins]

I am sure this card is a good deal for some and not others. I for one will not pre-pay by placing monies in an account where someone else has access. As I said, good for some just not me.

Herman

[richard5933]

Sounds like we'd have to plan for it to take 24 hours to have the funds available to us if using the no-cost transfers. There are a couple of quicker options but they incur a hefty fee, negating the savings.

There doesn't seem to be a security issue having the funds on deposit with them, it's just not a terribly convenient way to pay for fuel.

About the only time that this card would have any advantages over the TSD card is if one is traveling to a place where there were no fuel stops on the TSD network.

 

[manholt]

Herman & all, agree...only saves a nickle per gallon, but cash still works for me!  Linda is getting the TSD.

[kdfors]

Just FYI I too am awaiting a response after filling out the form twice...  not sure what is going on... I called Fmca and they just told me to apply and wait.  Not too impressed so far with this benefit... What gives FMCA?

[richard5933]

Has anyone received the TCS card and successfully used ACH credit to fund it? I ask because both of my banks are unable to do the transfer according to the instructions provided by TCS. Normally an ACH transfer is done by providing the recipient's routing number and account number. In addition, TCS needs us to enter our company name and our specific card number. Problem is, both of my banks only provide data fields for routing number and account number. No place to enter my card's specific information.

Hopefully I'm missing something here. Otherwise, it would seem that this system is just too impractical for regular use.

There are two other methods of funding the card provided by TCS, but they both have fees associated.

[elkhartjim]

I don't understand why you're jumping thru hoops for a card you have to prepay just to obtain a few cents per gallon savings plus has very limited number of stations in its program. Too bad FMCA didn't partner with TSD Logistics.

[richard5933]

1 hour ago, Elkhartjim said:

I don't understand why you're jumping thru hoops for a card you have to prepay just to obtain a few cents per gallon savings plus has very limited number of stations in its program. Too bad FMCA didn't partner with TSD Logistics.

Since the TSD card really only offers a decent discount at Loves, I thought it would fill the gap when traveling in places where there aren't Loves stations. I'm about at the end of the effort on this though, unless someone has the answer as to how to make the thing work.

[wayne77590]

Richard, what stations does the TCS card recognize?

 

[manholt]

Beaver, takes the TSD card, with a 10 cent roll back per gallon!  Love's is a private company from  OK...Beaver is a private company from Alvin, TX.  

[richard5933]

I did get the card last week, and we finally were able to find a way to fund it by using Zelle through my bank's mobile app. Since Zelle can't transmit all the data TCS wants on the transfer, it's necessary to send an email to accounts receivable to let them know about the incoming transfer so they can match it to my card number.

 

I'm told by someone at TCS that they are working on a more automated method for doing this through Zelle in the next couple of months. That should make it much easier.

 

Haven't had a chance to use the card yet, but it's funded and ready. I'll report back once I get to make use of it to report discounts, and I'll go through the app as we travel this weekend to see what stations are listed as 'in network'.

[richard5933]

With both the FMCA TCS card and the TSD card in hand, I'm able to start running comparisons on the discounts available. There is a TA just outside of Madison WI. Both the TCS and TSD cards are accepted there.

With the FMCA TCS card the discounted price for diesel is $2.588/gal. which is about a $0.411 discount from the retail price of $2.999/gal.

The TSD card lists the discounted price for the same station today to be only $2.493/gal, meaning that I'd see an additional savings of $0.095/gallon.

[bm02tj]

I have been looking into opening a US bank acct so I can get a TSD card 

being Canadian makes it harder 

[manholt]

bm, can you get the TCS?

[f433921]

4 hours ago, manholt said:

bm, can you get the TCS?

The TCS is available thru FMCA.

If you question is can you get the TSD card you can get their application on line, just do a Google search.

I just completed one.

JIm 

[richard5933]

Here's a clip from the FMCA FAQs page about the TCS card:

As a Canadian member of FMCA, is this available to me?

Yes, but all transactions use American dollars and are reported in gallons.

 

[manholt]

Richard, yes..that's what I was asking bm!  When we where in Canada this summer, it avg US$ .73 to one CA$...that's June thru August.

[bm02tj]

The TCS card is cash up front so should not be a problem  

I am looking into the TSD card  I emailed to inquire 

Bruce 

[billkuch]

On 10/17/2019 at 2:47 PM, richard5933 said:

I did get the card last week, and we finally were able to find a way to fund it by using Zelle through my bank's mobile app. Since Zelle can't transmit all the data TCS wants on the transfer, it's necessary to send an email to accounts receivable to let them know about the incoming transfer so they can match it to my card number.

 

I'm told by someone at TCS that they are working on a more automated method for doing this through Zelle in the next couple of months. That should make it much easier.

 

Haven't had a chance to use the card yet, but it's funded and ready. I'll report back once I get to make use of it to report discounts, and I'll go through the app as we travel this weekend to see what stations are listed as 'in network'.

Ran into the same problem funding the account.  ACH doesn't allow transfers to commercial concerns from my personal bank accounts.  How did you get Zelle to work.  What email or cell number did you use to send.

 

Thanks,

 

Bill

[richard5933]

I set up the Zelle contact using the account number and routing number that they provided in the instructions. Then I sent an email to TCS to inform them of the transaction details. This was per the instructions I received from one of their managers.

Email should be sent to their accounts receivables department: tcsar@tcsfuel.com

What I sent them were the following details:

     Name on Account:
     Card Number:                 TCS 000000
     Transaction Date:          
     Transaction Amount:     $
     Sending Bank:                

They replied within a few hours with a confirmation they received the email. They will then manually match the transaction with your card and put the funds in your account.

When I did this I first sent only $5. This was to make sure things were working. Once they confirmed receipt and I was able to see the funds on my TCS app, I went ahead and transferred over a few hundred dollars so I could use the card for fueling.

For now I'm keeping the TCS card as a backup to the TSD card. The discounts aren't as good, and the convenience isn't there yet. That said, it's good to have multiple options and I will keep it funded with enough for at least one fill up for now. Perhaps the program will evolve into something more useful - hopefully.

[manholt]

Richard.

Say you have a balance of 250 and you want to cancel card.  Is there a fee?  How do you get your $$$?