Pilot / Flying J MyRewards Card

[RV42travel]

I don't know how many FMCA members have a Pilot/Flying J rewards cards, but I no longer go out of my way to use mine.
The cards are probably a good thing if you use Diesel, but I use Gas and I never know what brand of gas they will have at a Pilot Plaza. If the gas side is anything but Pilot or Flying J my card is not excepted. You would think that whatever brand it is, as long as it is part of the Pilot Plaza, they should except the card.
It may be only a 2 cent discount, but it would add up on a 1500 mile trip. Especially now that gas prices are only a couple of cents short of the $4 mark, in the North-central region.

[desertdeals69]

If its a private operation such a Road Ranger the card won't work. It still says on the sign Pilot.

[ScoutsPal]

I just got my card back in April or May (thru my Good Sam membership) and I get 4 cents per gallon for gas. But I will not use it if there is a better price in the area.

[RVerOnTheMove]

I got my card about 10 years ago. Would not be without it! Why, when I do need to use a Flying J, would I give away money unnecessarily? Discount on the fuel plus the cash price when using a CC? Sign me up (again)!

[tbutler]

The new card through Good Sam is a charge card (not a credit card). It is like the Sears Card which is only good at Sears. The Good Sam Card, can be used only at Pilot/Flying J. There is an on-line guide to Pilot/Flying J stations with guidance as to which ones accept the card and which don't. You can also get a paper copy of the guide at Flying J. You will get a monthly bill from Pilot/Flying J when using that card and the entire balance will be charged to the checking account you authorized with your application. Again, this is not a credit card, you must pay the entire balance and it will not work at other stores, only Pilot/Flying J.

Using the FMCA card with its benefits allows you to use a credit card. We have several cards that give a 5% rebate on fuel purchases. Some are conditional, limits on maximum benefit, certain periods when you can use them for discounts on fuel, etc. A 5% cash back rebate amounts to a savings of 20 cents per gallon at $4.00 per gallon retail price. This far exceeds the benefits of the Good Sam-Pilot/Flying J card. Of course to take advantage of the 5% cash back rebate you must pay your entire bill. If you don't pay off the full balance the interest rate on the unpaid balance will quickly eat up your rebate and then start chewing on your wallet. We all know what it starts chewing on once it finishes offf your wallet! With the FMCA card, you can stack the 5% rebate on top of the discount benefits the FMCA card offers.

Because of the above, the only time I would find the Good Sam card to be an advantage would be when I don't have a 5% discount on fuel available due to card restrictions. If you don't have a credit card that offers a 5% fuel rebate, get on-line and start searching!

[StellersJay]

Just returned from an approx. 2000 mile trip and used Flying J twice. Both were not good experiences. First fill up, the pump would not print a receipt, so had to stand in line inside to get receipts (took two fills to fill tank). Second Flying J (same station on return trip home), in error, I swipped my Flying J reward card first, and the pump message told me to see cashier. Again, long wait in line to get pump authorization. Balance of fill-ups were at Sam's Clubs. Better prices, and no long lines to stand in at fuel islands. Diesel is a little harder to find at Sam's, but we use gas. Flying J, in the past, was always a price leader in their area. Friday in Waddy, KY, their gasoline posted price was about 10 cents per gallon higher than the Loves at the same exit.

Flying J has convient facilities, but, in my experience, does not have any basic customer service.

Sam

[ScoutsPal]

Using the FMCA card with its benefits allows you to use a credit card. We have several cards that give a 5% rebate on fuel purchases. Some are conditional, limits on maximum benefit, certain periods when you can use them for discounts on fuel, etc. A 5% cash back rebate amounts to a savings of 20 cents per gallon at $4.00 per gallon retail price.

Tom, can you point me to an FMCA card with this rebate. I looked through the member benefits and only saw a VISA with "points" rewards. In my experience with these points cards it takes too long to earn anything of value. But, I am ready to sign up for cash rebates. And that will certainly get my wife's attention.

We stopped at Pilot/Flying Js on our trip to Nashville in June and had a couple incidents similar to Sam. The printer failure at one and trouble getting my card to register at the first stop. Going inside for a receipt is a pet peeve of mine when paying at the pump. If I am not looking to buy something in the store, I have no reason to go in, stand in line, and watch people who don't like their job under perform.

As an FYI, Pilot has an app for smartphones and you can look up current prices in an area where you expect to stop to fuel up so you can be on the watch for better prices when you get close.

[tbutler]

Mike,

I should have said the Pilot/Flying J benefits card for FMCA members. The card (Frequent Fueler) is issued by Pilot/Flying J as a benefit for FMCA members. I don't know if these cards will continue in effect given the Pilot/Flying J Good Sam card. As far as I know, the Pilot/Flying J card issued for FMCA members is still in use. I agree with those who point out that you can often find prices at other stations which are even better than the Pilot/Flying J prices even including their discount program. As a result, we shop all the possible suppliers for the best price subject to how accessible the pumps are.

The credit cards I referred to are not FMCA cards. We have credit cards from Discover, Bank of America, Citi and Chase that all offer fuel rebates. Our Chase card currently is offering a discount at 5% with a maximum of $300 cash back during this quarter (July through September). Bank of America had the same deal last quarter (April through June). The $300 cash back maximum covers fuel purchases up to $6000 in a quarter so that works for us. Louise also has a separate Chase card and each has a $300 rebate limit so we have access to as much as a $600 rebate for fuel right now. You might find others. These offers keep changing and having several cards allows me to use the card with the active offer for my fuel purchases. On a $400 fuel purchase you get $20 cash back credit, most cards require $50 minimum to process the rebate. It doesn't take long to rack up $50 when traveling often.

One other thought on fuel prices and discounts. As a service station attendant in high school, I pumped gas for 19.9 cents per gallon! A penny per gallon was a 5 percent difference at that rate. Now we are looking about prices of $3.50 to $4.00 per gallon. That makes 20 cents equal to what 1 penny was many years ago, just 5% on the fuel price. Whenever we are in a high price area as we are now, I remind myself that 3 or 4 cents isn't really that big a deal in the whole scheme of things. A 3 or 4 cent difference is 1%, not worth driving out of our way very far when we use a gallon of fuel to go 8 miles.

[RVerOnTheMove]

The card (Frequent Fueler) is issued by Pilot/Flying J as a benefit for FMCA members.

The Frequent Fueler (now called My Rewards) is not an FMCA thing but available to any RV owner.

[five]

I avoid all the national big rig stops. In my experience, most are crowded, dirty, charge more (not less) for fuel, make you go inside to turn the pump on, back inside to pay...a royal PITA. I look at The Next Exit and try to find a big rig friendly station that sells lots of full.

[RVerOnTheMove]

Not so with Flying J and Pilot. You might want to re-check your information. I don't always use PFJ, but when I must it's very easy and only requires the swipe of a card at the pump.

[five]

Not so with Flying J and Pilot. You might want to re-check your information. I don't always use PFJ, but when I must it's very easy and only requires the swipe of a card at the pump.

Thanks, maybe they've changed and I need to check them out again. My previous comments were based on personal experience, not any "information" I have gotten elsewhere.

[RVerOnTheMove]

Many things have changed. When the merger happened things went seriously downhill. I mean seriously! downhill.

They have worked out just about all of the kinks and things now work as they should. Just be sure to brush up on the "rules" for proper use of the card and you should not have any (or at least very few) issues.

Due to their new pricing being higher than most any other option I still do not frequent PFJ, but sometimes it's the only stop that makes any sense.

[berginaperzina]

We have been using the Pilot/Flying J card for over a year now and we try use anytime we can for both our car and diesel RV. We save 6 cents a gallon on Diesel and that makes a difference if you are taking a very long trip. We have always found them easy to use and very friendly