Pilot flying j issue

[Wandering_Storm]

Traveling to Florida , I decided to use pilot flying j for gas because of the discount. I received a message from my card company that Pilot had put a 500 dollar hold on my account rendering the card non usable for several days. Pilot has no business screwing with my account. Good Sam ought to inform members that this scenario exists. I will no longer purchase gas from them because I don’t need the grief while traveling. My credit is excellent and I’m ready to tell all of the above to shove it.

[b17drvr]

I don’t us regular cards for fuel anymore. I got fuel only credit cards. The only place they can be used is a gas station. So, if a hacker at the station gets your gas card number your regular credit card is safe. I got one for shell, Exxon, Valero, Chevron, BP, and a few others. Yes, they have horrendous interest rates, but I pay them off every month so I don’t care about the rates.

[fj12ryder]

armyeng wrote:

fj12ryder wrote:
I never use a debit card, period. I insist on an ATM card and not a debit card. They usually look at me really funny though.

Of course they do since an ATM Card and Debit Card are the same thing

Not necessarily, a few banks will give you an ATM only card. But they are getting scarce, but if you do some checking you'll see that "it ain't necessarily so". I have ended up telling them to disable the debit card part once.

[armyeng]

fj12ryder wrote:
I never use a debit card, period. I insist on an ATM card and not a debit card. They usually look at me really funny though.

Of course they do since an ATM Card and Debit Card are the same thing

[sandblast]

hotpepperkid wrote:
I quit going to Flying-J when they got bout out by Loves. They used to be the cheapest but now they are the highest priced. I use gas buddys apt on my phone to fine cheapest fuel

Pilot bought Flying J not Loves

[3ares]

We try to put everything on a credit card for our budgeting and to get the points.but, we had a bad experience with a primary card while in Canada, I think the primary credit card we were using the bank forgot that I told them we were going to Alaska. I was buying a generator while my wife was grocery\y shopping. My purchase for the generator was challenged by Chase and the account was frozen on the credit card and the debit card my wife was trying to buy groceries with was frozen as well. Luckily, we travel with two different bank credit cards. So we were covered. There is another good reason to care two bank cards, one time my wife lost her purse so we canceled the credit card in her purse and continued traveling on my credit card.

Happy travels
Bob & Carolyn

[JAC1982]

I have one small limit credit card, I use it mainly for gas and groceries as I get triple reward points on those items and just pay it off every 2 weeks. I got into trouble with CCs in my 20s so now I just stick to this one card, and cash/debit card otherwise. So, a $500 hold would have really sucked for me. Before Christmas, someone used the card to purchase $200 worth of makeup at Sephora and had it shipped to Canada. My credit union wouldn't reverse the charges until I contested them with the merchant because I have purchased things at Sephora before with that card. Well, the merchant required me to wait 10 business days to look at the charges, and then it was radio silence. After 3 weeks, I was finally able to get my credit union to reverse the charges. It was a complete pain not because of the money, that was just inconvenient, but because I had to spend a lot of time on hold on the phone with the merchant trying to get the money refunded, plus it cut into my grocery/gas budget since I couldn't use that card for that. So, I don't fault anybody who doesn't want to put themselves at risk of fraud.

Anyway, sorry for the story, just wanted to give an example of someone who uses a low limit card.

[Grit_dog]

Some of you get it, some of you need a waaaambulance.
It's a fuel stop. Pull in, fill up, take a leak, buy a slurpee and some snacks and hit the road.....Who cares as long as the vehicle still runs after filling it with their fuel.

[1968mooney]

jim1521 wrote:

1968mooney wrote:
Maybe if all you complainers would stay away, we appreciators would be able to get in without waiting so long. RECON?

That's just the point! We "complainers" are staying away, so that you guys have plenty of time to fill 'er up with that high-priced fuel. :B

Thank you for doing your part.

[jim1521]

1968mooney wrote:
Maybe if all you complainers would stay away, we appreciators would be able to get in without waiting so long. RECON?

That's just the point! We "complainers" are staying away, so that you guys have plenty of time to fill 'er up with that high-priced fuel. :B

[GERALDEAN]

I am baffled by many of the experiences I am reading here. I have RV'd for 17 years and used Flying J almost exclusively with very few problems. Sometimes crowded which is a pain but in many ways a good sign. Before refurbing in last few years many had problems with seeing the pumps numbers because of fading or not giving receipts. I use credit card and the GS discount card and have had no problems. The RV island is usually a god send when toading as many of the Loves and others have such short turning radius. My bank is Johnny on the spot letting me know that they are watching over me. Just let them know you are traveling. Only pending charges I see on my card are $50 in lieu of the actual amount until the actual amount is posted then the $50 disappears. Call me Lucky I guess.

[mich800]

magicbus wrote:

mich800 wrote:
... A bank does not put an authorization hold for suspicious activity. They notify the card holder and give you the chance to cancel the card if it has been compromised.

My bank put my card on hold because I traveled out of state, purchased fuel, shopped at a Walmart and then then at Costco. Checking out at Costco my card was no good. The cashier said to check my texts and sure enough I had texts from my bank after each use. I just replied to the last one saying I was me and they replied my card was reactivated.

I think this is a great feature and I now remember to give my credit card company my travel plans beforehand.

Dave

Yes, the credit card companies do a pretty good job trying to minimize fraud based on purchase habits. But unless I am misreading the op they were talking abut an authorization hold which is entirely different. One is a mechanism to make sure there is sufficient credit to complete the transaction. And the other to stop transactions.

[magicbus]

mich800 wrote:
... A bank does not put an authorization hold for suspicious activity. They notify the card holder and give you the chance to cancel the card if it has been compromised.

My bank put my card on hold because I traveled out of state, purchased fuel, shopped at a Walmart and then then at Costco. Checking out at Costco my card was no good. The cashier said to check my texts and sure enough I had texts from my bank after each use. I just replied to the last one saying I was me and they replied my card was reactivated.

I think this is a great feature and I now remember to give my credit card company my travel plans beforehand.

Dave

[1968mooney]

Seems the consensus is, FlyingJ/Pilot should put up a sign, RV's stay away. RV'ers hate them, they should return the favor.

[AstroRig57]

jim1521 wrote:
I'm always surprised when people buy gas/diesel at Pilot/Flying J/Loves. Even with the discount cards, you're still paying MUCH more than the other gas stations that are usually right across the street. Often $0.30 - $0.50/gallon more. That adds up over time.

How much of a discount are you getting? At the local Pilot here in Ft. Myers, they want $3.099/gallon for diesel. Everywhere else it's $2.699 - $2.799.

That may be your experience, in your neck of the woods, but in the areas of the western United States where we frequently do the most travel the exact opposite is true. Pilot/Flying J and Loves are typically within a few cents of each other and the "gas war" between the two of them usually renders them $0.30 - $0.50/gallon less than other gas stations or MORE if those stations are major oil companies like Shell, Chevron, Mobil...etc.

[mich800]

Wandering Storm wrote:
Thanks for your replies. Not using Pilot anymore except emergencies. My bank put a hold on my card because they saw this activity on my account as unusual activity and notified us immediately. Can’t fault my bank as they were protecting me. Pilot can do whatever they want but, from now on, to somebody else. Again thanks for help and advice. John McD

That does not make sense. A bank does not put an authorization hold for suspicious activity. They notify the card holder and give you the chance to cancel the card if it has been compromised.

So it wasn't Pilot but your spending patterns with the bank that flagged it.