Credit Card to use when traveling

CA Traveler wrote:
...We have a Frys card which is Kroger and includes Fred Myers. We got 30 cents/gallon discount on 35 gallons and 5% cash back with PenFed. Then pumped again and got the default 3 cents/gallon and 5% cash back with PenFed. This station had the lowest prices before the discounts and was only 2 blocks off of I5 in Medford, OR...

The Kroger card also works at Smith's, Dillons, City Market, Baker's and their convenience stores which include Turkey Hill, Loaf n Jug and others. Their fuel stations are usually very competitively priced even before any discounts.

Thanks for that update on PenFed. I didn't think there was a time limit on my PenFed Visa Plantium card but will check.

The fact that having a Flying J/Pilot card gives you the cash price when using a credit card was mentioned. However, many of the loyalty cards like the Kroger Card do the same at their stations and you also can earn several cents/gallon discount based on the amount of your purchases. In the Southeast,

I get 3 cents/gallon off on the cash price with the FJ loyalty card, pay with the credit card and get cash back. It's not always practical to take advantage of grocery discounts, etc when traveling but when possible it can significant.

We have a Frys card which is Kroger and includes Fred Myers. We got 30 cents/gallon discount on 35 gallons and 5% cash back with PenFed. Then pumped again and got the default 3 cents/gallon and 5% cash back with PenFed. This station had the lowest prices before the discounts and was only 2 blocks off of I5 in Medford, OR.

If you look at the current information on the Penfed website, the 5, 3, 1 point is now a limited time offer:


*For a limited time until 12/31/13, enjoy 5 points for gas paid at the pump, 3 points for groceries, and 1 point for all other purchases. Get more for your membership

Still a good deal, just not as good. For now there are some cards from Visa and Discover that give 5% cash back on fuel once or twice a year for a three month period. The same cards sometimes give 5% on groceries. In the past, one of them gave the 5% on lodging and many campgrounds seemed to fall into that category.

The fact that having a Flying J/Pilot card gives you the cash price when using a credit card was mentioned. However, many of the loyalty cards like the Kroger Card do the same at their stations and you also can earn several cents/gallon discount based on the amount of your purchases. In the Southeast, Winn Dixie has a similar program, but since they do not have fuel stations, the discounts are at participating Shell stations.

musicman54 wrote:
cash is the only thing that would benifit you

Please explain.

cash is the only thing that would benifit you

gajd33 wrote:

Poppy & Nana wrote:

pnichols wrote:

At todays fuel prices 5% off amounts to getting around 15 cents to 25 cents off every gallon of RV fuel everywhere.
..

This is from PenFed website....
•5 points per dollar spent on gas purchases paid at the pump*
•3 points per dollar spent on supermarket purchases*
•1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases

I know its early morning - but how would that translate to a savings of 15 - 25 cents per gallon discount? Don't want to start a "war"...just trying to wrap my heat around what was said.

I figure $100.00 of fuel x 5 points = 50 points x 52 fills (once a week) = 2600 points x 2 years = 5200 points trade that in for a Visa card for $50.00

$100.00 of fuel /$4.00 per gallon (this is below our going rate as of 2/20/13) = 25 gallons x 52 fills = 1300 gallons x 2 years = 2600 gallons / $50.00 (gift card) = 2 cents per gallon savings.
Just remember they are not giving you 5% they are giving you 5 points per dollar...BIG difference!

Right now we use Exxon Mobile HOWEVER they only offer a 6 cent discont on a minimum 45 gallon (per month) to a max of 100 gallons (per month).....so I now have DH tracking his fuel purchases and we stop using that CC when he reaches 100 gallons for the month....

I’m not saying this is not a good deal – because anytime anyone wants to “give” me money it works for me….just trying to figure out a scenario given to us!

Yes I just based my calculations on fuel purchases, as I know that is our major expense while we camp!

thanks for the info. I havent heard of them but worth looking into.

Not any more. As of 8/16/13 they changed without notice to their customers of the Platinum Rewards card. You still get 5 points per dollar spent but now to redeem the points you need 11,800 points to get $100 back. They increased the points needed by 18%. That nets to about 4.1% actual cash back. Very deceptive since they know most people relate points to $.

jipsy albertains wrote:
I would like to know how much cash should a couple carry ,& do a lot of RVers pay by credit card ?
This is our first time driving down from Alberta , Canada ,any advice would be great !
We do have US debit account.
Where do you hide some important things in a RV.

When you use most Canadian issued cards in the US, the issuer adds a 2.5% foreign exchange fee. This is the first thing to watch for in choosing a card. The only Canadian card I have found that doesn't is the Amazon Visa card issued by Chase Bank. It also gives 1 point per dollar (1%) that can be used on Amazon purchases.

Other Canadian cards work well in Canada, but choose based upon where you shop and what you use.

I'm curious if any other Canadian has found another card that doesn't charge the 2.5% foreign exchange fee.

Hi Woodglue,

Visa also doubles the warranty I believe.

AMEX - Doubles the warranty on anything I buy, plus all the other benefits. Pay off the balance every month and owe nothing!

I'd also not travel with only 1 card.

WoodGlue

jipsy albertains wrote:
I would like to know how much cash should a couple carry ,& do a lot of RVers pay by credit card ?
This is our first time driving down from Alberta , Canada ,any advice would be great !
We do have US debit account.
Where do you hide some important things in a RV.

You can charge just about everything which we do so we carry only a small amount of cash.

We used 2 different Visa cards on our Alaskan trip. We're still in BC but getting closer to the lower 48. Our Visa cards have no yearly fees and no Canadian transaction fees. One (PenFed) gives us 5% cash back on fuel. The other gives us 1.5% back on all other purchases every billing cycle. This applies to both US and Canadian purchases. Hopefully you have something similar in Canada. For example at $4/gallon we get back 20 cents/gallon in Canada. Of course no fuel is that cheap in Canada that we found.

Personally I don't get debit cards. We pay our credit card in full monthly and get the above cash back. I understand to some extent the rewards card game but I'm a cash in my pocked guy!

Hide things in the most non obvious place you can find. Anyone that wants can find anything is a short amount of time and if it's a safe they cart it away.