Pilot flying j issue

My best incident back when gas was $5.00/$6.00 bucks a gallon and the pumps were shutting off when trying to fill up a big tank on an RV......

Stopped at a rural small gas station and the tattooed thug kid behind the counter said the only way I could pump gas was I would have to leave my credit card with him while I pumped the gas. Ya, right like I'd be leaving my credit card with him any time soon. :R

Get the Gas Buddy app for a phone. Dial in the town you're in (or are headed for), and all the prices will show. Pays to shop around. One thing I've noticed, is the stations that are adjacent to the highway/interstate, and at the edge of town are the highest priced. A short trip into town, or down the business route will yield the best price.

Two complaints I see about gas stations..

This is one (The hold) I suspect you used the TRUCK lanes to fuel up

The other is the 50/70/100 dollar limit at some pumps

Here is what happens when you swipe your card at the pump....
The Pump requests a hold on the card for whatever the pump limit is
Then you pump. and when you hang up the nozzle the pump is supposed to send the amount you pumped and request the rest of the hold be released.

Some card companies are slow to release the hold
And occasionally there is a "Glitch" when the pump goes to "Finalize" and it takes a day or 2 for someone to process by hand.

The reason I suspecdt you used the truck lanes is the 500 hold. In the auto lanes or RV lanes it would more likely be 100 or less.

rr2254545 wrote:

fj12ryder wrote:

SidecarFlip wrote:
I was going to say that, you beat me to it. I have a 30K limit on mine, don't care of they put a 500 or even a grand hold on it.

Some people use a smaller credit limit card for gas expenses, so large ripoffs are unlikely if the card is compromised. Supposedly gas pumps are one of the most likely locations to have one's card information stolen. Yeah, the CC companies will most likely eat the cost if your $30,000 card is severely misappropriated but it costs all of us in the end. Some people just like to limit their risks.

You have got to be making this up, this is not the way the world works

Sadly, this IS "the way the world works" now days.

You must be living a sheltered life if you have never heard of Card Skimmers.

Card skimmers are basically a well hidden card reader which is placed over the outside of the pump reader or if an inside job on the INSIDE of the pump reader.

Many of these readers are so well designed they blend in and look like they are part of the pump reader.

The skimmer reads and stores the info from the card stripe.

That info is then used to program blank cards.

The blank cards can be now used for more unsigned transactions and often the criminals will run the cards through gas station readers for a small amount to see if they have a good card or buy through Internet outlets using the skimmed numbers..

Typically you are only "liable" or responsible for the first $50 of a fraudulent transaction. Most if not all credit card companies however will not hold you the card holder responsible and will waive the $50 liability.

We actually had one of our cards lifted from our DMV website when we renewed our registration..

Got a call from our credit card co concerning a couple of potential fraudulent transactions!

The thieves made two purchases (under $2K) from Lowes website which went through, then attempted to buy airline tickets out of the country multiple times ($4K each time).. We would have been on the hook for over $10K in fraudulent charges!

Credit card co removed ALL of the fraudulent charges, canceled the account number then issued a new account number and we had new cards delivered Fed Ex to use the next day.

So, I really do not see a reason as to why anyone would really be totally concerned about intentionally keeping too low of a credit card limit..

Although, I don't understand reasons for excessively high limits either.. A $30K limit to me seems excessive, no way in the world that I would ever buy something on a credit card for $30K.

That is not how I use credit cards.. I only buy what I can afford to pay off when the billing period ends for that month, I don't make $30K per month..

Vendors do not use holds for this reason though, it is placed to ensure you have enough credit to cover the open transaction.

Typically you never see the hold because most vendors will remove the hold seconds after the transaction is closed.

However, sometimes some vendors may not release the hold right away and it may take a few days to clear..

I don't recommend using your bank card as a debit card in stores or gas stations, the reason is due to the fact that the debit feature does not have the same protection as a credit card.

Most bank cards are dual function, can operate as debit or credit. You should get an option popup which will ask if you want the transaction as debit or credit.

Select credit, and now you have same protection from fraudulent purchases as a credit card. The transaction will still directly come from your bank account but the card company that issued the card will now offer same fraud protections of a credit card.

Had a friend years ago discover by accident when he used his bank debit card to buy concert tickets that the money is gone and he had no recourse when the concert cancelled to get his money back..

Old-Biscuit wrote:

rr2254545 wrote:

fj12ryder wrote:

SidecarFlip wrote:
I was going to say that, you beat me to it. I have a 30K limit on mine, don't care of they put a 500 or even a grand hold on it.

Some people use a smaller credit limit card for gas expenses, so large ripoffs are unlikely if the card is compromised. Supposedly gas pumps are one of the most likely locations to have one's card information stolen. Yeah, the CC companies will most likely eat the cost if your $30,000 card is severely misappropriated but it costs all of us in the end. Some people just like to limit their risks.

You have got to be making this up, this is not the way the world works

:H

What part do you think is being 'made up'
*Holds being placed on CC

*Folks using low credit limit cards for fuel to minimize their risks
*Gas stations high scam locations....fake scanners/ employees that are thieves
*CC companies covering charges from theft


:H

X2 +

My thoughts as well.

Gdetrailer wrote:

I don't recommend using your bank card as a debit card in stores or gas stations, the reason is due to the fact that the debit feature does not have the same protection as a credit card.

Most bank cards are dual function, can operate as debit or credit. You should get an option popup which will ask if you want the transaction as debit or credit.

Select credit, and now you have same protection from fraudulent purchases as a credit card. The transaction will still directly come from your bank account but the card company that issued the card will now offer same fraud protections of a credit card.

Had a friend years ago discover by accident when he used his bank debit card to buy concert tickets that the money is gone and he had no recourse when the concert cancelled to get his money back..

Excellent advice. The fraud protection on the credit card is a federal law. On a debit card it's at the option of the bank. That is also why you want to be extra careful about skimmers when using your bank card at an ATM. In my area there are a new type of skimmer that fits INSIDE the card slot rather than just covers up the card slot. So always be extra careful to shield the keypad when entering your PIN.

I never use a debit card as anything other than an ATM card. Credit Cards are for purchases.

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.

I too stopped at a couple of Pilots but No More. My Good Sam card did not work at the pump like it used to. I had to go inside and they had to manually enter it. Then they asked me how much gas I wanted. I don't know...I want to fill it up. You have to tell us how much you want. I give her a guess and it doesn't fill it up. Next stop same thing so I say $100 even though it won't take near that much. I go back to the pump and the pickup that was pumping when I pulled up was still pumping 15min later. He says to me that the pump is really slow. So I start pumping and it takes almost a minute to get 1/10th gal. This tells me that they were almost out of gas. Why didn't they tell me it was slow. They can see the numbers inside and can see cars never leaving. I got 20 gal in it and left. No it wasn't full.
No Mas Pilot for me.

beemerphile1 wrote:
Swipe your card at the pump, they immediately place a hold, all stations do the same.

That's strange.
I have been through MT, ID, WA, OR, CA, UT, NV and WY in the last 10 years or so, and the only "hold" I ever saw on my account was $1. In the last 5 years, I haven't even seen that! That's using a debit card. I don't recall ever seeing a "hold" on a credit card.
I check my accounts every morning, whether traveling or at home, so if there was a "hold" I do believe I would see it.
I used to use Flying J almost exclusively when traveling. But, since the RV card is often refused now, and the prices aren't any better than the stations in town, I rarely use them these days.
When traveling in Montana, I am more apt to stop at a Town Pump.