Card Lock Stations

[gmctoyman]

How do they work ? Regular Visa, Master Cards ?

[Bigdog]

I also have PP and the fuel dealer I had just went T.U. and I had to change to another companyfor the cards.The company I had before was as much as $.50 per gallon less than the local pump price,but usually averaging $.20 on diesel and $.20-30 below average pump price for regular. The first bill I got from the new company was .30 a gallon OVER local pump prices.OOppss,they're not gonna be used anymore and the guy that tried to explain the reason for it just didn't make any sense. They also deliver fuel oil in the area and were .30 a gallon higher than the next highest. They also wanted payment in full at the time of delivery.

[Harvey51]

I have a UFA (United Farmers of Alberta) card. As someone said, the price is usually a little higher. One wonders how they stay in business with no service and a higher price. It is very popular with farmers who also buy farm fuel from UFA. It all goes on one bill, which is an expense of the farm business. Effectively after tax, the gasoline has a 30% discount for farmers.

[ve7prt]

Let's see, I have a Co-op cardlock for my diesel truck for the following:

1) Open 24/7. If I need fuel at oh-dark-thirty, I can get fuel at oh-dark-thirty.

2) I can fill the tank at one go - no multiple swipes OR locked down CC.

3) Not having to argue with some moronic tourist in a sports car that the pump he just pulled up to is the one I need as it's the only one that dispenses diesel; and the other pump is completely empty.

4) I sometimes carry 2 50L/14Gal portable tanks for extended range. Those things are ^&%^%$ heavy when full! At the regular pump I have to take them out of the truck to fill up. Not so at the cardlock - I just hook the slip tank grounding line to them. This gives me the range to get almost anything on Southern Vancouver Island and still get home without visiting a distant station.

5) A monthly bill helps show just how much fuel my truck actually consumes per month.

Yeah, so I don't know the price at the pump (ours just show 1.000/L for price) and don't know until I get the bill. But I think the convenience factor more than makes up for it!

Cheers!

[K_Reeve]

use the card lock here for the farm, its 2 filthy lights, and 2 gas and 6 diesel pumps, 1 is a normal, 4 are the high volume fill your semi type. and 1 dyed diesel ( farm ) pump, man is that cheap not paying the road taxes. 1 reg gas, 1 dyed gas again for off road use.

but its 24/7/365 no silly prepay and 100 buck max per card swipe, yea locked down card usually after the 3rd shot. just swipe card, enter pin, and pump number and go to town and stop when tank is full. all the years I have used it, its usually always cheaper ( non dyed)or worse case same as regular pump price when prices swing.

oh and we use the Petro-Canada card locks.

[dons2346]

CA Traveler wrote:
Is there a way to predetermine the card lock prices?

dons2346 wrote:

sh410 wrote:
At the local card lock station, you don't get a receipt nor does the pump show how much the purchase was on the number of gallons you pumped.

All of them I have been to does. You have to reinsert your card but it spits out a receipt showing how many gallons you bought.

Before I use PP, I call them and get the price for the station I am thinking about using. Can't call on the weekends because the office is closed but you can call on Friday, the price remains the same through the weekend.

[CA_Traveler]

Is there a way to predetermine the card lock prices?

[dons2346]

CA Traveler wrote:
Great information on card locks but it sounds like they don't meet my basic requirement which is 5% cash back on my CC.

I get 5% cash back on all vehicles for gas and diesel including the truck lanes, US and Canada.

The only card lock that I'm aware where I get the 5% cash back using my CC is AFD in Western Canada. Unfortunately they don't have a lot of stations but I used them on the Alaska trip.

On occasion I've had a truck in front of me at the truck lanes but that is not a concern. I do avoid the RV lanes for some of the reasons posted above.

So would I lose the 5% cash back with the typical card lock?

I did better than 5% back the last time I used a card lock. In town the lowest price for diesel was $3.93.

$3.93 minus 5% equals $3.73

I paid $3.71! Better deal yet.

[dave_smith1]

CA Traveler wrote:
So would I lose the 5% cash back with the typical card lock?

Yes, but hopefully the discounted rate you pay at a card-lock would compensate for this? YMMV...

You could have the monthly fee charged to your CC instead of an ACT, but my dealer charges an extra 5% fee for this privilege so that might render the point moot.

[dave_smith1]

mlts22 wrote:
Do they sell gasoline at card lock pumps, or is it only diesel?

Yes, at PP they offer regular unleaded & usually premium depending on the size of the station.

mlts22 wrote:
If diesel, is it a high volume pump, or can it be used to fill up a smaller vehicle like a Sprinter?

They have high-volume dual-hose pumps for the trucks but usually at least one "regular volume" diesel pump. I typically use those because the big-bore jobs tend to overflow when the pump can't shut off fast enough.

[mlts22]

Just the fact that I wouldn't have to deal with the tourists, people who park and eat lunch at the pumps, and so on, make the card lock seem quite attractive.

Do they sell gasoline at card lock pumps, or is it only diesel? If diesel, is it a high volume pump, or can it be used to fill up a smaller vehicle like a Sprinter?

[CA_Traveler]

Great information on card locks but it sounds like they don't meet my basic requirement which is 5% cash back on my CC.

I get 5% cash back on all vehicles for gas and diesel including the truck lanes, US and Canada.

The only card lock that I'm aware where I get the 5% cash back using my CC is AFD in Western Canada. Unfortunately they don't have a lot of stations but I used them on the Alaska trip.

On occasion I've had a truck in front of me at the truck lanes but that is not a concern. I do avoid the RV lanes for some of the reasons posted above.

So would I lose the 5% cash back with the typical card lock?

[dave_smith1]

adondo wrote:
You get a PDF file sent by email detailing every purchase. Location, time, date, type of fuel, grade of fuel, and other things I can't remember at the moment

Hmmmm...that sounds pretty slick! I'll have to check with Pioneer Fuel (my PP dealer) to see if that option is available to me!

[adondo]

sh410 wrote:
At the local card lock station, you don't get a receipt nor does the pump show how much the purchase was on the number of gallons you pumped.

You get a PDF file sent by email detailing every purchase. Location, time, date, type of fuel, grade of fuel, and other things I can't remember at the moment. And, besides, while I'm on vacation, I'd rather be sitting at home in the comfort of my own easy chair post-trip when I look at the final bill. It's better to get taken by ambulance to the local hospital and see doctors you're familiar with when you get that eminent heart attack, rather than right there at the pump 1,500 miles from home. :B :B :B

dave_smith wrote:
...RV'ing is clearly not a cheap activity so I just don't worry about saving a few cents per gallon - it's just not worth the hassle to drive around looking to save the equivalent of a bean burrito from Taco Bell on a tank of fuel...

Amen to THAT! I'm so spoiled now, that even when NOT in the motorhome, I get annoyed when I actually have to deal with a normal gas station with the other "John Q Public" and it's prepay silliness, etc. The price-difference-shoppers remind me of people who go to five different grocery stores to use various coupons and attend sales. The amount they save on canned foods is eaten up (pardon the pun) by fuel costs traipsing around town and the hassle of parking to "save" piddling amounts of money.

Even if I take on 100 gallons of diesel and pay an extra $10 (not that likely anyway) it's worth it to not have to cram in three credit cards, prepay, sit in line waiting for someone's abandoned car blocking the pump to get moved as they leisurely shop in the mart, or sit in line waiting behind six other RV's on a busy holiday weekend.

[Johnny_G1]

sh410 wrote:
At the local card lock station, you don't get a receipt nor does the pump show how much the purchase was on the number of gallons you pumped.

I have a stack of receipt's going back yrs but the ink on most have dissappeard but I also have printed copy's from the cardlock dealer's going back many yrs.Have to put card in the reader a second time to get receipt and hope there is enough paper on the roll's.