Fuel Discounts - The Flying J Question

[KBOnTheRoad]

I generally dont like to fuel at Flying J for many reasons most of them having to do with the fact that the lines are terrible, but I also find the staffs generally completely ill-informed about the Flying J CHARGE CARD.

I reentered the US at Calexico last March from the winter in the Baja and made my way to Alaska then upon return to the US through Montana on my way to Mich, Minn and now I am in Florida. I have been comparing the Flying J fuel price all along the way (Canada excepted).

This is what I have found: With the exception of Montana Flying J/Pilot are as much as 20 to 50 cents HIGHER for diesel than nearby competing stations. Now this does NOT include Loves or other "Truck Stops".

I have been able to reliably get fuel for as much as 40 to 50 cents per gallon cheaper at regular stations nearby the Flying J's. When you add to this the discount I get from my Fred Meyer, Kroger, Winn Dixie, Safeway grocery cards which lower that cheaper price by as much as 10 cents a gallon I am finding I rarely use my Flying J charge card.

I tow a 33 foot TT with a new Dodge P/U and am 53 feet overall. I rarely find a station I cant get into and out of.

The high prices of fuel at Flying J's and Pilots, Loves et al reflect the fact they are primarily marketing to a captive audience, class 8 over the road trucks that need a lot of space, parking, showers etc. All of that "FREE" stuff is added into the fuel price.

I have traveled more than 20,000 miles since April of 2016 when I bought my new diesel truck. This means I can save a lot of money by NOT going to FJ. I use my Gas Buddy app (not to be confused with the Fuel Buddy app) to find stations that have the lowest diesel prices wherever I am.

So if you travel alot like me get those Grocery discount cards that are tied to gas discounts as many are and leave the FJ Charge card buried in your wallet.

[Lynnmor]

Toolguy5 wrote:


No I find all within a few cents. Wether they are next to exit or away. When traveling with the 5er I use primarily Loves, Pilot, and Flying J. I have never seen one that was 40 or 50 cents higher then other stations. I do use gas buddy and a truckers app when planning trips. I try and determine prior to getting on road when I would need to stop for fuel and use the apps as well as the next exit to see what is around.

If your traveling consists of traveling exit to exit interstates, you will be paying the highest prices. Personally, I like to use roads that take me thru interesting places.

[Toolguy5]

fulltimedaniel wrote:

Toolguy5 wrote:
I have not seen where they have been that much higher priced then anyone else.
We have been all over. Idaho, Wyoming, Montanan, South and North Dakota, Illinois, Indiana, Tennesse, Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, Florida, Alabama, Utah, Kentucky, Ohio. In fact Diesel prices in Ohio I find higher at regular stations then when traveling and buying at Flying J or Pilot.

If you are comparing the prices at the exit where the big truckstops are then you would likely get the outcome you see, However if you use GasBuddy app you can see that there is a station (s) at other exits or at the Wal Mart which are up to 40 cents per gallon less.

I am with the majority here that agree that Flying J and Pilot and the other big truck stops are routinely higher than other stations for DIESEL. The GAS prices shown are often competitive but not the Diesel.

No I find all within a few cents. Wether they are next to exit or away. When traveling with the 5er I use primarily Loves, Pilot, and Flying J. I have never seen one that was 40 or 50 cents higher then other stations. I do use gas buddy and a truckers app when planning trips. I try and determine prior to getting on road when I would need to stop for fuel and use the apps as well as the next exit to see what is around.

[fulltimedaniel]

Toolguy5 wrote:
I have not seen where they have been that much higher priced then anyone else.
We have been all over. Idaho, Wyoming, Montanan, South and North Dakota, Illinois, Indiana, Tennesse, Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, Florida, Alabama, Utah, Kentucky, Ohio. In fact Diesel prices in Ohio I find higher at regular stations then when traveling and buying at Flying J or Pilot.

If you are comparing the prices at the exit where the big truckstops are then you would likely get the outcome you see, However if you use GasBuddy app you can see that there is a station (s) at other exits or at the Wal Mart which are up to 40 cents per gallon less.

I am with the majority here that agree that Flying J and Pilot and the other big truck stops are routinely higher than other stations for DIESEL. The GAS prices shown are often competitive but not the Diesel.

[Toolguy5]

I have not seen where they have been that much higher priced then anyone else.
We have been all over. Idaho, Wyoming, Montanan, South and North Dakota, Illinois, Indiana, Tennesse, Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, Florida, Alabama, Utah, Kentucky, Ohio. In fact Diesel prices in Ohio I find higher at regular stations then when traveling and buying at Flying J or Pilot.

[reddwar]

I stopped stopping at FJ when they went broke & Pilot took them over as I do not like Pilot. Also I do not stop at BP as the gas handle are green & diesel is black. On our way to AZ this winter used gas buddy & filled up at Walmart for 2.09 the truck stops were in the 2.60's to 2.70's. Got a 70 gal tank so I saved around 50 bucks.

[pyoung47]

Obviously FJ , Loves etc have higher prices. Discounts are offered to their fleet customers. They do have convenient! Reasonably priced dump stations. I fuel elsewhere.

[wbwood]

On my way home from work yesterday I pulled up GasBuddy on my phone after I got off the highway. There are 3 gas stations at the exit. Pilot, Sheetz and an Exxon. Below is a screen shot of the prices at the Pilot. Using the RV Plus card, I get an additional 7 cents off a gallon. I have a Sheetz rewards card that gives me 3 cents off a gallon at their location and the Exxon accepts the Plenti rewards card which I have. Not sure of the percentage off. It's not every time. It builds up. Obviously the Pilot has the best price and offers the biggest discount. Of course, you can drive about 6 miles up the road and get gas even cheaper right now. But it's not always the case as it will vary.

[down_home]

As most recount here, our experience is that FlyinJ/Pilot is far higher than many other stations.
Sometimes we use them anyway, if we can' see cheaper fuel signs down the road, or estimate we would not be able to get our Mh and toad into and out of the station.
WalMart or Murphys is far cheaper in most areas but they have it configured, so you can't get in and out unless it is 3 am and no one else is there, and the newere ones you can't in any circumstances if you are over 30 ft or so.

[Dutch_12078]

allen8106 wrote:

My only issue with Gas Buddy is that it also gives you locations behind you. I don't need info on stations behind me. As such, I use an app called The Road Ahead. Now this app has an issue also, it only works when on the interstates. As a result I tend to use both apps depending on the road I'm traveling.

If I were getting low on fuel, I would want to know that the next station in the direction I'm going is 50 miles away, but if I turn around, there's a station 5 miles back.

[CaliannG]

I'm a truck driver, with all the "professional driver" cards that give "billions and billions!" of points to be used on overpriced chrome stuff.

That said, I've done the math for the major truck stops, and Flying J/Pilot are the worst when it comes to the actual bottom line cost of diesel fuel.

Even with the 10x points, even with this and that discount, even with.....

If you are an individual buying bulk diesel fuel for any reason, stick to the independents. You'll get better prices.

[Cummins12V98]

"I sure as hell wouldn't drive 1-2 miles off the Interstate for fuel."

I agree, especially towing my 41' 5er.

[wa8yxm]

There is a web site www.gasbuddy.com (I am not linking it because it is easy to type) where you can get prices on fuel, both Gas and Diesel but they are far better with gas. by "Around me" or State or city.

Many times on Gasoline (Which my rig eats) I've found that Flying-J/Pilot was the LOWEST price around.. in fact one day I searched 3 states and the best price (I overnighted at a "J") was about 20 yards from where I was parked.

But other times I've found the prices lower elsewhere.

[allen8106]

Itakethe5th2011 wrote:
I agree with you. I have been using Gas buddy last 3 years on trips all over the country. I make it a point to stay away from those big truck stops as their prices are so much higher than brand name stations a block away. I have saved up to 40 cents a gallon. I pull a 34' Fifth wheel and never had problems fueling my pickup. Plan ahead and use Google map to look at station for ease in and out. Save money!

My only issue with Gas Buddy is that it also gives you locations behind you. I don't need info on stations behind me. As such, I use an app called The Road Ahead. Now this app has an issue also, it only works when on the interstates. As a result I tend to use both apps depending on the road I'm traveling.

[Slowmover]

PawPaw_n_Gram wrote:
First - I think it foolish for any RVer to not take advantage of ALL the fuel discount options available.

For me - I drive a Dodge pickup with a 30 gallon tank - gasoline - and my normal fill-up while towing is between 16 and 20 gallons. I pull a 36 foot TT, and my total rig length to the end of the sewer tote carrier is 62 feet. I also must have four feet side clearance because if I have to make a sharp turn to leave a fuel pump spot - that is how far the opposite rear corner of the TT will swing out (There is a Flying J in Anna, Texas I pass up quite often, because I simply cannot make the turn away from the pumps without hitting something).

We've pulled the TT 25,000 miles in the past three years and 27 days. From Texas to Key West to Maine to Texas to Las Vegas.

My experience is Flying J/ Pilot is competitive with any other fuel chain along travel routes.

My towing fuel costs recently have been:

2013 - 35.120 cents per mile - 3,089.0 miles towing
2014 - 37.656 cents per mile - 6,586.7 miles towing
2015 - 26.327 cents per mile - 9,364.9 miles towing
2016 - 23.086 cents per mile - 8,615.2 miles towing so far

One important thing about Flying J and Pilot - you must learn the difference between company stores and franchisee/dealers.

I've found the franchisee/dealers more expensive, less trained, and less aware of company discount programs. That's the first thing I check about a P/FJ location, and if it is a dealer - I usually go somewhere else.

I travel at times with a friend with a 40 ft DP motorhome. He stops exclusively at the gas stations for a major US oil company. As a retiree from that company, he gets a 30% pre-tax rebate on all fuel purchases with the company card. That the absolute best fuel discount I've found. (That's 90 cents per gallon rebate on $3.442 cents per gallon diesel fuel in Texas). And

But to get that rebate, I would have had to choose a different career 30 years ago.

As an RVer I pay a lot of boonie tax for fuel - because I spend much of my time traveling in remote areas where fuel simply isn't cheap. And there are seldom more than three or four choices.

There are two separate fuel questions - am I towing, or not towing.

Like most folks towing a TT or 5er - I try to fill-up at the cheapest location in the area before a towing day. Gas Buddy is useful, though the farther into the boonies we go, the less Gas Buddy has good information about various stations. I've also been in several places where Gas Buddy won't work on either our Verizon or our ATT phone because of lack of data signal strength.

If I'm towing the biggest determination for me is how far off my route it takes to get to the cheapest price. Eight miles (round trip) off my route cost me one gallon of fuel. At $2.50 per gallon, and a 18 gallon fill-up - means the fuel must be 13.9 cents per gallon cheaper than the price at the truck stop for the total fuel bill to be cheaper.

If the location is eight miles each way off the route - I need 27.8 cents per gallon cheaper fuel to 'break even'.

We use Pilot/ Flying J a lot, we use Walmart for filling up the truck when not towing. Only a few Walmarts in Texas, and where we've been have pumps situated where we can use them. We have grocery store loyalty cards.

Grocery store cards are the best discount without a doubt. But we spend about $300 per month max at grocery stores - so at best we can get is two fill ups per month - one at 20 cents off and one at 10 cents off.

Good, so far as it goes.

Fuel burn is about spec'ng the combined rig from the get go for that purpose.

And then paying attention to the mechanical baseline to get the best from that rig. A 40% towing penalty is the rule of thumb. Same cruise control set speed over same terrain. If it's higher, correct it. It can also be lowered.

The average RVer travels about 5k miles annually. The average American travels about 15k annually. And, according to the DHS, 90% of Americans travel to 90% of the same places 90% of the time. That's low hanging fruit to pluck for,

The annual fuel budget.

Cut the number of cold starts, combine trips, and cut annual miles thereby. Then drive the remaining solo miles more efficiently.

I demonstrated I could underwrite the cost of fuel for 5000-miles "free" RV travel (same annual fuel budget) with no loss in convenience while solo. That was when diesel hit $4/gl.

Trying to save pennies per fill is short sighted. A time waster. Plan the next day fuel stop by choosing a station on the same side of the road. Ck satellite for ingress/egress. Combine it with mid day meal (the fewer acceleration and deceleration events during the day, the better for MPG. Plan all stops).

Cast a wide net, for thinking about this.

My towing fuel cost the last couple of years is 15-cpm with a one ton pulling a 35' TT.

I prefer Pilot/Flying J whether in the Kenworth or my little Dodge.

I sure as hell wouldn't drive 1-2 miles off the Interstate for fuel.

[04fxsts]

Filled my F-150 yesterday at Pilot, saved $.30 before my $.07 discount total $.37. I am happy, Jim.