TCS fuel card

[chessie4905]

Anybody have one? Worth having? FMCA offers for members.

[richard5933]

I got that email today as well. Short answer, stick with the TSD and ignore the TCS card that FMCA is offering.

The TCS card is a pre-funded card, meaning that you have to put money on the card before you use it, and there is no way to have it automatically refill when you use it. I got one of the TCS cards when they were first offered and found it to be terribly inconvenient to fund, and equally inconvenient to use. Not nearly as seamless as the TSD card and it required going inside often to pay. At some stations they had to run it like an EFS check and not like a fuel card - PITA.

Hope this is the information you're looking for. If you don't have a TSD card I can forward you the information to get one. It's much easier to use, allows pay at the pump, and offers great discounts.

[luvrbus]

Those cards are really not great you get discounts at Loves,F/J ,Pilot and TA but even with the card and some discounts the fuel is  40 cents + a gal higher than most places,get a Sams or Costco card, fuel at Pilot was $3.01 before the discount and you never know how much the discount will be, Sam's was $1.80 gal but they won't take cash   

[richard5933]

Those cards are really not great you get discounts at Loves,F/J ,Pilot and TA but even with the card and some discounts the fuel is  40 cents + a gal higher than most places,get a Sams or Costco card, fuel at Pilot was $3.01 before the discount and you never know how much the discount will be, Sam's was $1.80 gal but they won't take cash

Which card are you talking about? The TSD card that I have will often give me lower prices if I stick to the stations they currently have the best discounts with, often lower than cash prices at surrounding stations. You have to read the weekly discount charts carefully to be sure you're stopping at the places with the best discounts. I've often been $0.10 - $0.30 lower than I could find using Gas Buddy or other similar apps.

It's true that the truck stops on the highway have higher initial prices, but if the discount is large enough it still works out in my advantage. The one thing that's frustrating though is that the brand with the largest discount changes from time to time. Same thing happened when I was driving semi for a small company in upper Wisconsin last summer - they required us to go to the fuel stops assigned to us, and just as soon as I'd start to collect enough points at one brand to amount to something they'd switch us to another brand and the points had to start all over again. But, their dime their choice.

The TSD program had great discounts at Pilot/Flying J for a while, then the larger discounts were at Petro/TA. Not sure where they are now since I don't follow in the off season.

All that said, The TCS card didn't ever have discounts nearly as good as the TSD card, which is partly why I closed my account with the FMCA program through TCS.

[chessie4905]

Thats just what I suspected. I was asking unless I missed something.

[luvrbus]

Which card are you talking about? The TSD card that I have will often give me lower prices if I stick to the stations they currently have the best discounts with, often lower than cash prices at surrounding stations. You have to read the weekly discount charts carefully to be sure you're stopping at the places with the best discounts. I've often been $0.10 - $0.30 lower than I could find using Gas Buddy or other similar apps.

It's true that the truck stops on the highway have higher initial prices, but if the discount is large enough it still works out in my advantage. The one thing that's frustrating though is that the brand with the largest discount changes from time to time. Same thing happened when I was driving semi for a small company in upper Wisconsin last summer - they required us to go to the fuel stops assigned to us, and just as soon as I'd start to collect enough points at one brand to amount to something they'd switch us to another brand and the points had to start all over again. But, their dime their choice.

The TSD program had great discounts at Pilot/Flying J for a while, then the larger discounts were at Petro/TA. Not sure where they are now since I don't follow in the off season.

All that said, The TCS card didn't ever have discounts nearly as good as the TSD card, which is partly why I closed my account with the FMCA program through TCS.

I have both those cards Richard and never use either,I cancelled my TDS I could always beat the price by 35 cents average using the TDS,I can easy travel 800 miles on a tank of fuel and always can find a Costco or Sam's plus at Sam's if I want to take the time I buy a prepaid Sam's card and save another 5 cents a gal

[richard5933]

I have both those cards Richard and never use either,I cancelled my TDS I could always beat the price by 35 cents average using the TDS,I can easy travel 800 miles on a tank of fuel and always can find a Costco or Sam's plus at Sam's if I want to take the time I buy a prepaid Sam's card and save another 5 cents a gal

I wonder if the price comparison is different in various areas, as I've seen the opposite. As long as we each find what works for us we're all good.

[luvrbus]

I wonder if the price comparison is different in various areas, as I've seen the opposite. As long as we each find what works for us we're all good.

A $1.80 is tough to beat it was $2.02 in Scottsdale at a Q/T  station it's $2.20 in Yuma the cheapest I saw here

[richard5933]

We're not seeing prices anywhere near that low up here in Wisconsin. We had diesel down to about $2.10 retail at the low, but it's hovered closer to $2.25 retail recently. Now it's around $2.50 retail. Gets ever more pricey as you head east from here. We try to never buy in PA due to their high fuel tax.

I just ran a few comparisons using the TSD daily rate chart against the prices in Gas Buddy in a few cities, and things are pretty close right now with the lowest prices on Gas Buddy. For me, the convenience of being able to get fuel at a truck stop at/near the highway is important, and if the price is within a few cents I'll stick with that rather than trying to get into a retail outlet. As you get up this way and on the way east, the regular retail outlets, even Sam's Club, tend to have tighter access than truck stops.

[chessie4905]

diesel here is 3.09 locally. We have about 35 ce to additionally to repair all our bridges, athough the bastards are now siphoning off money here and there for mass transit, fish commission dam repairs, money for state police support in small rural towns and areas.

[luvrbus]

diesel here is 3.09 locally. We have about 35 ce to additionally to repair all our bridges, athough the bastards are now siphoning off money here and there for mass transit, fish commission dam repairs, money for state police support in small rural towns and areas.

AZ hit us with a $27.00 per year fee on registration for plates in the name of "public safety" no one knows what the hell it is,the "temporary" fee is more than the plates for some vehicles,I asked the lady at the DMV and she said I don't for sure but it may be for road repair lol WTH 

[richard5933]

 
AZ hit us with a $27.00 per year fee on registration for plates in the name of "public safety" no one knows what the hell it is,the "temporary" fee is more than the plates for some vehicles,I asked the lady at the DMV and she said I don't for sure but it may be for road repair lol WTH

Looks like you guys in AZ got hit with the "fee bug" recently as well. Seems like politicians are trying hard to keep from raising taxes. Guess they figure if they call it a fee and just tack it onto something we have to buy we won't notice. Same thing seems to be happening all around - they get to say taxes are still low while we get to pay more. I wish they'd just be honest and say they're raising taxes. Here's the info on the AZ 'fee': https://www.azdps.gov/news/releases/891

[luvrbus]

Looks like you guys in AZ got hit with the "fee bug" recently as well. Seems like politicians are trying hard to keep from raising taxes. Guess they figure if they call it a fee and just tack it onto something we have to buy we won't notice. Same thing seems to be happening all around - they get to say taxes are still low while we get to pay more. I wish they'd just be honest and say they're raising taxes. Here's the info on the AZ 'fee': https://www.azdps.gov/news/releases/891

Our plates are based on age and value plates for the newer vehicles cost a lot mine are over a 1000 bucks a year lol I miss my Eagle and MCI they were 55 bucks for 5 years before the fee came along 3 million + vehicles x 32.00 is a lot of money for idiots to waste 

[dtcerrato]

Our plates are based on age and value plates for the newer vehicles cost a lot mine are over a 1000 bucks a year lol I miss my Eagle and MCI they were 55 bucks for 5 years before the fee came along 3 million + vehicles x 32.00 is a lot of money for idiots to waste

Clifford we realize you're running an ultra modern mobile castle & are enjoying it and seeing your comment on the increased cost to register & tag it - what else if I may ask do you (if anything) do you miss about owning a more vintage bus? I just had to ask.

[luvrbus]

Clifford we realize you're running an ultra modern mobile castle & are enjoying it and seeing your comment on the increased cost to register & tag it - what else if I may ask do you (if anything) do you miss about owning a more vintage bus? I just had to ask.

Nothing really Dan I can think of,we still have our bus friends and that is important to us