lets talk fuel cards
 

who is using them and is it worth it? my dad has comdata for his 2 trucks. i plan on adding another truck with in the next 2 years. i do like the idea of the comchecks in case of an issue on the road but i'm still a way aways for that.

now here is the thing. i'm not incorporated yet. i'm still a dba. T-chek turned me down right off the bat.. which is bs but whatever.

what are you guys using?

Business credit card. My has a reward program, i'm geting 1% back for every dollar i spend, and 3% (till this year was 5%) for fuel purchase. If i'd have an employee, i could get a card with the set, or flexible limit for him too. Quick and convenient, excepted everywhere.

I use the Fleet One, got it from OOIDA, they charge $1.00 per transaction, plus give a few pennies off at certain locations.Have a Comdata also, use it maybe once a month to let them know I'm still alive.

thats what i'm doing now but if it can save me money down the line its worth it i think. i was also thinking of linking the fuel card to a credit card.

i looked at them just never called. with the comdata card its a drastic difference. if you link that with truckers b 2 b its a major diffrence. you get a refund check once a month (15th?). every day they email with all the fuel discounts. for example.. if you went to the girard petro as of the other day with the discount it was down to 3.64 a gal. BUT at the pump you pay the 3.83 and the rest you get in the refund check.

There are several fuel cards on the market. Most of them operate pretty much the same. I prefer TCH or Comdata. It really depends on what you want from your fuel card.

Best fuel program for independent or small company is through NASTC! It uses fleet one card. You buy through their network and get the cost plus, cents off or marquis price whichever is lowest. It cost me $250 and I had to attend their one day survival training in Tennessee. I used to use TCH and got the cash price for $1.80 per transaction. NASTC network costs only like $3 a month for the card with no transaction fees. I would guess that I save $25 a day on average with NASTC. Nice people to deal with too! Ask for Bobby Copeland! I know the post was about fuel cards but do yourself a favor and call NASTC. Well worth joining.

We've been with NASTC for four years now. Didn't have to take the class, but they really push it. The annual dues are based on number of trucks you have, and with just one truck, we're paying $250. I've covered this program at length on CAD, but I'll summarize again here. Over the last four years, we've averaged (year to year) between $.19 and $.26 a gallon off pump price (at Petro, TA, AMBEST, and some other indies), with no transaction fee. The program uses a special Fleet One account. I know a lot of folks don't like Fleet One, and I didn't either back when I had the one through OOIDA. There is a card fee of $2.50 (I think) per card per month. Additionally, the price is set for the entire 24 hour period, and you know by 10am EST, what the price is for the following day, so you can make the most informed decision possible. The previous week's fuel is auto debited from our checking account every Tuesday. NASTC has some other programs that many small carriers can take advantage of including a PrePass / EZ Pass program that does not require the carrier to maintain an account balance for tolls.

We've been very happy with NASTC since signing up, but they now have competition. A few weeks ago I got a call from a rep at Pilot-Flying J who offered me an in-house card specifically for PFJ though EFS / TCH. Since there was no application fee, I signed up to see how it'd work out. The program is very similar to NASTC (which is exactly the business PFJ is targeting), with no transaction fee and set price listings for the following day going out via email. PFJ is claiming they are going to average thirty cents off pump price, but after comparing their price list to NASTC's, it looks like NASTC will be five to eight cents cheaper per gallon at most competing locations. I will probably stick with NASTC, but use the PFJ card on the rare occasion that they are cheaper.

Hey asdfghjkl, I am looking in to attending that class at NASTC right now. Could you give me some feedback about what you thought of the class e.g., was it helpful, did you learn anything, what was the best part (besides getting the fuel card:)

What you will get out of the class depends on your situation. If you are getting your authority it will help tremendously. Be prepared for lots of presentations. David Owen is a great guy and has lots of good stories to share. You won't get the fuel card there, just fill out paperwork. NASTC will offer all kinds of services to sign up for such as drug testing, insurance, legal services, software, and accounting. The fuel savings through their network are great. I didn't sign up for anything else yet but definitely plan to in the future. I have had authority since 2005 but was told I had to attend the class to get on the fuel program. Good to hear all the stuff over again. Everyone I have dealt with have been outstanding at NASTC. Wish I could say the same about the other owner operator association. NASTC is straight forward and they'll tell you right up front that they are a for profit business. They make money but save youmoneyintheprocess. I really enjoyed Dan baker's video. Quite a funny guy. Overall wouldn't hesitate to recommend it. Money well spent, enjoyed time at NASTC!

After having a little time to compare the Pilot Flying J program to the NASTC program, I've made the following observations:

The PFJ program is different for everyone. The discount schedule they've given me only beats NASTC by a penny on average. There are some locations where PFJ may beat a NASTC stop by as much as eight cents a gallon, but there are just as many locations where NASTC beats PFJ. With the PFJ program, I get an email every day with pricing at each location. I don't like the format that the information is in. The list only indicates the town the stop is in, which in many cases might a completely different town than you would think. With NASTC, the address and / or interstate exit number is given as well as the town, which makes it easy to look at prices along a certain route. The big benefit to the PFJ plan is there's annual fee, but there's also no other benefits to be had.

After a little thought, I'll probably not ever use the PFJ program, but will keep the card in case I find myself needing fuel in a spot where there's no NASTC stop.