New Pilot/Flying J Frequent Fueler Advantage Program

[RLENT]

On January 3rd 2011, Pilot Flying J will introduce a new Frequent Fueler Program which will offer the following benefits:

Instant Point Redemption in-store and at participating restaurants

Pump Start (automatically turns on pump when you register your card)

1 point for every gallon of diesel purchased

1 Shower Credit for every 50 gallons or more of fuel purchased (5 day expiration)

1/2 Shower Credit for 14 - 49 gallons of purchased (diesel or gasoline)

$7 Discount on RV Dump

Professional drivers can qualify for extra rewards when they register their cards and fuel more than 500 gallons in a calendar month: Extended Shower Expirations, Member-Only Deals on Restaurant, Merchandise, Deli & Driver Services.

300/250/200 Point Registration Bonus ! (depending on how you register)

More details at Pilot Frequent Fueler

 

[xiggi]

Thanks for Posting RL!

 

[Dynamite 1]

thats better than it was, but still doesnt make up for the way they handled the whole merger deal. they left alot of people out to dry when they did this thing. the new plan should have went back to at least what the j had before, or if not, 7 days on a shower without 500 gal to extend. i was a j only user before the deal for years. had j bank and all but just cant bring myself to go back. for a while they would not even give you cash price using tab bank card. dont know if this is corrected everywhere yet or not. another thing that irritates me is the rv dump fee. they refuse to see the point that the fee is set up for rv's not for truckers. the fee is based on rv's dumping 30 gal or more for some [ thats what j cust. svcs. told me]. why should i have to pay the same fee to dump 2 gal. some places have waved or discounted the fee when i asked but lately i have found it to be harder to get them to do so. i have just grown tired of all the bs. next thing that will happen will be a fee for getting water. i really hate it too cause i really liked the j. never did care much for pilot so that explains alot when it comes to my feelings. one thing good did come of this though. it was finally proved to me that i get better fuel mi. not using j fuel. just wish i had my old j back but the t/a has come around. now if they would only fix their parking lots.

 

[OntarioVanMan]

To supply any service there is a cost...whether it is dumping, water or that extra towel...gone are the days of freebees...any idea how many squeeges they go thru...100's a year...as soon as they put new ones out they lose about 50% of them within hours....so they say....

 

[Dynamite 1]

you are exactly rite. i dont have a problem with paying a fee. i just dont think it should be as much as a rv. if you do the math the way j cust. svcs. explained it to me, at the discounted fee of 3$ at 30 gal = .10 a gal to dump. if i dump 2 gal charge me .20 not 3 bucks. but i am realizing this is not going to happen. oh ovm, i will let you know today about sending program. will pm when i get it done or let you know how its coming.

 

[OntarioVanMan]

you are exactly rite. i dont have a problem with paying a fee. i just dont think it should be as much as a rv. if you do the math the way j cust. svcs. explained it to me, at the discounted fee of 3$ at 30 gal = .10 a gal to dump. if i dump 2 gal charge me .20 not 3 bucks. but i am realizing this is not going to happen. oh ovm, i will let you know today about sending program. will pm when i get it done or let you know how its coming.

I would imagine the same van RV's would have the same grip....

and Thanx about the program...

 

[skyraider]

wow,,now I can take more then 2 showers a month,,,yea, no more 1st and the 15th shower dates

 

[chefdennis]

Thanks for the update and reminder RLent, John Elliott had told us at Load 1 the new progrm was coming 1/3 a bit go...I got the new card to use when planning gas purchases when there is no TA along the planned route...I'll use them only in those cases, I will continue to use TA 1st....their showers are way over the top against the "J's" or Pilots.....

 

[scottm4211]

I avoid them since the merger as the pumps dont recognize Canadian credit cards so I have to wait in line to pre pay, then go back in to get a proper receipt. Ridiculous.

 

[OntarioVanMan]

I avoid them since the merger as the pumps dont recognize Canadian credit cards so I have to wait in line to pre pay, then go back in to get a proper receipt. Ridiculous.

Because they want a Zip code...I had the same problem when I lived in Canada...

 

[scottm4211]

Because they want a Zip code...I had the same problem when I lived in Canada...

Got any room in the house?

 

[jjoerger]

We received almost $2000 in fuel discounts at T/A last year.
We only use the J's parking lot and restrooms. Sometimes we will eat at the Denny's. If we need a shower we will pay for one.

 

[Turtle]

To supply any service there is a cost...whether it is dumping, water or that extra towel...

The thing is, though, there was suddenly no additional cost whatsoever for the RV dump. The system is already directly tied in with the waste system (restrooms, showers, kitchen drains), and contrary to the generic statement, there has been no appreciable increase on sewage fees at any Flying J locations before or since Pilot took over the financial end of the truck stop business (at the Evansville Flying J location the monthly sewage fee rose by $6 a year ago). Pilot saw that as a service on which they could make a buck, rather than as an incentive for RV business.

RVers are used to paying through the nose for fees, so most haven't complained long and loud. They're used to getting screwed. They shouldn't be charging RVers anything at all, but what they've done is come up with a ridiculous $10 price, and then give RV Frequent Fueler card holders half off to make them think they're getting a deal. Professional drivers get a $7 discount, so we'd pay $3 and think it's an even better deal for something that shouldn't cost anything in the first place.

 

[LDB]

I just signed up using my old J card. It credited all my old purchases so I already am over the 500 gal. requirement for automatic pump start. I did the survey so in theory I have 500 points now, 200 for registering and 300 for the survey. It also says I have one shower credit that must be a bonus for those two things as well since I haven't fueled at either P/J in a few months. If it functions the way it did under the old J system, and it sounds like it will, I may switch back to them as the old J system was the most convenient by far.

 

[Turtle]

thats better than it was, but still doesnt make up for the way they handled the whole merger deal. they left alot of people out to dry when they did this thing.

Exactly. It is a true merger, but Pilot is calling the shots and they don't want anyone to forget it. The Pilot Way is the only way. I remember reading that after the merger that the two loyalty programs would remain separate temporarily, but would soon be merged into a new program with more features and benefits, and just as predicted, the "new" program became precisely the old Pilot Driver Payback program, without any new features or benefits at all (with the exception of 1/2 a shower credit for 25 gallons of diesel, and that was only due to initial outcry from van customers, but they didn't even get that one right). They figured that's the Pilot Way, and it'll be just fine for the Flying J locations. And they were pretty indignant about it in some e-mails and phone conversations.

Well, after the merger, when same store Flying J year-over-year sales took an immediate and significant drop, and didn't go back up, it didn't take them long to realize they needed to rethink their strategy.

The new program isn't something that has been in the works since before the merger, it's a scramble to win business back. Note the name, the Frequent Fueler Advantage. It's not the Pilot Driver Payback program anymore, it's so similar to the old Flying J Frequent Fueler card that it's laughable. Because of the name association, they're trying to get that lost Flying J business back. I really don't have any idea just how much business they lost, but in the words of someone at Pilot corporate in Knoxville, it was "significant".

Notice they have one card for Professional Drivers and one for RVers, but not one for Expediters (or Expeditors, as they call us), and there's nothing wrong with that. But on their Web page under Benefits, they specifically mention expediters even though there are no special expediter benefits, because they need the expediter business back. In the Survey, they ask if you are a diesel or a gas fueling expediter, irrespective of whether you are an O/O, and that's because they want to track how much business they can bring back from expediters, and to see if it's the gas or diesel vans that cost them the most business. They want us to think they are catering to expediters in the same way that the TA does, but they're not catering to us at all, other than as an afterthought to regain that lost business.


I used to use Pilot for fuel when there were no Flying Js around. Now I use Pilot when there are no TAs around. I'll use a Flying J when there are no other truck stops of any kind around, and even then only for enough fuel to get me to a TA is possible.

 

[OntarioVanMan]

I threw my TA card into a junk drawer..as it does me absolutely no good at this time...I get no discounts and have to accrue 50G's. 15 gallons at J or Pilot gets me 1 FULL shower credit..I get 15.1 and that is it...I fuel off interstate where the fuel is usually 10-15 cents cheaper...

 

[chefdennis]

I tossed my old Flyin "J" card in the trash when they told me they didn't want my business...yea I registered a new card I picked up after John told us about the program changes coming, but as I said, I'll only buy gas at the "J" or Pilot when there is no TA around and as Turtle said, just enough to get me to a TA and or the 15 gallons for the half credit....I still will not buy anything in the store, I might eat at the Dennys, for breakfest, but thats it.....

 

[ChrisGa23]

So if I read everything right starting after Jan 1 2011 our driver payback is now the frequent fuel and no need for a new card correct? And has does anyone know if they will now be allowing comdata to purchase gas at pumps?

 

[RLENT]

So if I read everything right starting after Jan 1 2011 our driver payback is now the frequent fuel and no need for a new card correct?

That's my understanding - however you will want to register your card at the website.

And has does anyone know if they will now be allowing comdata to purchase gas at pumps?

Dunno about that - I do know that the pump activation (turning on the pumps with your card) thing will only work if you are paying by credit card, debit card, or cash.

 

[Turtle]

I don't know any place that lets you buy gas the same way as diesel with a Comdata card, other than when you use the Comdata card as a debit card at the pumps, like at Walmart, Shell, anyplace that Maestro cards are accepted.