By Russ and Tiña De Maris
Last week we sang the praises of the TSD RV Fuel Program, whereby members receive substantial discounts on diesel purchases when fueling up at network truck stops. We weren’t aware of how many of our readers had already cottoned on to this great program until we were flooded with reader comments, most of which substantiated our view of the program.
Somewhere along the line, Google Search picked up the story, and labeled it a “press release.” From there, it went far and wide, eventually ending up in the offices of the Good Sam Club. What we thought were beautiful, harmonious notes of praise were anything but that in the ears of the Good Sam folks. Seems that Sam has an exclusive discount program with Pilot/Flying J. RVers are only to receive discounts on fuel purchases at these branded outlets IF they have a Good Sam membership card.
The folks at the TSD program weren’t aware of this arrangement until they got a call from Pilot’s management. The discount program that TSD had with Pilot for about four months or so is suddenly being canceled. Pilot has to honor its agreement with Good Sam.
So the good news/bad news is this: If you have a Good Sam Club membership, your card will get you a few cents off fuel at Pilot/Flying J outlets, as opposed to the much greater discount you could’ve had there in the past with the TSD fuel card. We understand that a deal is a deal, and we certainly don’t hold it against TSD that this discount has vanished.
Happily, in our experience, there’s often a Love’s truck stop not too far away from a Pilot/Flying J. So for our money, we’ll continue to use the TSD RV Discount program. Matter of fact, just across town from us today, Love’s diesel with our TSD discount card is $2.405 per gallon. At the Pilot station a few blocks away, the posted price is $2.959 cash price. Knock off a few cents for the Good Sam discount and we’re still miles ahead. According to GasBuddy, the cheapest diesel in town for the everyday Joe is $2.879 at Chevron, credit price.
We want to thank our readers who responded last week, both with their comments and by the overwhelming interest that they showed to the TSD program home office.
##RVT938
Everyone knows friends don’t let friends buy from Camping World.
Or their Good Sams.
I formerly used the FJ route mapping to locate overnight FJ stops with RV parking — this has now become quite impossible … What do you guys recommend as replacement ??
Not to hijack, but where is everybody going to get roadside assistance if they are dropping Good Sams?
I have had AAA plus with RV for years. Thank you, Melinda
I am going to create a checking account for only fuel while traveling. Thank you so much for the info.
We have started using the TSD fuel card at mostly Loves truck stops. It has saved us a fortune on diesel during a recent cross country move! Sometimes over $1 per gallon off the advertised price. Sure, I have to use the high volume truck pumps, and I also move forward from the pump as quickly as possible. But, the savings are fantastic!
– A happy RVer!
What a bully. In the end, it’s all about the mighty dollar, I mean mighty cents.
Yes, I understand a deal is a deal. But these are different times. This is a scary time for people that have no money or little money.
Why not use a contract amendment? It’s too much paperwork. right?
The GS discount is pennies on a gallon. Costco Visa gets you 4% (yes, have to wait for the return until early the following year) and when diesel is $4 a gallon in California that equates to 16 cents a gallon discount, much better. Also, I’m finding that Pilot/Flying J is switching over to Bio-Diesel so I do not buy it and move on to another station that sells Diesel #2. I’ve had several mechanics tell me to never put Bio-Diesel into my motorhome as it will ruin my engine and shorten it’s life among other issues.
GS is getting worse every year and has become no longer the great place for RVers that it once was. Check out FMCA for better deals on travel assist, roadside and other benefits.
How is it that good Sam can impose this level of control? I’m not a good Sam member, what right do they have to take the TSD program away from me? Not a happy camper. Suggest current good Sam members become previous good Sam members. Why would GS want to prevent it’s membership from getting a bigger discount on fuel. There must be $$$ involved!
Full disclosure, my GS membership ends in June and I have no intention of renewing.
I Just let mine go, been tired of there crappy attitudes at Camping World and. Marcus has brought down all of if. Well be looking for another group that offers close to what the old good Sam did. Any ideas let me know kenpooler@gmail.com
What’s a TSD card?
Hi, Roy. The TSD card/program is explained in the first article in this series: https://www.rvtravel.com/diesel-937b/ The third (follow-up) article will be this weekend (probably in Saturday’s newsletter). 😀 —Diane at RVtravel.com
I used my TSD card at pilot in Kentucky Monday night and got the discount..
The spelling and grammar errors nearly make this article unreadable. It’s sad what folks consider acceptable for publication.
I beg your pardon, Jeff? I just proofed it again, thinking that maybe there had been changes made after I proofed it originally. Yeah, I took out a couple of possibly unnecessary commas, but that was it. Would you tell me where all the errors are that “nearly make this article unreadable,” please? Thank you. —Diane at RVtravel.com
As a retired court reporter of forty years’ practice and with yearly required professional classes — including punctuation usage — I only found two possible punctuation errors, and I’m picky and knowledgeable. Actually, the punctuation overall was almost an A+.
Good sams is part of Camping World. If you’ve ever dealt with camping world that’s all you need to know.
As you noted….a deal IS a deal. Work hard with Pilot/Flying J and get the TSD program extended to this broad network. Given how you have generally been uber-critical of the GS organization it will be a tough negotiation. As members we expect you to work for OUR best interest even if it means setting aside personal/corporate opinions when it serves the greater good. I look forward to a future update on how you have worked this out. Full transparency I am not a diesel user but assume a good portion of our members are. Thanks in advance for working on our behalf.
So, it sounds like your story was the catalyst for GS to invoke their contract clause with Pilot.
Good Sam and the whole Lemonis universe now sucks!
Another reason I am a Sams Club member. Better gas prices for its members.
Sams Club or Good Sam?
I’ve gotten nothing less then 50 cents savings per gallon with TSD card. You save only 7 cents with Good Sam’s.
Leave it to Camping World to screw up a good thing. When the contract with them is up, I sure hope Flying J and Pilot tell them to stuff their deal!
What about us guys to north that purchase fuel in litres. Any P/FJ sites honouring this for gas purchases?
A little late in responding but the short answer is No. We tried using it on our way to Alaska this summer for work (with the necessary paperwork to cross the border) and found that it didn’t work in Canada. Also this card is for diesel only, not gasoline.
It has nothing to do with GS. As much as I don’t like them or Camping World, they had nothing to do with this. Even TSD will tell you that. It’s a contract issue between TSD and P/FJ. Just trying to get the facts straight.
Well, I try my best NOT to use any P/FJ, their prices are usually 15 to 20 cents per gallon higher on average than everybody else. When I was an over the road driver and P/FJ really started coming on the scene, they were always the cheapest on fuel, but when they caught on to the business they starting going up immediately!!!
You really should have got the full scoop from TSD Logistics before publishing this article.
Pilot/ Flying J is a recent addition to their program and just started offering more than a 5 cent discount within the last couple of months. TSD claims to have recieved clearance from a now former P/FJ employee to have RVs as part of their negotiated price.
Once Good Sam told P/FS that his broke their contract, P/FJ tools TSD that they couldn’t allow RVers. TSD said they would not differentiate between their truckers and the RVers, so P/FJ and TSD parted ways. TSD’s truckers no longer get a discount at P/FJ either.
It’s my understanding that the EFS card with TSD’s name on it will still work at P/FJ, but there will be no discount.
Thank you for posting this. You are absolutely correct and RV travel needs to post a retraction/correction.
I’m not sure what in the article you’re claiming is inaccurate. The article clearly states the P/FJ discount is gone. Doesn’t say you can’t use the TSD card there though. Or am I missing your point
Loves had the best prices wherever I went. I have been using for 4 months and I have only stopped at Loves