Are you really saving big on RV fuel? Let’s do the math. You may be surprised. These are examples of some of the most popular methods that RVers are using to pay for the fuel that powers them to that next exciting place of interest.
Pilot Flying J RV Plus Card
This is a charge card from Pilot Flying J. You must apply for and be approved to receive a card.
The savings are:
$.08 discount per gallon savings
Good Sam Membership Instant Fuel Discounts
This is a benefit included with your Good Sam membership. There is a fee to obtain a Good Sam membership.
The savings are:
$.08 discount per gallon savings
TSD Logistics Fuel Program
https://www.tsdlogistics.com/services/fuel-program/
There is no cost to join this program yet they do charge a transaction fee. The TSD fee is 10% of the savings per gallon at the pump. There may also be an additional gas station fee. Fuel prices with this program will vary by location. These are the 2 participating stations in my current area. These are the current prices.
T/A Travel Center
Regular price per gallon of $3.29
Discounted price at T/A is $2.91
$.38 discount per gallon savings
TSD fee of $.04
Transaction fee of $.02
$.32 total adjusted discount per gallon savings
Love’s Travel Stop
Regular price per gallon of $3.24
Discounted price at Love’s is $3.08
$.16 discount per gallon savings
TSD fee of $.02
Transaction fee of $.01
$.13 total adjusted discount per gallon savings
My Diesel Savings Program
https://www.mydieselsavings.com/rv-program
To join this program there is a $10 application fee. MDS Fuel program applies a $2.00 transaction fee to each purchase. Fuel prices with this program also vary by location. T/A Travel Center is the only participating station in my current area. These are the current prices.
T/A Travel Center
Regular price per gallon of $3.29
Discounted price is $3.07
$.22 discount per gallon savings
MDS fee of $.06
$.16 total adjusted discount per gallon savings
Discover Cash Back
With the Discover credit card, you get cashback on all purchases. Usually, it is 1%, but at certain times of the year it can be as high as 5% back on things like fuel purchases. Below I will show both savings using an estimate of $3.00 per gallon price.
$.03 discount per gallon savings at 1%
$.15 discount per gallon savings at 5%
Combined Savings
You can also use the Discover card in addition to the following discount programs to increase your savings.
Good Sam Membership Instant Fuel Discounts paying with Discover
$.11 discount per gallon savings at 1%
$.23 discount per gallon savings at 5%
My Diesel Savings Program paying with Discover
$.19 discount per gallon savings at 1%
$.31 discount per gallon savings at 5%
Conclusion
The best non-discounted price I could locate on GasBuddy for diesel in the area at the time I wrote this was $2.99. This was at a station quite a bit off the freeway and not very RV-friendly. The nearby RV-friendly options listed above non-discounted amounts ranged from $3.29 to $3.21.
The RV fuel savings program that offered the largest discount was the TSD Logistics Fuel Program when used at the local T/A Travel Center. This left an adjusted price of $2.97 per gallon. This price is even lower than the gas station in town and the station is very easy to access and RV-friendly.
All calculations we made using the fill-up of a 35-gallon tank.