It may sound like a good deal. No matter how high or low the fuel prices get, people are always looking to buy their diesel cheaper than anywhere else. That is why many RV owners with diesel engines look at using Pacific Pride to save money. Sometimes it is a good deal and sometimes it is not.
The best answer to the question is Pacific Pride cheaper would depend on the amount of fuel you buy, when you buy it, and where you buy it from. According to reports, it is not always a good deal even if you get a pass on the monthly minimum purchase required.
To learn more about Pacific Pride, how it works, and if it is cheaper or not, just continue to read our article. It contains the information you want to know about to see if this fuel purchase option is right for you. It may or may not be the best way to get your fuel.
Yes and no. The card lock fuel purchase system may be a bit cheaper when you are fueling up at one of the Pacific Pride actual locations. But if you are using one of their cards and purchasing fuel from one of the company's 58,000 partners, then it may not be cheaper.
While some owners have reported that the fuel at Pacific Pride is cheaper in some areas of the country, it is not cheaper than the diesel fuel you can buy from anyone of its competitors in any given city.
What makes it hard to calculate the price difference is that you do not get to see the price per gallon when you fuel up at a Pacific Pride station until you see your bill.
Here is the formula that Pacific Pride uses to attach a per gallon cost to your fuel bill- Pacific Pride Fuel Prices = OPIS rack average + freight rate + fuel use margin + fuel card providers margin + tax.
The rack average means the fuel source that delivers fuel to the Pacific Pride tanks. As you can see, there are many additional charges that can leave your per gallon fuel cost at this gas station higher than at a regular retail gas outlet.
Unlike retail gas and diesel outlets, Pacific Pride does not have the price per gallon at their pumps or on any sign at their gas stations. You will not find out the price per gallon for the fuel you bought until you receive your bill.
The price per gallon is levied based on the previous day's crude oil prices and it will fluctuate constantly. You have to wait to see your bill, then make some comparisons with your local stations to see if you are getting a cheaper price or not.
Not all Pacific Pride users have found that they are getting a deal. But then the benefit for them is that they just fuel up and go and do not have to wait in line for other RV or car owners to pay their bills.
Then if you use their gas card at one of their partners’ stations, you may pay a bit more as the partner will tack on their fee for the privilege of using the Pacific Pride card at their locations.
The fees are all listed in the equation above and numbers cannot be plugged in until you actually buy your fuel. Some owners have found that the Pacific Pride fuel charges can be 10 to 20 cents per gallon more than local gas outlets.
Once you sign up for a pacific pride membership, every vehicle in your fleet is issued a network access card. The card is then encoded with the restrictions your fuel purchasing policies have set. Those limitations include- the grade of fuel allowed, gallons allowed, time of day and day of week allowed, and more.
By issuing an access card to each vehicle you get better control over your fuel expenses and also prevent card misuse. Each driver is given their own unique Driver ID number which they have to input after putting the card into the slot.
He then inputs the odometer reading and then selects the type of fuel he will need. His ID number will also allow him to buy some fuel accessories like oil, DEF, and so on.
After the transaction is finished, the details of the purchase are recorded and made available on the Pacific Pride website. You can get the following information from a Pacific Pride card report:
- Card number
- Driver name
- Purchase
- Location
- Date + time
- Odometer reading
- MPG
- Product
- Quantity
- Discount
- Price per gallon
- Total amount of purchase
The company’s website does not say that everyone cannot join but there may be some rules and restrictions they are not advertising. Before you go to their website and sign up, you should talk to one of their franchisees and see what all requirements you have to meet.
There is an application form you have to fill out and it is very similar to a credit card application. The process looks very simple and you just need to go to this link to get started.
On the bottom right-hand side of the page, you will find some PDF files you can download for more information. Read through all the available files and still talk to a franchisee as we have heard there is a minimum of a 250 gallon per month purchase requirement.
Another possible restriction is that you may have to be a business owner, although there are exceptions to this rule. That is why you need to talk to a franchisee. You need to get all the facts first before you sign up.
The company does not seem to post any of its membership requirements on its website or its join now page. However, the state of Oregon has special rules for card-lock users.
- Business usage is required for gasoline card lock fleet card use in Oregon (not any other state).
- If you are using solely diesel, a commercial card lock is available to everyone (individuals and businesses).
- If you are planning on fueling gasoline vehicles, you must have a business license (or prove it’s for commercial use).
- To access gasoline at Cardlock in Oregon, you must be able to prove that you use over 900 gallons of fuel a year.
- To access gasoline at Cardlock in Oregon, someone in your business must also take an Oregon Fire Marshal Safety Test. (source)
Given the recent change in Oregon’s self-service law, these rules may have changed as well. It is best to talk to a franchisee to get all membership requirements before signing up.
The state of Oregon has different rules than its neighboring states when it comes to purchasing fuel. It is wise to be up on those rules if you are going to be traveling through that state in the near future.
One of the big differences between these two card lock outlets is the number of actual stations each company owns. CFN owns over 2500 while Pacific Pride has over 1000 locations you can pull into.
Both are part of a network of retail outlets that number 57,000 stations in total. In other words despite the lack of physical stations you can use your Pacific Pride card just about anywhere you travel.
Other than that, there is no real difference between the two companies. Both companies have gallons per day limits, they charge according to the previous day’s crude prices, and on it goes.
If you go to one of the partners of either company, expect to pay a little markup for the use of your card at those partner locations. These are two card-lock companies that try to put a little convenience into your fuel purchasing time as well as protect your company from misuse or too many accessory purchases.
After your purchase, you get an e-receipt emailed to you so you know how much you have spent. Whether these companies are better or not remains to be seen. There have been mixed reports on fuel savings and they may not be a good deal if you do not own a small business with high fuel costs.
The Pacific Pride company must be doing something right or it would not still be in business. Its biggest problem is that it is not the largest card-lock company out there.
It is hard to say if you save money per gallon or not. There are too many fees added to the initial cost to make this worth it if you do not buy a lot of fuel every year. The hype makes it sound great though.