NASTC Membership question

That was how I viewed it, I was hit with a barrage of other services that required a monthly premium charge for things like a safety program, which I don't need.

I don't go back east and can't attend an orientation. An orientation which appears to be like a time share sales pitch. I'm sure for guys it's worth it and more power to you.

 

Make up a dopey lease and tell them your leased on to said co...Get their card that way.

In the northeast it's hard to beat Nastc .

 

Just because cash works out on the left coast doesn't make it apply everywhere in the country. Like Cat^^ said, it can't be beat in the Northeast. Mom & Pop places here are just as high, if not higher, than the TA's & Petros. Plus most are ####holes owned by foreigners, hard to get in/out, have little parking, no showers, only have a few pumps, & you can't swipe the card at the pump. I like to get fuel and head on down the road, not walk in to hand them the card, go back out and pump, and walk back in to pay all while waiting in line 10 minutes each time.

 

The places I go to have plenty of pumps. One of them actually pumps the fuel for me.

Are you kidding about waiting in line?

Have you ever fueled at the TA in Ontario, CA? That place is a zoo. I've tried to get into that place where the line wraps all the way out onto the I-10. The place is dirty, the workers are rude and the showers suck.

Once again, different strokes for different folks. I live on the west coast and have no intentions of ever going back east or the deep south again, I don't like it there.

 

So, I followed up with the young lady who handles the fuel program for NASTC. After reviewing all the information she sent me, I emailed her and told her that I would be more than happy to pay the $250 annual fee for participation in the "cost plus" fuel program in addition to a nominal annual membership fee.

However, I told her that I could not make it back east to attend an orientation, nor was I interested in all the other services they offer like the drug testing program, etc.

That was over two weeks ago and she never responded to me. Which leads me to believe they use that orientation meeting as a means to try and get you to sign up for all the other "benefits" they offer, for a fee, of course.

Kind of like these places that offer you a $50 room at one of their resorts in lieu of attending their 3 hour timeshare sales pitch.

It's okay because in the interim, I became an approved asset based carrier for Landstar and they sent me a Comdata Card which is also tied to their SavingsPlus program, which includes a cost plus fuel savings program too. Cost plus .04 per gallon a TA & .03 at Petro.

TA has an 800 phone number set-up to check the cost plus price at any of their stations nationally.

I've been checking the prices on my particular routes. The numbers are definitely better than what was available to me at TA/Petro cash prices.

The best LESS IFTA prices for me are at TA Troutdale, OR & TA Aurora, OR.

However, there is still a gap of about .10 to .15 per gallon in the cost plus network in CA & WA, compared to what I can get at a couple of independents paying cash. At .10 more it makes it worthwhile for me to put in 50 gallons and get a shower credit which essentially would end up costing me $5.00 for the shower as opposed to $13.00 they charge now for their showers.

I know, I know, I'm a miser. However, in this business, every buck counts when you're a 1 man dog & pony show

 

The presentation is exactly like a time share deal -- just bite your tongue & sit through it as they try to sell you their insurance, their safety program, their fleet management software, etc

I did mine during the truck show in Louisville (gats or mats or something like that) so it was a tax write-off/semi-vacation.


Really, the main benefit for me is accruing free showers at national chains. Plus by paying at the pump I can pump 50 gallons in 3 times in the same amount of time it took me to walk inside, wait in line, pay cash, pump 150, walk back inside, get change/receipt. There is no swipe fee, so that's 3 showers instead of 1 if you just pumped 150 gallons. And I don't need the receipt because I get a transaction report/receipt emailed every day or two with the actual price I paid...

 

I am still a member of NASTC..
Fuel card did not work for me here in the south. I did better on my own.
Here lately they are pushing hard to sell you their fleet management software, so much so I am not going to subscribe to them when my dues comes up again.
Different areas may benefit from a NASTC fuel card, just not for me.

 

It's not useful on the west coast either, at least not for me, which is why I never bothered to succumb to the sales pitch.

 

Works well for me in the South and have never been pushed hard to buy anything from them. I get an envelope in the mail with advertisements from them every 3-4 weeks and it just hits the circular file like all the other junk mail. Not once has anyone from NASTC called soliciting me to do anything.

 

How did u get in the fuel program w/o having to do option 1 r 2