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Best Gas Stations to Stop at With Kids
Avoid sketchy gas stations and save money too!
It is inevitable, one of the kids always interrupts a road trip with “I need to go to the bathroom”. We try to shoot for stopping every 2 hours on our trips. Sometimes we make it longer between stops and sometimes not.
For these stops we usually choose gas stations because that gives us the opportunity to fuel up as well, making for fewer overall stops.
But some gas stations look run down or otherwise really sketchy. One time we stopped at a Dairy Queen because the nearby gas stations were very suspicious looking. But the men’s bathroom there was out of service 🤦♂️.
In all our traveling these are some of the better gas stations that we look for when making pit stops.
Table of contents
- 1) Bucc-ee’s
- 2) Love’s
- 3) Pilot/Flying-J
- 4) Sheetz
- 5) Quick Trip
- 6) Speedway
- How to Get Cash Back on Gas
1) Bucc-ee’s
Everyone should go to Bucc-ee’s at least once. It is partially a destination in and of itself. It takes everything about a convenience store gas station and dials it up to 11. They’ve got all sorts of snacks, drinks, food, and even a large section of merchandise. We always end up walking away with some of their roasted cashews.
And on top of that all, they have really nice restrooms. Well worth a stop if you come across one (you’ll know when there is one nearby because they put billboards up several hundred miles away).
2) Love’s
Love’s isn’t famous like Bucc-ee’s but they generally have nice stores and bathrooms. On occasion we’ve picked up some lunch there. It certainly isn’t cheap for the 7 of us, but it does beat going to fast food all the time.
With their Love’s Connect App, you can save $0.10 per gallon when you get gas from them.
3) Pilot/Flying-J
Similar to Love’s, Pilot and Flying-J locations are generally good quality.
Also similar to Love’s they have a rewards app, but as far as I can tell they don’t offer a consistent discount on gas like Love’s.
4) Sheetz
Sheetz is a smaller chain, but I’m including it on this list because it is prominent where Katie and I grew up in Pennsylvania. They don’t have the range of some of the larger gas station chains, but they are pretty consistent in their quality and make a good stop on a road trip in the northeastern part of the United States.
They have a rewards app like so many others and offer a consistent $0.03 discount per gallon. Not as much as some of the other chains, but it can add up.
5) Quick Trip
Quick Trip (QT) gas stations aren’t as wide spread as Love’s or Pilot, but they are good quality gas stations. Our only complaint is that the men’s and women’s bathrooms are usually on opposite ends of the building.
They do have a gas discount program, but we haven’t used it yet, so I can’t comment on how good it is.
6) Speedway
Speedway is the last on this list because we’ve found their quality to be underwhelming sometimes. But in the absence of our other preferences, Speedway does rank higher than random other gas stations.
How to Get Cash Back on Gas
No matter where you stop for a potty break or to get gas, check out the Upside app. You can get cash back on gas, groceries, and dining out. Once you have an account you can find offers nearby on the app’s map.
You simply claim an offer, purchase gas/food/whatever, and then tell Upside which form of payment you used (or upload a receipt). After a few days, you’ll get cash back in the app. You can then convert that into gift cards for various different retailers (Amazon, Starbucks, and Bass Pro Shops to name a few) or deposit it into your bank account.
Not every store of a chain has offers through Upside and offer amounts tend to change, so check the app before making an assumption.
If you use our promo code 428T9D or referral link you can get an extra 15 cents per gallon bonus on your first purchase through Upside!
