If you’ve ever lived near a place with a Buc-ee’s, you probably know how passionate their fanbase can be.
Few truck stops have achieved the beloved status of Buc-ee’s. People travel from all over the country to sample its cuisine, take pictures with its mascot, and even pick up some of the chain’s merchandise.
Despite the love, not everyone has a positive experience with the truck stop. For example, one user on TikTok recently had such a bad time during their visit to Buc-ee’s that they ended up destroying their “$200 worth of bucees merch.” But what went so wrong as to cause this reaction?
What Went Wrong On This Trip To Buc-ee’s?
In a video with over 813,000 views, TikTok user Griffin McCarty (@griffin.mccarty) shows himself ripping Buc-ee’s stickers off of his car. He also drop kicks a Buc-ee’s plushie.
“getting rid of my $200 worth of bucees merch bc they tried leaving me stranded,” he writes in the text overlaying the video.
In the caption, he elaborates on what exactly happened.
“Drove 30 miles to bucees to use one of their giftcards for gas just to be told i can’t use it for gas???” the TikToker writes. “got $4 in my account and 10 miles in my tank and literally can’t even get back home without getting gas money from my parents.”
In the comments, McCarty clarifies, “ik it’s crazy that i drove that far but i didn’t have any money to buy gas and it said online i could use the giftcard and i really really needed gas so it made sense in my head at the time.”
Can You Buy Gas With A Buc-ee’s Gift Card?
If you search “Can you buy gas with a Buc-ee’s gift card?” on Google, the AI overview will confidently state that yes, one can buy gas with a Buc-ee’s gift card.
In reality, the situation is a bit more complicated.
According to MySanAntonio, it appears that, at one point, customers were allowed to use Buc-ee’s gift cards to buy fuel. A December 2024 article from the publication quotes Buc-ee’s general counsel Jeff Nadalo around the time of the gift cards’ launch as saying, “The gift cards can be used for anything that Buc-ee’s sells, including fuel purchased inside the store.”
As that statement implies, actually using the gift cards required a bit of work. An internet discussion of the gift cards saw complaints about how the gift cards could not be used at the pump. Instead, shoppers had to prepay for their gasoline with the gift cards.
However, it seems that the policy may have changed recently. A user on the r/Buceestx subreddit claimed that, as of March 1, 2026, Buc-ee’s is no longer accepting gift cards for fuel purchases. Another commenter in the thread echoed this statement, though it does not appear that there is official confirmation from Buc-ee’s about this apparent policy change.
Why Is This Happening?
Again, as Buc-ee’s has not put out a statement clarifying the status of this alleged policy change, much of the online debate on the topic is pure speculation.
That said, there may be a reason why some shoppers are finding they can no longer use their gift cards at Buc-ee’s when paying for fuel.
According to another article in MySanAntonio, Buc-ee’s recently made the switch to only allowing card payment at the pump when paying for gas. This means that customers can no longer prepay for gas inside when using a credit or debit card.
As gift card payments required a customer to go inside, this new policy could effectively stop gift card holders from using them to buy fuel.
Commenters Aren’t Sympathetic
In the comments section, many users questioned McCarty’s decisions—both his choice to drive to Buc-ee’s to get gas, and his decision to get rid of his Buc-ee’s merchandise as a result of what happened.
“You can always call and ask ahead of time. Don’t know why people don’t think of this more often,” said a user.
“Okay… that wasn’t the smartest. A lot of gift cards don’t let you use them for gas. Should have checked it out before driving that far,” added another. “But second tell people your situation. Someone I’m sure will trade you cash for your gift card, once you have proved to them there is money on the GC. Just what I would do at least.”
“If I’m in desperate need of gas I’m not driving 30 miles,” declared a third. “That 30 miles coulda been doordash or something to get at least $20 for my tank.”
@griffin.mccarty drove 30 miles to bucees to use one of their giftcards for gas just to be told i can’t use it for gas??? got $4 in my account and 10 miles in my tank and literally can’t even get back home without getting gas money from my parents…. #bucees #staugustine #boycott @aryia
BroBible reached out to Buc-ee’s via email and McCarty via Instagram direct message and comment.