Have an answer in your head? OK, now what if you need to use the restroom? Hot food? Ten Zyn packets and a Powerball ticket?
Last week, the Arizona subreddit embroiled itself in that very debate. “Team QT or team circle k?” the post title reads, and below it are more than 450 comments taking a side.
For many, it’s not much of a matchup at all, like asking whether Michael Jordan or Joe Biden would win a slam dunk contest. As one Reddit user put it: “Are they even at the same level of classification? One is like a Dillard’s and the other one is a Walmart.”
Then again, QT isn’t quite the Valley mainstay Circle K is, others pointed out. “I love QT but I will always be loyal to my girl Cindy at my local CK,” said one person.
Here’s how the debate played out.
Gas savings
If Circle K has an advantage, it’s gas. The fuel isn’t always cheaper, but the company has its Inner Circle rewards program. If you pop into a Circle K enough — and really, who in Arizona can avoid doing so — you’re wasting your money without it.“Depends on what I need,” one user wrote. “If it is only gas: whichever has cheaper gas. With that, I have a Circle K card, so it might save me a few cents per gallon.”
The Inner Circle program saves you 25 cents a gallon on your first few fill-ups. Then it’s 3 or 5 cents a gallon after that. Some days, Circle K offers a whopping 40 cents off per gallon.
By contrast, QT discontinued its reward system in 2024.
“...I know QT now offers their app… but I prefer Circle K’s program,” one user wrote.
Both companies offer their own payment programs. Circle K’s EasyPay links to your bank account, paying directly from your checking account and saves you 10 cents a gallon. QT Pay uses the same system, though it allows you to scan a QR code and pay through your phone. It also saves you a couple of cents per gallon.
Food and drink
Where to sate your hunger and thirst? That depends. Are you hungry, or are you thirsty?“Ok hear me out,” wrote one user with very specific tastes. “Circle K has Mountain Dew Voltage on tap and it’s only 79 cents for any size. So Circle K.”
Circle K’s fountain drinks are 79 cents at all locations. QT’s soda price changes depending on the location but is generally about $1.29.
If your tummy’s rumbling, you might make a different choice, though.
“As a general rule, I’m team QT. The food is surprisingly good for the price,” one person wrote. “Order fresh, don’t grab and go. The sub sandwiches are actually pretty fire (for the price) when made to order, and that chicken bacon ranch flatbread is the best use of 5 bucks I’ve come across in ages.
Reddit has already debated its favorite QT foodstuffs, with the chicken bacon ranch flat bread, pretzels and breakfast croissants among the winners. Circle K has its fans, though, especially of its cookies and BBQ sandwiches.
Cleanliness and service
This was no contest. Though Circle K has recently refurbished some of its stores, QTs are consistently well-scrubbed.“QT: everything is clean and organized, I get in and out in like 2 minutes,” one user wrote. “Circle K: one poor soul running the whole store and I get stuck behind an old person taking ten minutes to buy damn lottery tickets.”
Another QT fan added that “the cleanliness of the store is worth the higher prices. A third put it this way: “QT got the same workers as In-N-Out. Circle K got the same as Goodwill.” That … might be a little unfair to the good folks at Goodwill.
QT and Circle K simply have different vibes — if you’d call what Circle K has a “vibe.” Much of the thread was spent finding creative ways to rag on Circle K, the ubiquitous (if skeevy) Valley staple.
“Well that answer depends on your meth usage,” one person wrote. “None: QT. All of the meth: Circle K.”
“Depends what your shopping for,” added another. “Gas? Decent food? Drinks? Definitely QT Drugs? A random hookup that might leave you itchin? The adrenaline of dodging panhandlers? Then you’re looking for Circle K” another said.
Circle K has some advantages another wrote — now and perhaps in a post-apocalyptic future. “I powered through the pandemic with my lungs unscathed,” they wrote, “because being a regular at circle k boosted my immune tenfold.”
Added another: “Circle K is great for a life or death gamble to get a foam cup.”
OK, we’re calling it. QT is the clear winner. But no gas station generates the quality of jokes as Circle K.
