Summary. Fuel cards are a way for businesses that purchase a lot of fuel during their operations to track their purchases, get savings, and help prevent fraud. They’re primarily useful for businesses that buy over 1,000 gallons of fuel per month.
If a large part of your business model involves trucking goods or traveling, then having a fleet fuel card may be a good idea. They are specific to buying fuel and some vehicle maintenance, meaning that they’re a way to track how much you spend on your fleet. They’re also structured to have multiples, allowing you to give them to drivers that work for your business.
Key Takeaways:
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Fuel cards are primarily useful for businesses that purchase over 1,000 gallons of fuel per month.
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Some fuel cards will be brand specific, such as BP, Shell, or ExxonMobil, while others are more general, like Fuelman, AtoB, and WEX.
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Fuel cards are used for fuel and some vehicle maintenance. That helps your business save on these costs, as well as making it easier to track them.
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Many fuel cards have additional protections, such as limiting how much can be spent on them and when, as well as fraud protection and odometer tracking.
What Is a Fleet Fuel Card?
Often shortened to a fleet card or fuel card, a fleet fuel card is, essentially, a business credit card used for buying fuel. Many of these cards will also allow for some vehicle maintenance costs. They shouldn’t be confused with a gas station rewards program, in which anyone can participate in.
Fuel cards are aimed at businesses that purchase over 1,000 gallons a month of fuel. This can range from a small business with only a few trucks or vans to a nationwide trucking company with thousands of vehicles.
Best Fuel Cards
Due to the fact that businesses have so many individualizing factors (such as size, fleet type, and typical routes), it’s impossible to list an undisputed best fuel card. That being said, the options can be overwhelming and difficult to compare. Our list of recommended fuel cards can give you an idea of where to look and what to look for when choosing a fuel card for your fleet.
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WEX. This is a company that specializes in fuel cards, offering about 70 different fleet cards. With that much variety, you’re likely to find something to suit your needs. In addition, WEX has a huge network, covering up to 95% of U.S. fuel stations. Their basic card offers a $0.03 per gallon rebate and has no setup or annual fees.
There are additional benefits, such as accounting, reports that you can customize, and the fact that you can carry a balance on the card. While that’s not generally advisable – you pay interest just as with any credit card – it can help you when cash flow is tight and gives you more flexibility over what bills to pay and when.
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BP. As you’d expect, the BP Business Solutions Fuel Plus card from BP requires you to use it at either BP or Amaco locations. However, BP also offers a Mastercard that you can use at any location that accepts Mastercard. It offers a fair amount of control for the card owner, such as having settings for driver IDs or odometer readings for purchases.
It does have a monthly $10 fee, though that will be waived if you purchase more than 5,000 gallons of fuel per month. It has a high-interest rate if you carry a balance – the usual 14.99% – 23.99% range.
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Shell. The only card option from Shell requires you to use Shell stations, but it’s accepted at the vast majority of them. It doesn’t have any card fees and has controls such as limiting when and how much your drivers can purchase fuel. In addition, it’s accepted at some Jiffy Lube locations for routine maintenance.
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Fuelman. This is another universal card, like WEX. Like WEX, Fuelman offers several different cards depending on your needs. Their Fuelman Simple Saver Plus card, however, offers $0.10 off per gallon at six different gas stations (Speedway, Kwik Trip, TA, Petro, TA Express, and PetroSS2) as well as $0.02 off at other Fuelman locations.
In addition, it helps you with fuel and tax reporting, including fraud monitoring and roadside assistance for divers. While the Plus and Premium cards have higher monthly fees, they also allow you to get loyalty bonuses and points.
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ExxonMobil. While this is a brand-specific card, ExxonMobil has over 12,000 locations, making it one of the biggest networks. Additionally, with an additional $40 set-up fee, it can be expanded to cover 95% of U.S. fueling stations.
It offers up to $0.06 per gallon back when buying fuel from either Exxon or Mobil brand fuel stations. In addition, it has the option to set alerts if drivers spend more than the allotted amount and to require them to enter odometer information in order to confirm mileage reporting.
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AtoB. These fleet cards are accepted anywhere. Their primary selling point is that they have no fees. Most fuel cards do, be they a monthly service fee, a setup fee, or a per-card fee.
In addition, it can track your usage, has protections for card misuse, and allows you to set spending limits. It can also be used for maintenance costs, tolls, and insurance for your fleet vehicles.
Benefits of Fuel Cards
Fuel cards can have several different benefits for your business. The benefits and savings that they offer can make a huge difference in a business’s expenses if they have a large fleet of vehicles. But a fuel card can even help businesses with smaller fleets, even down to just a handful of vans or trucks.
Here are the primary benefits of having a fuel card.
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Fuel discounts. The primary reason to get a fuel card is for the discounts they offer on buying fuel. Fuel can be a huge expenditure if you’re involved in trucking and shipping or even have to travel extensively for your business – such as when you work a trade.
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Added security. As it’s a business credit card, it’ll have built-in fraud protection, as well as safeguards if a card is misplaced or stolen. In addition, almost all of these cards can only be used to buy fuel or pay for vehicle maintenance. That limits both the temptation and the risk of them being misused.
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Vehicle maintenance discounts. In addition to getting discounts on fuel purchases, many fuel cards will offer discounts on vehicle maintenance expenditures. Having well-maintained and functional vehicles is extremely important in a business that requires regular travel, and this makes it more affordable and easier.
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Way to monitor business expenses. The majority of cards will include benefits such as tracking fuel expenses for you. Fuel expenses are often a large part of your budget, so that saves you and your accounting department a lot of time. Some cards will offer more detailed information as well, such as tax information and individualized tracking.
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Ease of use. Due to the fact that these cards are designed with the notion of giving them to your drivers for the purchase of fuel, they make it simple. Not only are you able to get a large number of cards to hand out to your drivers, but they’re also built to make it easy for the drivers to use.
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Wide variety of options. There is a multitude of options when it comes to fuel cards, allowing you to select the best one for your individual business’s needs. That gives you the option to choose what you prioritize and select a card that promotes those options.
Author
Di Doherty
Di has been a writer for more than half her life. Most of her writing so far has been fiction, and she’s gotten short stories published in online magazines Kzine and Silver Blade, as well as a flash fiction piece in the Bookends review. Di graduated from Mary Baldwin College (now University) with a degree in Psychology and Sociology.
