Best Fuel Cards for Your Fleet

Fuel spending is a big concern for carriers and truckers. And finding the best fleet fuel card for your truckers can help control fuel spending, improve expense tracking, and offer convenient perks to your truckers through rewards programs and loyalty bonuses. Depending on how many gallons of fuel your company is purchasing per month, you may save a significant amount of money on fuel costs.

Do truckers get fuel discounts?

Truck drivers can get fuel discounts or rebates at many fuel stations and truck stops across the country. We’re going to break down some of the most popular fuel cards for truckers and fleets so you can decide which fleet fuel cards are right for your company. 

Which fuel card has the best discount?

RTS has the fuel card with the best average discount at 25 cents per gallon of diesel fuel. However, RTS has a very limited network of gas stations and truck stops. It doesn’t require a contract or any annual fees. So if you have a few routes with participating locations on them, this may be worth getting just for the discount since it won’t cost you anything to sign up. 

Who has the best fleet fuel program?

It’s tough to decide which fleet fuel program is the best. It all depends on your fleet’s needs. Do your truckers need a card that is strictly rewards and discounts, or do you want your drivers to have a payment card? What fuel stations are your drivers filling up at most frequently? Do you want a card that is specific to one brand? Do you have set spending limits for each driver? Do you need online account management? Does the card offer roadside assistance or discounts at certain roadside maintenance locations? Consider what is important to you and your fleet before deciding on a fleet fuel card.

These are some of the best fleet fuel cards that are popular with carriers large and small.

WEX Fleet Crossroads Card

WEX cards can be used at 95% of fuel stations in the United States, which makes it one of the most popular fleet fuel cards around. It offers a substantial discount on fuel purchases at 15 cents per gallon on average. It can also be used at a number of truck stops, including Pilot Flying J, Love’s, TA, and many more independent brands. It's suitable for fleets of all sizes, and fleets with a variety of different vehicle types. 

Fuelman Deep Saver Card

Fuelman’s Deep Saver Card is great if you’re concerned about fraud. This card provides real-time alerts for potentially fraudulent transactions. And there are over 40,000 fuel stations in the Fuelman network. It does have relatively expensive monthly fees, and if you use it outside of the network, there’s a $5 per transaction fee. But it offers strong coverage and an average discount of 8 cents per gallon of diesel. It’s suitable for small and large sized fleets.

Comdata

The Comdata card offers a lot in terms of convenience for your truckers. It offers fuel discounts at Pilot Flying J truck stops across the country and 65% off tires and retreads at over 3,000 locations. As Comdata cardholders your truckers will be able to use their convenient mobile apps, like their CAT Scale app that allows drivers to find and pay for scale transactions with no parking or waiting. The monthly card fee is $5 per card, which is not the cheapest available, and the network of fuel stations is smaller at about 8,000 locations nationwide. 

Brand-Specific Cards

BP, Shell, and ExxonMobil all offer fleet cards for trucking companies. And if your drivers can access those stations easily and frequently, they may be a good solution for your fleet. Keep in mind that these cards can’t be used at competing fuel stations without incurring fees, and your drivers may not be able to fill up with cheaper fuel if it’s not in the network. These cards are very popular with carriers that operate local or regional routes, where they know, for example, that their drivers will have no trouble finding a Shell station. And the discounts on fuel can be significant if your truckers are purchasing a lot of diesel. 

What is the best fuel card for an owner-operator?

As an owner-operator you may not need the fleet services that many of these cards offer. You should figure out which fuel stations and truck stops you are fueling up at most frequently, and sign up for their rewards cards. You can also get a credit card that offers a rebate or discount on fuel.

Without the fleet management features, the costs of the rewards and discount programs should be low or even free. Many of the fleet management cards we have highlighted here may be more than you need as an independent driver since you don’t need spending controls or other fleet management features. You’re better off using a business solutions Mastercard that doesn’t offer robust purchase tracking and spending limits.