Complete Guide: Fuel Cards for Trucks and Fleets (2023)

You’ve probably heard much stuff from people in the transportation industry about fuel cards for trucking companies and fleets. Studies have found that 95.2% is spent on operating expenses for every dollar earned by the average American trucking company. That means leaving only 4.8 cents of profit.

The use of fuel cards for small trucking firms can help them save money, particularly on diesel fuel. Therefore, fuel cards for fleets can make a difference in helping carriers of any size to accumulate those savings.

You should understand the details and function of fleet fuel cards for small businesses before choosing the right type for your fleet. We personally reviewed fuel cards and did all the research for you. The answers to some questions on fuel cards, as well as how they work, are given below.

What Is A Fuel Card?

Fuel cards are fuel-related payment credit cards. And the fuel cards for fleets, though, are more like a payment mechanism, which is much better and safer than credit cards.

The fuel cards for fleets are not only used to buy fuel, but a few fuel cards also allow for additional items such as toll payments and other purchases in the forecourt, such as lubricants, carwashes, etc.

In addition to being given to a specific driver or assigned to a particular truck, these fuel cards for trucks can also be restricted with daily spending caps to keep your fuel budget in check.

Who Uses Fuel Cards?

For fuel cards for fleets, the average users are over-the-road transport companies that purchase diesel for their commercial vehicles at truck stops.

These fuel cards for trucks are intended to benefit carriers from a single rig to hundreds of vehicles ranging in size.

There are four different types of users of fuel cards for commercial trucks: commercial carriers, less-than-truckload carriers, private companies, and owner-operators.

How Do I Use My Fleet Fuel Card?

The fuel cards for fleets work just like any credit or debit card, with the exception that, with them, you can buy only fuel (and also other goods related to motoring).

The fuel cards for truck drivers allow drivers to fill up and pay with their fuel card at one of the supplier’s networks of fuel stations. And the fleet company is directly charged, probably at the end of the month.

Even though fuel cards for trucks come with their fees, interest is not added to purchases. Some card providers are also offering fuel discount cards for truckers.

Some fuel cards allow you to pay for carwash credits, vehicle accessories, and parking at a certain place with fuel cards for vehicles, as well as purchase fuel and oil.

Where Can I Use A Fleet Card?

Each fuel card issuer uses a different network of petrol stations. Some fuel cards are limited to one gas station, although others allow you to use multiple locations, including supermarkets.

The size of the network can sometimes be a distinct restriction on use.

What Are The Best Fuel Cards For Truckers?

Fleet fuel cards for trucks help you plan the costs of upgrading your fleet better. These cards also help you stay in control of your workforce. The first thing to keep in mind is that not all fuel cards for trucks work with every gas station, and even if one offers better discount rates, it may not be the best option for your fleet.

However, that has not stopped other companies from making investments in fuel cards for trucks. And about 73% of small fleet companies invest in a fuel card for small fleets to reduce fuel spending.

If you wonder how to get fuel cards for truckers, now is the time to start using fuel cards for new businesses.

After reviewing so many options, we found some of the best fuel cards you can choose from. Here are the details: 

1. WEX Fleet FlexCard

More than 400,000 fleet companies are using WEX fuel cards for truckers. That’s an impressive figure. And this is partly down to their 3¢ per gallon rebate rate.

Those with lower fuel consumption per month are eligible for the rebate rate.

WEX provides a full fuel card fleet management reporting package in addition to a reasonable rate figure to enable you to keep track of your regular expenditure.

An app for finding gas stations that accept WEX fuel cards would be an additional benefit of the WEX package.

So why is WEX one of the best national commercial fuel cards for trucks?

The company’s Telematics system allows an end-to-end fleet management solution and favorable rates.

And this helps to get grips with your fleet operation, fuel consumption, expenditures, and driver behavior. And this fuel card for fleets is one of the top fuel cards for truckers.

2. Fuelman Universal Cards

Fuel cards for trucks aren’t more customized than the selection of the Fuelman Universal Card. Five separate card choices are available from which to choose – one card for each trucker company scale.

Fuelman Universal Cards start with the basic Advantage Card, which at participating gas stations offers up to 6¢ rebates.

On the other end of the spectrum is the Platinum Mastercard, which guarantees the cash price for transactions on these prepaid fuel cards, plus a rebate of three cents per gallon – a great deal, when you can afford it.

Furthermore, Fuelman cards are safe on the road, in addition to offering fleet fuel cards that best match your company’s fuel spending scale. Fuelman Universal Cards are one of the best fuel cards for owner-operators, fuel cards for a startup business, and also suitable for big fleet companies.

3. ExxonMobil Business Fleet card

ExxonMobil fuel cards for trucks offer a 10¢ per gallon of rebate during the first six months. However, always remember that when the time has elapsed, you’re back to the competitive rate of 6¢.

Nobody really loves the idea of hanging monthly charges over their heads – except when the benefits are worth it!

As one of the best fuel cards for trucks, ExxonMobil removes the monthly fees. The only issue is the ExxonMobil gas station’s geography.

This fuel card for fleets is a good piece of plastic best fuel card for the small fleet company that operates across the East Coast.

4. Shell Fleet Navigator Card

It is the perfect fleet card for gas station coverage to use Shell Fleet Navigator fuel cards for trucks.

The fuel card is accepted at about 95% of U.S. gas stations; as a result, truck drivers will never be concerned about running dry.

Fleets now have access to this fuel card. As a result of Shell’s partnership with Jiffy Lube, fuel card holders can take advantage of incentives on vehicle supplies.

The company offers an excellent back-office suite to help fleet managers reach their drivers in addition to their competitive rebate rates.

You can set purchase limits and customize your reports to reflect the data you would like to see if you want to tighten your fuel expenditures. Even opportunities to save cash will be flagged up.

5. BP Fleet Gas Cards

BP provides three cards to help fleets companies of all sizes to manage fuel costs.

The company offers outstanding fuel cards for fleets that operate in the East, but their Universal Card provides sufficient coverage if you move further afield. Finding any one of the 7,500 BP fuel stations on your pc is easy; however, users ought to be aware that BP currently does not have any locator app.

And while there are third-party apps that you can use, we cannot vouch for their reliability. In addition, BP’s coverage on the west side of the Mississippi may be unpredictable, despite having numerous gas stations on both coasts.

Do Fuel Cards Save You Money?

Some fuel cards for fleets offer rebates; however, that’s not the only way they can assist you in reducing the cost of fuel.

Below are other ways in which fuel cards help your fleet company.

ELDs That Include Fuel Cards

1) GPS Trackit

GPS Trackit has provided integration of fuel cards for fleets, and that is in addition to its vehicle tracking system.

In addition to fleet management, this provider’s flagship product helps companies manage their vehicles more effectively. The integration of the fuel card increases this capacity.

With this system, the Fleet pays for fuel using fuel cards for trucks at participating gas stations.

GPS Trackit fuel card function, much like a credit card, however, comes with an additional fuel purchase report which can notify dispatchers and fleet managers of possible fuel theft.

2) Verizon Connect

This ELD provider integrates the fuel card into its ELD solution. The main purpose of this feature is to enable you to track the fuel costs of your truck.

And this is done by collecting reports such as a report acquired from fuel purchased. These reports help fleet managers to understand how the fuel funds in the fleet are spent.

Detecting specific cases of fuel cards being used on vehicles that weren’t at the fuel station will alert authorities.

The report on fuel efficiency would help you figure out which trucks are working efficiently and which vehicles do not comply with the requirements for efficiency.

3) Geotab

Fuel BI provides full fuel card integration for the Geotab platform as an add-in or web application. And this displays all the primary fuel KPIs in the dashboard of your company and presents the fuel expenditures on a map. During fleet activities, over 14 different patterns are used to assign fuel cards to vehicles.

4) Fleetistics

Fleetistics fleet fuel cards for trucks offer an easy solution for fleet managers to control all the fuel costs associated with the vehicle through a convenient program. Fleet managers will have access to comprehensive gallon reports, fuel type, price per gallon, and nonfuel purchases with this solution.

Fleetistics can then integrate more insight into customer GPS data. Fleetistics receives data from WEX, and custom views of data are merged with GPS data. WEX data is shown in the Fleetistics Fleet Management Portal for convenience. Fleetistics also combines fuel data with WEX data to provide new insights into fuel use.

5) Simple Truck ELD

The Simple Truck ELD is designed so that motor carriers, as well as drivers, can comply with HOS requirements effectively.

In this way, carriers can capture HOS information and ensure compliance with HOS best by using ELDs and relevant support systems.

Vehicle Engine data is shared through integral synchronization with the ELD. The ELD is also tamper-resistant, so there will be no unauthorized manipulation of the data collected. ELDs must meet or exceed the performance standards approved by the providers. Issued by Accutrac Capital, the Simple Truck ELD complements the features of its ELD with fuel cards for trucks, and this is another excellent solution to track fuel use.

This fuel card is a versatile payment system accepted anywhere EFS cards are accepted at more than 16,000 truck stops across North America.

Which Fuel Card is Right for My Fleet?

Whether you’re a small to a medium-sized fleet company with one or several vehicles, there’s a fleet fuel cards for business requirements.

We assist you in finding the best eld devices for fleets that provide you with the best coverage across your business routes.

So all you have to do is fill out our free consultation form with a few details, and we will help you to find the best suitable eld devices that suit your business needs.

Putting It All Together

For fleet managers, drivers, fleet owners as well owner-operators, fuel cards make life so much easier. Drivers would no longer be required to pay cash for fuel, save any receipts, or fill out claim forms for expenses. Fuel purchase data is automatically logged into an online fleet management portal with a detailed tax-compliant invoice.

Analyzing each receipt is a tedious and time-consuming task; however, this will be a thing of the past with fuel cards for fleets. And thus saving fleet time when it comes to reclaiming VAT.