Fuel Cards – Buying guide

Introduce business fuel cards to your company and let your staff enjoy the following benefits : no more need to carry cash , increased security and special discounts. In addition, your business fuel cards provide you with improved fleet efficiency and fuel limits can be applied on all cards.

Fuel cards, helping your business go the extra mile on the road to profits

Why manage a corporate vehicle fleet for your employees to use when they need to work on the go, and not provide these employees with fuel cards? These cards saves them the burden of worrying about bringing enough cash on them, or to pay for the fuel at all before they can get a refund from the company. On the other hand, it’s much safer than giving each employee a generic credit card, as the fuel card can only cover... expenses related to fuel - with significant discounts. Understanding the different types of cards available is a necessary preliminary before evaluating the merits of the different providers on the market according to specific criteria.

The three main types of fuels cards

- Petrol cards: These are especially appreciated by business fleets, or salespeople, and are more commonly sold at pump price. 

- Diesel cards: Diesel cards are more often used by road professionals such as delivery or cargo businesses. With high-volume contracts, significant savings can be achieved. 

- Bunker cards: These cards are the ultimate weapon for true road warriors, as fuel is directly delivered to the business, and it’s up to the client to store it and deliver it. Be weary of safety conditions and legal obligations related to storage and installation, though.

Choosing the right fuel card

There are many fuel cards providers, but just a few criteria to look at when selecting the right fuel card for your business, and the choice between fixed-price fuel cards and pump-price fuel cards might just be the most important element. 

- Basic choice criteria: There’s quite a few plan features which might seem quite important for your business, but are not always offered by all card providers - the list of restrictions that can be applied is one web of possible differences. Besides, commercial policies such as the list of possible account management fees, and options such as European coverage may greatly differ from one provider to another, so read the fine print and make sure their system match your expectations.

- Fixed-price fuel cards VS pump-price fuel cards: Depending whether your drivers will be occasional users, or a high-mileage professionals, you may be more interested in the advantages of fixed-price cards or pump-priced cards. 

- Fuel card providers: The market of card providers has somewhat expanded, with the addition of pure-players to the list of well-known petroleum companies.