Top 10 Fuel Cards for Truck Drivers

Taking into account the possibilities of end-to-end control of payments for fuel, as well as participation in bonus programs, the purchase of fuel cards becomes an integral procedure for every car hauling company, regardless of its scale. Below, we invite you to consider the ten most popular fuel companies that issue fuel cards for US drivers (here, you will also find one provider whose services are available in Canada, too).

Coast

These cards are sold at any gas station that support payments with Visa credit and debit cards. After receiving such a fleet advantage fuel card, drivers and their employers get the following benefits:

• minus 2 cents per gallon for each fuel purchase, regardless of the brand of gas station;
• 1% cashback on third-party purchases at the gas station;
• simplified procedure for contacting customer support;
• simple integration into the software used in the company for which the driver works;
• the ability to set limits and other restrictions on purchases from the card (maximum purchase amount, maximum number of liters of fuel per day, maximum frequency of purchases, etc.);
• possibility of obtaining loans;
• instant notifications and simplified authorization procedures.

To obtain these cards, drivers do not need to wait for confirmation from the owners of the company for which they work, which means that the latter will be able to save themselves from unnecessary bureaucratic procedures. 

EFS

Electronic Funds Source (EFS) issues fuel cards for truck drivers and is an excellent choice for business owners. It provides specialized cards for small businesses – the EFS Fleet One EDGE card that can cover the needs of up to 25 trucks, and medium-sized businesses  – they should pay their attention to EFS Fleet, which is able to cover the needs of a fleet of 26+ trucks.

Note that there is also a separate EFS Mastercard Fleet Card designed for drivers who choose gas stations that support payments with Mastercard cards. Here are the main features of EFS:

• 15 cent-savings per gallon on every fuel purchase;
• collecting additional data from tracks using telemetry;
• 16,000+ gas stations supporting this card;
• integration with business software;
• setting limits and controlling purchases of non-fuel-related goods.

In general, these cards provide car-hauling companies with a centralized place to manage purchases, driver pay, settlement, cash advances, and so on.

Fuelman

The Fuelman Deep Saver Card is another affordable solution for small car-hauling businesses that provides complete visibility into fuel costs and all other purchases within gas stations. The card is currently supported by approximately 40,000 locations in the US, and that number continues to grow. Here are the main advantages of these cards:

• the ability to save $0.08 on every gallon;
• low monthly fee;
• possibility of insurance;
• controls and restrictions on purchases made by drivers at gas stations;
• even more options to ensure that your money is only spent on fuel for company vehicles;
• dynamics of costs for diesel fuel and ethanol;
• flexible system of discounts when purchasing fuel.

These cards also provide their holders with a flexible rewards system, which ultimately allows them to regularly save on their regular expenses.

Comdata

Comdata offers maps that are fully customized for trucking businesses: in particular, thanks to the proprietary FleetAdvance application, drivers will be able to find the best refueling locations along their way. Here are some other features of these fuel cards:

• costs savings up to $.25 off per gallon;
• the ability to evaluate the pricing policy of nearby gas stations for even greater savings;
• the ability to set limits and restrictions on driver purchases;
• enhanced reporting and spending tools;
• centralized monitoring of all transactions performed through the card in a single application;
• acceptance at 8,000+ locations;
• 24/7 customer support and online account management.

All in all, Comdata cards offer their holders industry-leading controls and discounts at the pump while providing enhanced payment options.

BP

These cards provide their holders with outstanding savings opportunities when purchasing diesel fuel. They are usually used by companies from the SMB category; however, there are also options for large car-hauling companies as well.

As for discounts, with these cards, you can save up to 15 cents per gallon of fuel (the higher the purchase amount, the greater the discount per gallon will be). Here are some more advantages of a BP company fuel card:

• card support by gas stations of the BP and Amoco networks;
• the ability to set limits and restrictions on purchases of fuel and non-fuel-related goods at supported gas stations (per day, week, or month);
• the ability to earn points each time you refuel;
• instant online access to reports, transactions, and other driver’s information;
• several types of savings programs: BP Business Solutions Fuel Plus (for small and medium-sized businesses) and BP Business Solutions Mastercard (for medium and large businesses).

Overall, with a starting savings of three cents per gallon, this offering appears to be the most beneficial for midsize and large businesses (compared to the previous offerings).

Pilot Fleet Card

These fuel cards for truck drivers have a system of discounts that are different from those offered by the vast majority of other operators – in particular, for the purchase of each gallon of gasoline, they provide cashback of up to 3%, which in terms of money is about 7 cents per gallon. Here are some more characteristics of these cards:

• flexible payment options for purchases;
• cashback, which allows you to maintain the same savings opportunity, as it is based on percentages rather than a fixed number of cents;
• support from Pilot, Flying J, and One9 gas stations;
• loyalty program for individual gas stations;
• possibility of receiving additional discounts for truck maintenance.

Overall, it's a great choice for drivers and business owners looking for a solution to earn extra rewards, loyalty benefits, and discounts on fuel and truck assistance services.

TCS

TransConnect Services (TCS) is perhaps one of the most popular choices for drivers, as evidenced by numerous positive reviews on Reddit. And this is not surprising given the absence of transaction fees at 1500+ points of the TCS network. Here are some more advantages of a TCS company petrol card:

• savings of about 54 cents per gallon; 
• no fees for card activation;
• no regular monthly payments;
• synchronization of card data with the website and proprietary TCS application;
• the ability to make payments at gas stations via Zelle, ACH credit, bank transactions, checks, and Western Union;
• fuel cost management tools that simplify IFTA reporting;
• the ability to choose individual card settings;
• 24/7 customer support;
• the ability to find the cheapest gas stations “near me”.

Generally speaking, these cards ensure exceptional customer service and the best saving options for small-to medium-sized carriers and larger fleets. 

RTS Fuel Card

RTS cost saving fuel cards allow drivers and the companies they work for to save up to 25 cents per gallon at 2,400+ gas stations. Note that the greatest savings with such cards are achieved for those who use diesel fuel. Here is a list of some other benefits of these cards:

• card support at partner gas stations such as Pilot Flying J, Casey's, Sapp Bros, and One9 Fue – in general, more than 800 locations nationwide;
• the ability to get a 35% discount on your fuel tax software;
• no regular fees for extending card activity;
• collaboration with Pilot which provides cardholders with the opportunity to purchase a fuel and factoring package on very favorable terms and with a free credit check.

Also, with these cards, you can open a credit line of up to $3200 per truck, per week.

WEX

By choosing a WEX company gas card, you can expand the coverage of your business activities into Canada.

These cards are accepted by the vast majority of gas stations (more than 95%) and more than 45,000 service centers, such as American Lubefast, Ford Service, Valvoline, etc. Let's look at the features of WEX cards in more detail:

• two savings programs to choose from: WEX FlexCard (for SMB) and WEX Fleet Card (for businesses of any scale);
• the ability to save up to 3 cents per gallon;
• real-time fuel card management and monitoring of transactions for fuel and non-fuel-related goods;
• access to custom service 24/7;
• the ability to use the WEX fuel card as a credit card for fuel purchases;
• proprietary WEX Connect application for searching “near me” gas stations with the cheapest fuel.

Considering the automatic fuel metering and expense tracking capabilities provided to holders of these cards, this could be an excellent solution for medium to large businesses.

Shell

Finally, perhaps the most famous fuel company, Shell, also offers its customers (both self-employed and business owners) fuel cards for truckers. With this fuel card for fleets, you can save up to 6 cents per gallon. Here are some other features of these cards:

• the ability to set purchase limits;
• viewing reports at fixed time intervals;
• flexible system of discounts in the Jiffy Lube and Shell networks;
• online card management in real time;
• 24/7 customer support service.

When buying this card, you can choose one of several options. The first one is Shell Fleet Plus that provides great savings on fuel, car wash, and vehicle maintenance. The second is Shell Small Business that ensures wide opportunities for business operations monitoring in the SMB sector. Finally, you can also consider Shell Fleet Navigator which was implemented specially for Mastercard clients. 

Are You Interested in Other Methods of Reducing Costs?

We hope that we have helped you decide on the best fuel card, but in addition to all the benefits that these cards provide, you can find other ways to save your money on regular business processes within your company. 

In particular, we are talking about software for automating business processes. You probably already use some software tools, including a transport management system, but are you sure that this is the most cost-effective solution out there? Indeed, if you think that you spend too much money on renewing the license for your TMS, but its return is not as great as you wish, this is definitely a good reason to try our product – a Haulk TMS. You can download a free trial right now to check how convenient and useful such a tool can be for your company.

We have even more interesting integrations planned for the near future, so we also recommend checking out our For Carriers section.