How Much Do Fuel Cards Cost?

So you are going to give me a fuel card that is going to help track and control my company’s fuel purchases while giving me reports, invoicing, etc. that are going to make my job easier… what’s the catch?

This is where your the red flag in your head pops up and you start thinking, if it sounds too good to be true it probably is.

The short answer is it depends on the type of card and the fuel card company you use. But we’ll elaborate on what to consider when looking into how much do fuel cards really cost.

Let’s start by looking at the two basic type of pricing setups.

There’s two main fuel card pricing arrangements, retail and cost based.

Retail pricing is simply based off the price that is posted at the pump by the merchant (gas station owner). Most fuel cards are set up this way because there are far more retail gas stations and truck stops than commercial cardlock locations.

Cost based pricing is based off the actual cost of fuel or market related cost of fuel (i.e. OPIS). Only two major West Coast located fuel cards use this pricing arrangement at cardlock stations only, the CFN card and the Pacific Pride card.

Which pricing arrangement is better? Depends on the fuel card company and what the local fuel market is doing. An aggressively priced CFN card company will almost always price better than average retail prices. If you operate on the West Coast I would definitely look into the CFN card or the Pacific Pride card.

But for the rest of us that are not based on the West Coast, let’s talk about retail pricing. The first thing you need to ask your fuel card company is what do I pay on top of the retail price. Some will say you just pay the price you see at the pump while others may say 2,3,4,5¢… above pump price.

After you understand the fuel card’s pricing arrangement, it’s time to ask about fees. Are there any transaction fees, card fees, account setup fees, maintenance fees, etc. Some fuel card companies charge fees while other don’t, so it’s important to ask this before you get started so you don’t get surprised on your first invoice.

I’m guessing this is probably the first thing on your mind or even the reason you contacted a fuel card company in the first place. But be careful, because this is where you really need to remember, it it sounds too good to be true it probably is. So let’s go over the common types of discounts.

Brand Specific Fuel Card Discounts

This is when a fuel card offers a discount when fueling only at specific brand name locations. For example, you get 5¢ off per gallon when you buy fuel at 76 branded locations. The problem is that 76 branded stations could be on average 25¢ higher than other gas stations in the area, which means you’re now paying 20¢ over what you should be.

Cash Price Discount

Some gas stations/ truck stops post a credit price and cash price where the cash price is usually lower from 5¢ to 10¢. By nature fuel cards are treated as credit cards because they are a non cash form of payment.

Some fuel card companies have negotiated with certain stations to get their fuel cards accepted at cash price instead of credit price. Usually this is common amongst big brand name truck stops. This type of discount works well for over the road trucking companies that rely on truck stops as their main source of fuel and amenities for their drivers.

However, truck stops can be more expensive than local service stations, so if you don’t need to fuel at a truck stop then the cheapest location could even be cheaper than the cash price discount at a truck stop.

Volume Rebates

Volume rebates usually start kicking in when you are purchase more than 10k gallons per month and are usually the most straightforward of all the discount options. Like anything else, just make sure to read the fine print so you know exactly what you need to do to qualify and how you will receive your payment.