Finding the Right Fuel Card is Important

If your small business uses vehicles, fuel can easily become one of your largest expenses. Choosing the right fleet fuel card can save time for you—and money for your business.

So how do you choose a card?

The first thing to do is look around. What gas stations are around you?  Do you already consolidate your fueling at a single brand? Is there a location that your employees choose most often? Convenience is a big part of the equation. Even if you need to fuel at a lot of different brands it’ll be nice to earn rebates at the brand you fuel at most often. (For example, the RaceTrac Universal Card is accepted at 95% of U.S. gas stations, and you can save up to 5¢ per gallon when you fill up at RaceTrac and RaceWay.)

The benefits of a fleet fuel card are easy to see. A company credit card may let you carry a monthly balance, and maybe let you earn rewards points. A fleet card comes with higher levels of security, more transparent reporting, and rebates.

RaceWay fleet cards offer a tiered rebate, which means you can earn higher rebates when you purchase more fuel.

For example, the RaceTrac Elite Card lets you save up to 5¢ per gallon:

Rebates can really add up, potentially helping you keep more cash on hand to deal with other aspects of your business.

Reporting and security are the other two really useful features when it comes to a branded fuel card.

With monthly online reporting into your fuel spend, you can gain a more holistic view of your overall fueling program—as well as when and how much employees spend. This allows you to find patterns and see outlier expenses. Maybe it’s a simple driver mistake or an incorrectly coded pump, or it could be something more.

And, that’s where security comes in to play. When fraud is suspected, you can instantly shut down card until the situation can be rectified. You can also set spending limits on how your drivers can use the card.

If you don’t want employees buying extras like food or drink at the partners convenience store, you can set purchasing limits by item, amount, day or the week, and more. Don’t want the card being used on the weekends? You can easily set that up.
A fleet fuel card not only gives you more rebates at a station you’re already driving by, but it also gives you a clearer picture of where your fueling costs are going. This is the perfect first step toward streamlining your company’s fuel spend.