The 5 Best Fuel Cards for Small Businesses

The best fuel card for US small businesses is the WEX FlexCard. It tops the rankings for us because it has zero card fees, healthy rebates on gas, and has an extensive gas station network that covers 95% of the US. It is worth noting that it is just one of five top options.

With our research, we focused on the most important factors for small businesses, including the number of gas stations where you can use the card, rewards, and expense management features. The four remaining best fuel cards for small businesses are the Shell Small Business Card, WEX Fleet Card, Edenred Essentials, and the ExxonMobil BusinessPro Card.

Whether you decide to go for regular credit cards, charge cards, co-branded gas cards, or fleet cards, this page will guide you through your options to ensure you make the right choice for your small business.

Short on time? No problem. Use our free quote-finding tool and you’ll be matched with the best fuel card providers for your small business. They’ll be in touch with tailored, obligation-free quotes. Alternatively, read on to compare these best fuel cards for small businesses in the US.

Our Top 5 Fuel Cards for Small Businesses

We’ve broken down our top picks for the best fuel cards for small businesses based on card feeds, savings and network coverage.

Prices correct as of June 2023

1. WEX FlexCard – Best Overall Fuel Card for Small Businesses

WEX FlexCard’s Fees and Perks

With a WEX FlexCard, you can access savings of up to 3¢ per gallon (in the form of rebates) during the first six months of your contract. A plus is that there is no setup, monthly or annual fees, or any minimum spend needed to achieve these savings, allowing your small business to start saving every time you fill up gas. In terms of perks, this card does not offer an opportunity to earn loyalty points or extra discounts on hotel stays or food purchases. This is to be expected for a card with no fees, so if you’d like a card with incentives for drivers in the form of perks, consider WEX’s Fleet Card or Edenred Essentials.

WEX FlexCard’s Vehicle Expenses Management

The WEX FlexCard can also be used to pay for vehicle maintenance, engine lubricants, and cleaning fees. Drivers and business owners can charge multiple vehicle-related expenses to one card, rather than having multiple cards for different purposes. While this is a decent range of payment options for non-fuel purchases, WEX does fall behind Edenred, which can also be used for parking and toll fees.

WEX FlexCard’s Fuel Expenditure Management

While fuel rebates offer a helping hand, gaining an insight into your overall vehicle expenses can help you find ways to tighten the belt. With WEX ClearView, you’ll be able to see fuel expense data, purchasing trends, and miles to the gallon. Unfortunately, none of the cards in our list provide insights about carbon emissions data, which would be a handy feature for those concerned with hitting emissions targets.

2. Shell Small Business Card – Best For Lower Credit Ratings

Shell Small Business Card’s Fees and Perks

The Shell Small Business Card, like WEX’s FlexCard, offers average savings of 3¢ per gallon in rebates. Another similarity between the two is that there are no card fees and no minimum spend needed to access these savings. There doesn’t seem to be a time limit on how long you’ll receive your rebates, as is the case with WEX. However, while it may be budget-friendly, it does mean you’ll miss out on some perks that other cards do offer, such as discounts on vehicle accessories and even hotel stays, which are offered with the WEX Fleet Card. It is worth noting that if you have a low or poor credit rating, you may stand a better chance of being accepted for the Shell Small Business Card over any of the other cards on this list.

Shell Small Business Card’s Vehicle Expenses Management

Many fuel cards allow the purchase of non-fuel, fleet-related items, which ensures expenses are kept in one place and for the sake of the driver’s convenience. Since Shell’s Small Business Card is free, it doesn’t offer much in the way of extra expenses. It can help with your engine lubrication by offering 15% off at Jiffy Lube. If you’re looking for a card with a comprehensive list of features, consider Edenred Essentials.

Shell Small Business Card’s Fuel Expenditure Management

Another limitation of Shell’s Small Business Card is that it doesn’t offer much, if anything, in the way of fuel expenditure reporting. While other cards, such as WEX’s Flex and Fleet Cards, provide insights into miles per gallon as well as fuel spend data via interactive reporting and tables, Shell’s Small Business Card is intended to be used to purchase fuel and save money while doing so.

3. Wex Fleet Card – Best for Network Coverage

WEX Fleet Card’s Fees and Perks

At $2 per month, per card, this is not a free option as with the WEX FlexCard and Shell’s Small Business Card. With the Fleet Card, you’ll earn rebates on fuel based on how much you fill up, but it’s not clear what this figure is. Fortunately, there is also no minimum spend to access rebates with this card. While you’ll have access to the same network coverage as the free WEX FlexCard, you will also gain access to the WEX EDGE Savings Network, allowing you to score exclusive discounts on auto parts at AutoZone, tires and hotel stays.

WEX Fleet Card’s Vehicle Expenses Management

In addition to charging your fuel expenses to the card, you’ll be able to purchase other products and services as well, including vehicle maintenance, engine lubricants, and cleaning fees. Keeping multiple fleet-related expenses in one place can also help you find areas to cut back on as well as the areas where you are within your budget. While this is a great feature, it’s slightly limited when compared with Edenred Essentials, which also allows users to pay for their parking and toll fees.

WEX Fleet Card’s Fuel Expenditure Management

Another plus of the WEX Fleet Card is that you can gain full visibility over your fuel consumption and expenditure. WEX’s cards offer insights into miles per gallon and fuel spending data through the ClearView analytics platform. ExxonMobil also gives access to ClearView, while Edenred Essentials has its own integrated platform. Since Edenred allows drivers to make requests, while this is a premium feature with ClearView, Edenred may be a better choice for communication purposes. In general, having a broad overview of your outgoings is imperative for all fleets, especially smaller operations or those that are just starting out and may have a limited cash flow.

4. Edenred Essentials – Best for Expense Management

Edenred Essential’s Fees and Perks

At $3 per month, per card, this is one of the priciest options on our list of the best fuel cards for small businesses in the US. Like all of the other cards listed here, it will also let you earn rebates when filling up on gas. At 2.5¢ per gallon, this rebate is lower than any other card on this list (apart from the WEX Fleet Card, which doesn’t publicise its rebate offering). To soften the blow of the higher monthly fee, you’ll be given a free Costco membership that will grant you savings while shopping. This would usually set you back $60 per year, so perhaps that sweetens the deal.

Edenred Essential’s Vehicle Expenses Management

While the rebates may be lower, and the fees are higher, when it comes to paying for additional expenses, the Edenred Essential card is second to none. With this card, you can pay for fuel, vehicle maintenance, engine lubricants, tolls, parking, and cleaning fees.

Edenred Essential’s Fuel Expenditure Management

Edenred proves its worth in this department by offering handy reporting features that give you an overall picture of your fuel expense – including miles per gallon. While it’s a pricier option, the overall savings you can make in the long term through the visibility of your outgoings may be worth the monthly expense.

5. ExxonMobil BusinessPro Card – Best Fuel Rebates

ExxonMobil BusinessPro’s Fees and Perks

ExxonMobil’s BusinessPro card is another paid option. At $2 per month, it’s slightly cheaper than Edenred Essentials and it offers a larger rebate on fuel at 4¢ per gallon. If you have a fleet with high fuel consumption, you can expect to make some money back. As with the other cards, there is no minimum spend with ExxonMobil’s BusinessPro card. The perk you’ll get access to with this card is the ExxonMobil Rewards+ program, allowing you to collect 2¢ per dollar spent in points. 100 points are then worth $1 that you or your drivers can spend at the pump or at the store at Exxon or Mobil stations.

ExxonMobil BusinessPro’s Vehicle Expenses Management

A serious downside to the ExxonMobil BusinessPro card is that it is solely a fuel card and can’t be used for any other expenses, such as toll fees, vehicle maintenance, or parking. If you’re looking for a flexible card, this is best demonstrated by Edenred Essentials, which allows you to charge those extra costs to one card.

ExxonMobil BusinessPro’s Fuel Expenditure Management

As with WEX and Edenred, ExxonMobil provides insight into your fuel expenditure in the form of table reporting, showing miles per gallon as well as the total outgoings on fuel. As it can only be used to purchase fuel, it cannot show other expenses. It could improve by offering some sort of interactive dashboard feature, as demonstrated by WEX and Edenred.

The Benefits of Fuel Cards for Small Businesses

Fuel cards are famous for being the saving grace for large trucking corporations; and now small companies can benefit from their rewarding rebates, too.

The best fuel card companies help you save money and give you better control over your business. The best fleet cards for small businesses also grant employees greater financial security, through rewards schemes and extra discounts on non-fuel items.

Below, we look at some of the benefits you can expect when you invest in a fuel card.

Discounts on Fuel

A fuel card rewards small businesses by offering discounts on the purchase of fuel, oil, and lubricate at certain stations. So, the more often you use your card, the more savings you gain. In addition, some cards offer rewards for every dollar spent or for every gallon of fuel purchased, allowing you to earn money back or even enjoy free fuel in the future. Check out our guide to the best fuel cards with discounts.

Less Risk of Fraud

Some businesses prefer to use a corporate card for buying fuel, or they want their drivers to use cash and then provide a receipt to be reimbursed. These methods mean unnecessary admin, and there’s always the risk that cash can be stolen on the road.

Fleet cards for small business are precise and leave less room for fraud or error. This will help save your business from theft and legal issues, and it will save you valuable time in the process.

Greater Control Over Spending

A driver may use a fuel station that costs more, while another driver may purchase a higher grade of gas than is necessary. These and various other reasons will see your expenses stack up, which will eat into your profits.

A fuel card for small businesses will allow you to set limitations on how much is spent, where it is spent, and at what times, so you can have a tight hold on where your money is going. In addition, regular reports on these transactions allow you to keep a close eye on what’s going on in your business.

Our Methodology

We set out to find the top fuel cards for small businesses in the US by comparing and contrasting 13 different fuel cards against a rigorous framework. With this set of information, we are well-equipped to match you with the most suitable card for your unique needs.

For each card, we asked these questions:

• How much does it cost?
• How much can you save?
• How convenient is it to use?
• How helpful is it for managing fuel expenses?
• What extra perks are there?

Based on these criteria, we collected data about each card to present our shortlist of the five best fuel cards on the market for small businesses in the US.