Why get a Fuel Card vs Credit Card?

A fuel card gives you fuel-specific reporting a standard business credit card can’t, including odometer readings, per-driver spend, and a discount off the pump price. A credit card just shows a merchant name and a dollar figure on a statement.

A fuel card ties that same transaction to a driver, a vehicle, an odometer reading, and a fuel type, which is the difference between “someone spent $84 at a service station” and “vehicle REG123 did 340km since its last fill and used 42 litres of diesel.”

That distinction matters most at tax time and when you’re trying to spot a vehicle that’s using more fuel than it should be. We think the reporting is worth more than the pump discount for most businesses, though you get both. For the actual dollar comparison, our piece on how much you can really save with a fuel card runs the numbers against paying by credit card and reimbursing.