Where Can I Use a Fuel Card?
Knowing where you can use a fuel card is a really important question for fleet managers and transport business owners to answer.
This is because it’s vital your drivers always have ready access to the fuel they need and can buy it at the right price for your business — they need to know where the nearest stations are and where the best deals can be found.
Get these things wrong and it costs your company time and money.
The panel at iCompario have listed the top fuel cards available to UK companies and where you can use them.
How do I use a fuel card?
Fuel cards are really easy to use.
They work like business credit cards for your fuel and transport expenses. There are just a few simple things you need to do when using them:
- Go to a petrol station station that’s on the fuel card network
- Fill up your car, van, or HGV with the petrol or diesel you need
- Get the other vehicle-related items permitted on your particular card — such as oil or AdBlue
- Hand over your card to the checkout assistant
- Provide you vehicle registration number to the person at the till
- Decide if you want to record the mileage — the till assistant will ask this
- Pay for your fuel and other transport items
- Sign for the payment
- You’ll have the option to take a paper receipt — remember your fuel card creates an electronic invoice
- Get back out on the road!
One of the great things about fuel cards is they come with account management software. This makes it straightforward to review your travel expenses at the end of each month and to submit your accounts to HMRC at the end of the financial year.
Eight fuel cards you can use (recommended by iCompario’s team)
Where can I use a Shell fuel card?
Shell offers two fuel cards that can be used throughout the UK.
- Shell Multi-Network Fuel Card: accepted at 2,297 stations
- Shell CRT Fuel Card: accepted at 1,041 stations
An important thing to know is the Multi-Network Fuel Card can’t be used to buy fuel for HGVs and coaches. If your business uses these vehicles, you’d be better off signing up for the CRT Fuel Card.
Where can I use a UK Fuels fuel card?
UK Fuels has a great selection of fuel cards for your business:
- FuelPlus Fuel Card: accepted at 3,721 stations
- FleetOne Fuel Card: accepted at 3,381 stations
- Texaco Fastfuel Fuel Card: accepted at 3,228 stations
- Smartdiesel Fuel Card: accepted at 3,033 stations
UK Fuels is one of the biggest independent fuel card brands in Europe. It provides its own diverse range of cards and all the big name service stations as well, so you’re pretty much guaranteed to find one that works for your business.
Where can I use an Esso fuel card?
You can use two Esso fuel cards that are available from iCompario.
- Esso National Fuel Card: accepted at 3458 stations
- Esso Europe Fuel Card: accepted at 11,821 stations
The Esso Europe fuel card is ideal for cross-continental companies. Not only does it allow you to fill your vehicles at over 11,000 stations, but it can also be used to pay for road toll charges in a range of European countries.
Where can I use a BP fuel card?
BP is one of the world’s premier fuel brands and it has two great cards you can use:
- BP Plus Fuel Card: accepted at 3,210 stations
- BP Plus Bunker Fuel Card: accepted at 1,254 stations
If you have a fleet with lots of HGVs, the BP Plus Bunker is a wise choice for your business. You can use it to buy scientifically developed diesel at over 500 truck stops.
Where can I use a Texaco fuel card?
Texaco is one of the premier oil brands and it has two fuel cards you can use:
- Texaco Fastfuel Fuel Card: accepted at 2,001 stations
- Texaco the Business Fuel Card: accepted at 3,228 stations
The Texaco Fastfuel card is great for companies operating a diverse fleet. It can be used to refuel your cars, vans, HGVs or coaches in over 2,000 stations throughout the UK.
Where can I use a Fuelgenie fuel card?
FuelGenie has a single fuel card that can be used in supermarkets across the UK:
- fuelGenie fuel card: accepted at 1,325 stations
The fuelGenie fuel card is a smart pick if you want to pay supermarket prices for your diesel and petrol. You can use it in Morrisons, Tesco, and Sainsbury’s stations in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Where can I use a Jet fuel card?
JET offers one card for local businesses that need to fill up in petrol stations nearby:
- JET fuel card: accepted at 172 stations
The JET fuel card lets you purchase top-quality fuel from independently owned stations. The downside is that it has fewer garages in its network than larger brands, such as Shell, Texaco, and BP.
Where can I use a Diesel Card Ireland fuel card?
The Diesel Card Ireland (DCI) fuel card is designed specifically for businesses operating throughout the island of Ireland:
- Diesel Card Ireland fuel: accepted at 1,200 stations
One of the key benefits of using a DCI fuel card is that its prices are changed twice a week to stay in line with the oil market. This helps you to stay on top of your diesel costs.
Where can I use supermarket fuel cards?
Supermarket fuel cards are great for businesses that need cheap petrol and diesel.
They often have the lowest pump prices and are frequently the most convenient station for your drivers to get to, particularly if your company operates in towns, cities, and urban areas.
Where you can use your fuel card really depends on the supermarket you wish to buy your diesel or petrol. This is because certain cards are accepted at specific stores.
You can use these cards at Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons and Co-op stores.
Where can I use a Tesco fuel card?
You can use the following fuel cards at Tesco stations:
- fuelGenie Fuel Card: accepted at 1,325 stations
- FuelPlus Fuel Card: accepted at 3,721 stations
- Texaco Fastfuel Fuel Card: accepted at 3,228 stations
FleetOne Fuel Card: accepted at 3,381 stations
Where can I use a Sainsbury’s fuel card?
Credit: Wikimedia
You can use the following fuel cards at Sainsbury’s stations:
- fuelGenie Fuel Card: accepted at 1,325 stations
Where can I use a Morrisons fuel card?
Credit: Flickr
You can use the following fuel cards at Morrisons stations:
- fuelGenie Fuel Card: accepted at 1,325 stations
- FuelPlus Fuel Card: accepted at 3,721 stations
- Texaco Fastfuel Fuel Card: accepted at 3,228 stations
FleetOne Fuel Card: accepted at 3,381 stations
Where can I use a Co-op fuel card?
You can use the following fuel cards at Co-op stations:
- fuelGenie Fuel Card: accepted at 1,325 stations
- FuelPlus Fuel Card: accepted at 3,721 stations
- Texaco Fastfuel Fuel Card: accepted at 3,228 stations
- FleetOne Fuel Card: accepted at 3,381 stations
What you’ll notice is that the fuelGenie fuel card can be used in all four of these UK supermarkets. You’ll also see that the FuelPlus, Texaco Fastfuel and FleetOne are accepted at Tesco, Morrisons and Co-op stores.
How to choose between branded and independent fuel cards
Deciding between a branded or independent option is one of the biggest choices you make with the fuel cards you use for your business.
Each has their benefits and drawbacks. These are the things to consider when choosing either a branded or an independent fuel card.
Benefits of using a branded fuel card
- Accepted at a huge number of UK stations
- Competitive petrol and diesel prices at the pump
- Some can be used in European countries
- Consistent diesel and petrol quality
Downsides of using a branded fuel card
- Most are limited to a single fuel brand
- There might be a minimum monthly spend
- Many charge you an annual account fee
Benefits of using an independent fuel card
- Often accepted by a very large choice of petrol station operators
- You often get a more personalised service
- Often not charged a joining fee
Downsides of using an independent fuel card
- Not always accepted at every petrol station of a specific brand
- The diesel you buy may not be of a consistent quality
- The network you can use may change over time as contracts between the companies change
How can I use fuel cards in Europe?
All the best fuel cards can be used in the UK — some are even accepted in Ireland.
A small number of specialist cards can be used across continental Europe, letting you fill up your vehicles in thousands of stations in dozens of countries.
You use these cards in the same way as regular fuel cards. You pay for your fuel and travel expenses with them and record the costs to specific vehicles.
Find the best fuel cards using iCompario
iCompario’s team of experts review all the best fuel cards for UK companies.
One of the most important parts of our review process is making sure business owners know exactly how to use the cards we offer.
We provide detailed information with every fuel card page so you know exactly what it offers, how to use it, and where it’s accepted.
But we also have some great guides to fuel cards to help you find out even more about what they offer.
These explain things such as:
- How fleet managers can use them
- How construction companies can use them
- How internal businesses use them
- How you can use them to save time and money
And many other key things about fuel cards.
Once you’ve read through our guides, use iCompario’s price comparison tool to find the perfect fuel card for your UK business.
Having fuel cards can save your business money, do your driver fuel expenses claims automatically and make it a 30-second job to reclaim your fuel VAT. As a free comparison site, iCompario can find you offers on cards from all the big oil companies or multi-brand cards, and deals with no minimum purchase or tie-in contracts.
