What is a fuel card?
Fuel cards are a convenient way for drivers of business vehicles to pay for their fuel. They also make it easy for business owners to keep track of their fuel purchases, and greatly reduce the time required to prepare business fuel tax claims.
How fuel cards work
Fuel cards are attached to an account, just like a credit card. When you fill up, you simply swipe or tap your card and the cost of the fuel is charged to your account. The amount owing will then be deducted from your linked bank account or credit card, generally at the end of the month.
The advantages of a fuel card
Driver convenience, reduced paperwork and purchase control are the main benefits, but many fuel cards offer fuel discounts and reward schemes that make them great value as well. The benefits vary from one fuel card to another, and not all offer the same benefits as Shell Card.
The disadvantages of other payment options
Credit card
If you pay for your business fuel by credit card, you’ll need to go through your statements manually and itemise your fuel purchases. If you have other drivers, you have little control over what they buy. Some credit cards offer reward schemes, but most fuel card providers let you pay your account with a credit card so you can still collect your rewards points.
Direct debit
If you have a debit card attached to a bank account, you can pay for your fuel directly from that account and avoid the need for credit altogether. This could be a cheaper option, but you could also miss out on the savings offered by a fuel card. And again, you’ll need to isolate your fuel transactions in your statements.
Cash
Often, it’s impractical to carry the cash you’ll need for fuel. And without any kind of statement to record the transaction you’ll need to make sure you keep all your tax receipts in a safe place. Tallying those receipts every quarter takes time, and you probably have more important things to do. Besides, we’re heading towards a cashless society!
Afterpay
At the time of writing, you cannot pay for fuel purchases with buy now – pay later services such as Afterpay. This might change in the future, but even if it does you will most likely face the same problems as paying by credit card.
Why Shell Card?
Whether you run a single business vehicle or a whole fleet, a ute or a truck, a fuel card streamlines your fuel management. And the range of features and benefits offered by Shell Card makes it one of the most popular fuel cards in Australia.
Find a Shell Card accepting site near you
You can use our Fuel Finder to search for service stations accepting Shell Card, and discover the wide range of services and amenities at each location to suit your needs. With a combined network over 1,500 sites that accept Shell Card Australia wide, you’ll have somewhere to refuel.
Don't have a Shell Card?
It doesn’t matter if you have one business vehicle or a hundred, all you need is a valid ABN to apply for Shell Card and start enjoying many convenient benefits and savings. Apply online or call 13 16 18 to discuss a personalised fuel card offer for your business.
Like everything else we do, the application is simple and fast.
