ARCO Gas Cards Review: Are They Right for Your Business?

ARCO offers two fleet fuel cards today. The main difference between the two is that one is a standard fuel card that’s only accepted at participating ARCO stations, and the other is a widely accepted Mastercard.

Since most ARCO stations are located on the West Coast and in the Midwest, it’s not going to be the best fuel card for truckers operating in other parts of the US. But, if your fleet does transport goods in and around one of these two regions, then stay tuned for a closer look at ARCO’s fees, discounts, network coverage, and more.

ARCO Fleet Fuel Cards: Quick Summary

ARCO offers two fleet cards, the ARCO Business Solutions Fuel Card and the ARCO Business Solutions Mastercard. Here’s an overview of what you get with each:

As you can see, the main difference between the two cards is the ARCO Mastercard’s enticing six-month rebate offer, which can be used at non-ARCO stations, and can pay for maintenance services on top of gas.

Other than that, both cards share the following features:

• Security: Card requires driver ID and odometer to make a purchase, and a lost card can be deactivated straight away
• Reporting and tracking: access spending and exception reports online and track by vehicle, driver, or odometer
• Purchase restrictions: Set purchase restrictions on individual cards (dollar or gallon limits)

We’ll discuss both fleet fuel cards in a little more detail in the following sections.

ARCO Fleet Fuel Cards: Pros & Cons

Here are the main pros and cons of ARCO’s fuel cards:

ARCO Fuel Cards Reviewed

In this section, we’ll take a closer look at both of the cards ARCO currently provides, as well as the rewards and discounts on offer for customers.

ARCO Business Solutions Fuel Card

Designed for fleet managers who primarily fuel at ARCO locations, this card gives your drivers access to high-quality fuel and diesel while offering detailed reporting and individual spending controls. Key features include:

What do you get with the ARCO Business Solutions Fuel Card?

The ARCO Business Solutions Fuel Card can only be used at ARCO stations, which can be restrictive given that there are only around 1,500, and that they’re concentrated on the West and East Coasts, as well as in the Midwest. You can also only use the card to pay for gas, and not additional fuel-related expenses, further limiting its scope.

Rewards and Discounts

In 2024, we found the ARCO Business Solutions Fuel Card got you a 15¢ per gallon gas rebate for the first three months of using the card. However, as of 2025 this discount is no longer applied to new customers. As such, we can’t be sure what rebate rates you’ll get with this card, if there are any at all, since this isn’t something ARCO discloses publicly.

Their discount system mainly relies on the fact that ARCO stations offer affordable, high-quality gas, so you’ll save by using them exclusively.

ARCO Business Solutions MasterCard

If your business needs the flexibility to re-fuel at any station that accepts Mastercard – which is most of the US in 2025 – this ARCO card is a better choice. You get similar management tools and security features as the Fuel Card, as well as its unique introductory rebate offer:

What do you get with the ARCO Business Solutions MasterCard?

The ARCO Business Solutions Mastercard has fewer restrictions than the standard ARCO Fuel Card since it can be used at any station that accepts Mastercard, not just ARCO stations. This widens your network coverage to include 95% of stations, which is in line with the top fuel cards offered by companies like WEX and ExxonMobil.

However, there is a catch. Using your ARCO Mastercard at a non-ARCO station incurs a $2 fee per transaction since it is “out of network”. This can seriously ramp up costs, so while using non-ARCO stations is a possibility with this card, it’s probably not something you want your drivers to do often.

Another benefit to using the ARCO Mastercard over the Fuel Card is that your drivers will be able to use it to pay for maintenance services, on top of gas.

Rewards and Discounts

Unlike the ARCO Fuel Card, with the ARCO Business Solutions Mastercard, you’ll get a 15¢ per gallon rebate for the first six months. Previously this promotion was for three months, however, it seems ARCO has removed the discount period from its Fuel Card offering and added the extra three months to the Mastercard solution. After those six months, the amount you save on gas is something you’ll need to discuss with ARCO, as it isn’t publically listed.

The rebates you get after six months may be better with the ARCO Mastercard than with the ARCO Fuel Card, but this isn’t stated anywhere, so we can’t say for sure. Given that both cards have the same $15 per month account fee, it seems unlikely there’s any difference (fuel cards typically have bigger discounts if you’re paying more or buying more fuel).

Where Are ARCO Stations Located?

ARCO has a network of 1,500 gas stations, across 15 states, although most are concentrated on the West Coast and in the Midwest.

Here’s the full list of states with ARCO stations: Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Washington, and Wisconsin.

Stations tend to be clustered on or near the interstates, especially the I-5 and 505, I-80 and 280, I-15 and I-40, but also extend to US Highways such as 50 and 395, and major state highways like the 99 in California.

You can find ARCO stations using the ARCO app, although users have reported inaccuracies with the distancing. Alternatively, you can use the ARCO Station Locator, available on the ARCO website.

ARCO Fleet Fuel Cards: Additional Fees

There are a few additional fees to watch out for on both of ARCO’s fleet fuel cards. We’ve already mentioned the $2 per transaction out-of-network fee on the ARCO Mastercard – which is in line with competitors like Chevron and Texaco, who also charge for this on their fuel cards. Here are some fees that apply to both cards:

• High credit risk account fee: if your account is deemed to be high risk, you’ll pay “Risk-based Pricing”, which is 2% of your account’s credit or spend limit per month
• Late payment fee: if your payment is late, you’ll pay a fee of $75 or 12.25% of the new balance

You’ll have to pay Risk-based Pricing if your consumer credit score is below 670, or your commercial credit score is below 600, 12 months after you set up your account. You also risk paying it if you receive two or more late payment fees in a 12-month rolling period.

You can cancel your account with ARCO anytime, so there are no contract termination fees, but you will need to pay any outstanding fees or bills.

How Do ARCO’s Fleet Cards Compare to Its Competitors?

Here’s a quick summary of how our other top-rated fuel cards compare to ARCO’s fuel cards across their rebates, networks, and fees. We’ll then compare each card with a competitor card with a similar target audience below.

ARCO Business Solutions Mastercard vs Marathon Business Universal

Looking at the competition, we see Marathon’s Business Universal Card (also accepted everywhere), comes with a $40 setup fee and $2 monthly charge (per card), and provides rebates ranging from 1¢ to 7¢ per gallon. Though, right now, Marathon has matched ARCO’s 15¢ per gallon rebates for signees’, however only for the first four months.

ARCO’s six-month perks and lack of a $40 setup fee – the equivalent of almost three months membership with ARCO – are likely to be the better bet for larger fleets since you can have unlimited cards for its $15 per month fee and no other costs. With more vehicles and a longer high-rebate period, that’s more chances to get those 15¢ per gallon rebates. And since you can cancel anytime, after six months you could change provider if its future fees aren’t to your liking.

However, this will best apply to large fleets operating on either the west or east US coastline regions to avoid those $2 out-of-network fees. In other areas, the Marathon card is likely a better choice since it has no out-of-network fees. It will also be better for smaller fleets with only a few cards, as after the $40 setup fee, you’ll only have $2 per card to pay each month, and only miss out on two months of high 15¢ per gallon rebates.

ARCO Business Solutions Fuel Card vs Shell Small Business Card

Both the ARCO Business Solutions Fuel Card with the Shell Small Business Card can only be used at their branded station networks. However, while the Shell Small Business Card typically comes with zero fees, the ARCO Fuel Card costs a flat $15 per month for an account, which is a comparatively major overhead – especially since Shell’s network is larger than ARCO’s by over 10,000 stations (around 13,000) and has stations in every state except Montana.

ARCO may have Shell beaten for its rebate rates however, as the Shell Small Business Cards only go up to 6¢ per gallon depending on volume and billing cycle. We can’t be sure as ARCO doesn’t publically list this card’s rebate rates anymore, but last year it had a promotional rebate of 15¢ per gallon for three months, suggesting it might be similarly attractive to the ARCO Business Solutions Mastercard.

Still, because of this unknown quantity and the ARCO card being worse in all other areas, we’d say the easier long-term choice is the Shell Small Business Card for most businesses – plus it’s the obvious choice for those after zero fees.

Who Are ARCO’s Fleet Fuel Cards For?

Both of ARCO’S fleet fuel cards are best suited to small, regional fleets, located on the West Coast or in the Midwest. This is mainly because ARCO’s network coverage is restricted to these regions, and so larger fleets that regularly complete long-haul trips will find ARCO’s cards too inconvenient.

The ARCO Business Solutions Mastercard does afford a greater degree of freedom since it can be used outside the ARCO network. However, the extra fees this incurs make regularly using non-ARCO stations an expensive activity, so you’re better off sticking to ARCO stations.

If you need a fleet fuel card with wide coverage, we recommend looking at our list of the best fleet fuel cards. You’ll find large providers like ExxonMobil on there, which offers a BusinessPro Card with 95% nationwide coverage. Or, you can head straight to our review of ExxonMobil fleet fuel cards.

Our Methodology: How We Reviewed Arco Gas Cards