What Are the Cheapest Fuel Cards?

The BP List Card from The Right Fuel Card Company is the cheapest fuel card in our research, offering fixed weekly fuel rates to help forecast your spend for as little as £1 per card, per month.

As the cost of living crisis continues to affect businesses in the UK, finding an affordable fuel card is important to help keep your running costs as low as possible. And luckily, some of the best fuel card providers also offer cheap fuel cards. When choosing a fuel card provider we know how important it is for businesses to look for one that offers discounts, little to no fees, and solid station coverage.

Short on time? No problem. The easiest way to get a clear price for your fuel card is by using our free quote comparison tool. You’ll get obligation-free price quotes directly from the top fuel card suppliers.

What Are the Cheapest Fuel Cards?

We’ve taken a look at 17 different fuel card providers to find the best on the market. The cheapest fuel cards in our research are the BP List, The Fuel Store Card, the DCI Pump Saver, and the Esso Card.

Our team of independent researchers score each provider against a number of categories, including:

• Fees – we look at whether or not the provider charges fees, including annual, account, minimum usage, or invoice request.
• Discounts – this area determines what savings and discounts are applicable.
• Station coverage – each provider will typically offer a different level of station coverage, and we find out which provider offers the greatest coverage.

BP List Card – Lowest Fees

The Right Fuel Card Company’s BP List fuel card is a credit card with staggeringly low monthly card fees. For just £1 a month per card, you can access fixed weekly fuel rates at BP sites as well as its third-party sites: Esso, Texaco, and Gulf. There is no minimum spend to access these savings, but be aware that you will incur a surcharge at third-party sites.

Due to the partnership with Esso, Texaco, and Gulf, the BP List card can be used at a generous 3,400+ stations UK-wide, including motorway stations.

The BP List card can be used for more than just fuel purchases because toll fees and engine lubricants can also be charged to the card. By signing up, you’ll also gain access to the BPme Rewards Scheme, allowing you to accrue points that you can redeem on fuel or access a range of other savings including Amazon, Cineworld and M&S discounts as well as Avios flight points.

The Fuel Store Card – Maximises Fuel Efficiency

The Fuel Store Card is a credit card with a £15 annual fee, working out to about £1.25 per month, per card. With it, you can unlock fixed weekly fuel tariffs at 3500+ stations, including BP, Shell, Texaco, Esso, Jet, and Certas. Its network coverage includes both inner-city and motorway locations, and there is a handy station locator to ensure your drivers can always find somewhere to fill up. The card can also be used at Morrisons, Applegreen, Co-op, Moto, and Tesco, although this will incur extra charges.

What’s special about this card is its insight into fuel consumption as well as CO2 output. At only 25p more per month than the BP List card, this is a significant plus that BP does not offer.

This card suits fleets with a minimum fuel consumption of 300l per month, as there is a risk of being faced with a £10 extra monthly charge if you don’t hit that threshold.

Your drivers will be happy with this card as they can collect Tesco Clubcard, Nectar, and Esso points when making fuel purchases. As well as fuel, other expenses, such as engine lubricants, can be placed on the card to keep most of your vehicle-related outgoings in one place.

DCI Pump Saver – Largest Irish Network

DCI’s Pump Saver card is a fuel credit card that boasts the largest network in Ireland. For a fee of £18 per year, you can stay on top of your fuel spending with a fixed weekly tariff that will help forecast your outgoings when it comes to filling up.

While there is no minimum spend with this card, you will incur a £2 penalty fee if the card is unused. Since the card can also be used for engine lubricants and parking fees, it shouldn’t be too difficult to avoid the extra charge.

While it does give you access to the largest Irish network, it can still only be used at 1,750 stations. This is around half as many as the other three cards on this list. With that said, its locations include brands such as Maxol, Texaco, Circle K, Top Oil, Certa, and Jones Oil. Be aware that there is a surcharge when using the card at any station not covered by DCI.

Your drivers can benefit from the use of a station finder to locate the closest station within range. Another plus is this card can be used at both motorway and inner city stations.

Esso Card – Great Accounting Features

The Esso Card, issued by WEX European Services, is the most expensive card on our list, coming in at £3 per month, or £36 when billed annually. As with the other cards on this list, this card works on a fixed weekly tariff, allowing you to accurately forecast your fuel spend. This means there should be no surprises at the end of the month.

It has some of the same positives as BP: it’s also a credit card, so you can build a credit score by using this card; and there is no minimum spend, but there are out-of-network transaction fees.

As it’s three times as expensive as the BP List, you’d expect some special bonuses. This card outshines BP in its accounting features, its consolidated HMRC-compliant invoices help remove the stress from the month-end crunch. It also has live, comprehensive reporting features that show the fuel consumption organised by driver, vehicle and card.

The Esso network is slightly larger than both the BP List and The Fuel Store Card’s with 3,532 stations, which is spread over both motorway and inner-city branches of Esso, BP, and Shell. When used at Esso stations, your drivers are rewarded with Nectar or Clubcard points.

In terms of non-fuel purchases, this card can only be used for engine lubricants. Whereas some other cards, such as the BP List, can also be used for toll fees.

Which Fuel Card Has the Lowest Fees?

The BP List card from The Right Fuel Card Company comes in first with the lowest monthly fee of £1 per card. For this price, you’ll also gain access to fixed weekly fuel rates, which will help you forecast your weekly fuel spend.

While still cheaper than some other fuel cards on the market, the most expensive card in our shortlist is the Esso Card at £3. Since the BP List card is a third of the price, you can see it’s a huge saving that will add up in the long run.

While it’s very cheap, the BP List card does lack some features such as accounting and fuel efficiency reports, which can also drive savings if you look at the bigger picture.

What Are Fuel Cards’ Hidden Fees and Ongoing Costs?

While each fuel card supplier is different, there are some common costs that you might encounter. These may come in the form of:

• Name change fee – the cost of changing the cardholder’s name while keeping the same account
• Surcharges – some fuel cards may help with things like ferries and toll roads, but this may come in the form of an additional fee
• Provider-switching fee – you may need to pay to switch your provider
• Application fee – you might have incur a card application fee (this is rare)
• Network fee – for each transaction you make with your fuel card, you may be charged a nominal network fee
• Toll transactions – your fuel card may be able to make cashless toll payments
• Paper invoice fees – you might be charged a fee for requesting a paper invoice. This is usually charged per invoice
• Termination fees – if you choose to terminate your contract early, you may face an early termination fee

There’s no firm price for any of these across any of the providers discussed here, and it’s possible that you might not need to worry about them at all. However, on the slight chance that they do appear, you’ll have been made aware of them by your provider.

What Are the Rewards of Fuel Cards?

The best fuel card suppliers offer different ways to save money but, when paired with rewards schemes, they can deliver a real one-two punch with your spend. The rewards vary among providers (with some not including them at all), so let’s look at some examples.

BPme is BP’s rewards scheme. When you use one of BP’s fuel cards, for every 1l of fuel purchased or £1 spent in-store, you’ll gain one point. These can eventually be redeemed on fuel or used to access a range of other savings, including Amazon, Cineworld, M&S, and Avios flight points.

Supermarkets are also worthy of mention here. While supermarkets like Tesco and Sainsbury’s don’t offer their own fuel cards, they do offer broader reward programs. For example, the Tesco Clubcard or the Sainsbury’s Nectar card can be used alongside fuel purchases to gain points for future discounts.

Supermarket loyalty points are available for drivers topping up using the Esso Card or The Fuel Store Card.

There are other fuel cards on the market that allow you to save when filling up at supermarket forecourts.

Our Methodology: How Did We Rank the Cheapest Fuel Cards?