Fuel Card Strategy: How to Maximize Savings

Why Fuel Cards Matter More Than You Think

Fuel is the single largest variable expense in your trucking operation. A typical Class 8 truck burning 1,000-1,500 gallons per month at $3.50-$4.50 per gallon¹ racks up $3,500-$6,750 in monthly fuel costs. That is $42,000-$81,000 per year flowing out of your business and into the pump.⁶

Even a modest per-gallon discount makes a real difference at that volume. A $0.30 per gallon savings on 1,200 gallons per month is $360 per month -- $4,320 per year. That is money that goes directly to your bottom line without hauling a single additional load. Over 5 years, the right fuel card strategy can save you $20,000 or more compared to paying pump price with a regular credit card.

Yet most owner operators grab whatever fuel card their factoring company hands them and never think about it again. That is leaving money on the road. This guide shows you how to approach fuel cards strategically -- matching your card to your routes, understanding how discounts actually work, and stacking multiple cards for maximum savings. If you want to see exactly how much you could save with different card options, run your numbers through our fuel card savings calculator.

Ready to see which cards offer the best discounts for your situation? Compare fuel cards on our review page.

How Fuel Card Discounts Work

Not all fuel card discounts work the same way, and understanding the mechanics helps you choose the right card and avoid misleading marketing.

CPG (Cents Per Gallon) Discounts

CPG discounts reduce the price by a fixed amount per gallon -- for example, $0.08 off at Pilot/Flying J locations or $0.15 off at Love's. The discount is applied at the pump or reflected on your statement.

CPG discounts are straightforward and predictable. You know exactly how much you are saving on every gallon regardless of what the pump price is. When diesel is $3.50/gallon, a $0.10 CPG discount saves you 2.9%. When diesel is $5.00/gallon, that same $0.10 saves you only 2.0%. The absolute savings stay the same, but the percentage impact shrinks as prices rise.

Typical CPG ranges by card type:

Card Type	Typical CPG Discount
Basic fleet card (in-network)	$0.03-$0.08/gallon
Premium fleet card (in-network)	$0.08-$0.20/gallon
Negotiated volume discounts	$0.15-$0.50/gallon
Factoring company fuel card	$0.02-$0.10/gallon

Percentage Discounts

Some fuel programs offer percentage-based discounts instead of or in addition to CPG savings. For example, a card might offer 2% back on all fuel purchases. At $4.00/gallon, that 2% equals $0.08/gallon -- comparable to a mid-range CPG discount.

The advantage of percentage discounts is that they scale with fuel prices. When diesel prices spike to $5.00+/gallon, a 2% discount gives you $0.10/gallon instead of a flat $0.08. The disadvantage is that when prices drop, your savings drop too.

Retail Price vs Cost-Plus Pricing

Here is something many drivers do not realize: the "discount" advertised on a fuel card is typically off the retail price posted on the pump. But retail prices at truck stops already include a significant margin -- often $0.10-$0.30/gallon above the wholesale cost of fuel.

Some fuel card programs, particularly those available to larger fleets or through negotiated programs, use cost-plus pricing. Instead of discounting off retail, they price fuel at the wholesale cost plus a small fixed margin (for example, OPIS rack average plus $0.15/gallon).² Cost-plus pricing typically delivers the deepest discounts, often $0.30-$0.50/gallon below retail, but is generally only available to operators fueling 5,000+ gallons per month or through group purchasing programs.

If you have the volume to qualify for cost-plus pricing, it almost always beats retail-minus-CPG deals.

Fuel Stop Network Comparison

Your fuel card is only valuable at locations where it works. Choosing a card tied to a network that does not align with your routes is like buying a gym membership for a gym across town -- technically useful, practically worthless.

Pilot/Flying J Network

Pilot/Flying J operates over 750 locations across North America,⁵ making it the largest truck stop network. If you run anywhere in the continental US, you are rarely far from a Pilot or Flying J. Their fuel card programs include the Axle Fuel Card and various fleet card partnerships.

Best for: Operators running diverse, cross-country routes who need maximum location coverage.

Love's Travel Stops

Love's has grown to over 640 locations and continues expanding aggressively. Their Gemini fleet card program offers competitive CPG discounts and strong IFTA reporting. Love's locations tend to have newer facilities and consistent amenities.

Best for: Operators who prioritize newer facilities and strong customer service. Especially strong in the South, Midwest, and along I-40/I-10 corridors.

TA/Petro (TravelCenters of America)

TA and Petro have roughly 280 combined locations. Their UltraONE loyalty program and fleet card offerings provide solid discounts, particularly for drivers who can concentrate their fueling at TA/Petro stops.

Best for: Operators running lanes that align with TA/Petro locations, particularly I-80, I-70, and I-95 corridors.

Independent Truck Stops

Thousands of independent truck stops across the country offer competitive fuel pricing -- often lower base prices than the major chains. Some fuel card networks like EFS and Comdata include a mix of chain and independent locations, giving you access to lower independent pricing with the convenience of a fleet card.

Best for: Operators willing to plan fuel stops more carefully in exchange for lower base prices.

Choosing Based on Your Lanes

The right network depends entirely on where you drive. Here is how to figure it out:

1. Map your most common routes over the past 3 months
2. Identify where you fuel most frequently -- not just where you drive, but where you actually stop
3. Count how many stops from each network fall within your fueling windows (every 500-700 miles for most trucks)
4. Compare the discount each network offers at those specific locations

If 80% of your fueling happens at Pilot/Flying J locations, a Love's card is not going to help you much no matter how good the discount is. Match the card to your routes, not to the marketing brochure.

IFTA Reporting Integration

IFTA (International Fuel Tax Agreement) requires quarterly reporting of miles driven and fuel purchased in each jurisdiction.⁴ Getting IFTA wrong costs you money -- either through overpayment when you fail to claim fuel credits, or through penalties and interest when you under-report.

Most major fuel cards automatically generate IFTA-ready reports that break down your fuel purchases by state. This single feature can save you hours of manual recordkeeping every quarter and reduce the risk of errors that trigger IFTA audits.

What Good IFTA Integration Looks Like

• Automatic jurisdiction tracking -- every purchase is tagged with the state where fuel was bought
• Gallon-by-gallon reporting -- not just dollar amounts, but actual gallons per state
• Exportable reports -- download data in formats your accountant or IFTA filing service can use directly
• Real-time data -- not a month-old statement that arrives after your filing deadline

If you are currently tracking IFTA manually with receipts and a spreadsheet, switching to a fuel card with IFTA integration will give you back 2-4 hours per quarter and reduce your audit risk significantly. For a complete walkthrough of the filing process, see our IFTA reporting guide.

Fraud Protection Features

Fuel card fraud is a real problem in trucking. Stolen card numbers, unauthorized purchases, and skimming devices at fuel pumps can drain your account before you realize something is wrong. A strong fuel card should include multiple layers of fraud protection.

Essential Fraud Protection Features

Driver ID or PIN requirement. Every transaction requires a driver-specific PIN code. This means a lost or stolen card cannot be used without the code.

Product restrictions. You can limit the card to diesel fuel only, blocking purchases of gasoline, merchandise, or cash advances. If your card is compromised, the thief can only buy diesel -- which is harder to resell than merchandise.

Transaction limits. Set maximum gallon limits per fill-up (typically 200-300 gallons for a Class 8 truck) and per-day limits. A fill-up request for 500 gallons should trigger an automatic decline and alert.

Vehicle number tracking. Some cards require the driver to enter the truck or unit number at the pump. Mismatched entries flag suspicious activity.

Real-time alerts. The best cards send text or email notifications for every transaction, allowing you to spot unauthorized purchases immediately rather than discovering them on your monthly statement.

Odometer entry. Requiring an odometer reading at each fill-up creates a data trail that makes fraudulent transactions easier to identify. If the odometer shows your truck moved 50 miles between two 200-gallon fill-ups, something is clearly wrong.

Stacking Strategies for Maximum Savings

Smart operators do not rely on a single fuel card. They stack multiple cards and loyalty programs to squeeze every penny out of their fuel budget.

Strategy 1: Primary Discount Card + Loyalty Program

Use your fleet fuel card for the transaction discount, and separately enroll in the truck stop's free loyalty program. Many loyalty programs offer additional per-gallon credits, free showers, and merchandise discounts that stack on top of your fuel card discount.

Example: Your fleet card saves you $0.12/gallon at Pilot. Your Pilot myRewards loyalty account earns 1.5 points per gallon, which translates to additional per-gallon credits on future fills. Combined savings: $0.15-$0.18/gallon.

Strategy 2: Factoring Company Card + Independent Fuel Card

Many factoring companies offer fuel cards that let you draw fuel advances against your pending invoices. These cards typically have modest discounts ($0.02-$0.08/gallon) but their real value is cash flow -- you can fuel up before your broker payment arrives.

Stack this with a separate fuel card that offers deeper discounts. Use the factoring fuel card when you need the cash advance, and your primary discount card when your account is funded.

Strategy 3: Dual Network Coverage

Carry two fuel cards from different networks. Use your Pilot/Flying J card at Pilot stops and your Love's card at Love's stops. This gives you discount coverage across 1,400+ locations nationwide, virtually eliminating situations where you pay full retail because your network does not have a stop on your route.

The administrative overhead of managing two cards is minimal -- the savings on even 3-4 off-network fills per month typically justify the effort.

Strategy 4: Volume Negotiation

If you run a small fleet burning 5,000+ gallons per month total, you have leverage to negotiate better rates directly with fuel card providers or truck stop chains. Call the fleet sales departments at Pilot, Love's, and TA and ask about volume pricing tiers. A 5-truck fleet burning 7,000 gallons/month can often negotiate an additional $0.03-$0.05/gallon beyond the standard card discount.

Do not be afraid to renegotiate annually. Fuel card providers want to retain your volume and will often improve your rate to prevent you from switching to a competitor.

The Role of Fuel Surcharges

Understanding fuel surcharges is part of your overall fuel cost strategy. Most carrier-broker rate confirmations include a fuel surcharge (FSC) component calculated based on the Department of Energy's weekly national average diesel price.

Here is the connection to fuel cards: the FSC is designed to offset your fuel costs above a baseline price (typically $1.20-$1.50/gallon depending on the contract).¹ If your fuel card discounts reduce your actual cost per gallon below what the FSC formula assumes you are paying, the difference is additional margin in your pocket.

Example: The DOE average is $4.00/gallon. The FSC formula assumes you are paying something close to that. But your fuel card discount brings your actual cost to $3.70/gallon. That $0.30/gallon gap across 1,200 gallons/month is $360/month of additional effective income that the FSC generates but your fuel card prevents you from actually spending.

This is one of the hidden benefits of an aggressive fuel card strategy -- it turns the fuel surcharge from a break-even mechanism into a profit center.

Tax Reporting Benefits

Fuel cards simplify your tax life in ways that save both time and money.

Clean Expense Separation

Every fuel purchase on your fuel card is automatically categorized as a fuel expense. At tax time (or quarterly estimated tax time), you do not need to sort through bank statements or credit card bills trying to separate fuel from food from truck parts. Your fuel card statement is a clean, pre-categorized record of every gallon purchased.

Mileage and Fuel Correlation

For drivers who claim actual expenses rather than the standard mileage rate (which is virtually all owner operators with Class 8 trucks), having precise fuel records that correlate with mileage data strengthens your deduction.³ If the IRS ever questions your fuel deductions, a fuel card statement with dates, locations, gallons, and prices is far more defensible than a shoebox of crumpled receipts.

Quarterly Estimated Tax Payments

Since owner operators pay quarterly estimated taxes, having real-time fuel cost data helps you project expenses and avoid underpayment penalties. Most fuel card portals let you download year-to-date fuel spending at any time, which your accountant can use to calculate accurate quarterly estimates.

When to Switch Fuel Cards

Do not get complacent with your fuel card. Evaluate your card at least once a year -- and definitely switch if any of these situations apply:

Your routes have changed. If you used to run the I-10 corridor and now you run I-80, your Love's-heavy card may no longer match where you fuel.

Your volume has increased. Moving from 1 truck to 3 trucks means you now have volume leverage to negotiate better per-gallon rates. Call your provider and ask for a rate improvement. If they refuse, shop competitors.

A better program launches. The fuel card market is competitive and new programs emerge regularly. What was the best card 2 years ago may not be the best card today.

Your provider's service has declined. If fraud resolution takes weeks, IFTA reports are inaccurate, or the app crashes constantly, those operational headaches cost you more than the discount saves.

The fee structure has changed. Some providers quietly increase transaction fees or reduce discounts over time. Review your statements periodically and compare your actual per-gallon savings against what was originally promised.

Switching fuel cards typically takes less than a week -- most providers can have a new card in your hands within 2-3 business days. The short-term inconvenience of switching is nothing compared to months or years of paying more than you should.

Building Your Fuel Strategy

The best fuel card strategy is not about finding one magic card. It is about building a system:

1. Calculate your baseline fuel cost -- total gallons per month times average pump price on your routes
2. Map your fuel stops to identify which networks you use most
3. Select a primary card that matches your dominant network with the best CPG or cost-plus discount
4. Add a secondary card for coverage on your less-frequent networks
5. Enroll in every free loyalty program at every truck stop chain -- there is no reason not to
6. Track your actual savings monthly by comparing what you paid versus what you would have paid at pump price
7. Renegotiate or switch annually based on your actual data

Run your specific numbers through our fuel card savings calculator to see the dollar impact of different card combinations on your operation. Then compare fuel cards to find the right fit.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do all fuel cards charge transaction fees?

Most fuel cards charge a per-transaction fee ranging from $0.50 to $2.00 per fill-up. Some cards waive this fee entirely, while others bury it in a slightly lower CPG discount. A $1.50 per-transaction fee on 8 fill-ups per month adds $12/month or $144/year to your operating costs. When comparing cards, always calculate your net savings after transaction fees -- not just the headline discount number.

Can I use more than one fuel card at the same time?

Yes, and many operators do. There is no rule limiting you to one fuel card. The most common stacking strategy is using one card for major truck stop chains and a separate card for independent stops or a different network. Your factoring company may also provide a fuel card that offers advances against pending invoices -- this can be used alongside your primary discount card. The key is tracking which card gives you the best discount at each stop on your regular routes.

How do fuel card discounts compare to paying cash?

Cash and fuel card prices at truck stops are typically the same -- both are lower than the credit card price, which adds $0.05-$0.15 per gallon. Fuel card discounts then reduce the price further by $0.05-$0.50 per gallon below the cash/card price depending on the card and location. In other words, a fuel card generally saves you money versus cash, and significantly more versus credit cards. The only exception is small independent stations that offer aggressive cash-only pricing -- but these are less common on major trucking corridors.

What happens if my fuel card gets stolen or compromised?

Immediately contact your fuel card provider to freeze the card. Most providers have 24/7 fraud hotlines for this purpose. Many fuel cards offer fraud protection features that limit your liability for unauthorized purchases -- similar to a credit card's zero-liability policy. Cards with driver ID or PIN requirements provide an extra layer of protection since the thief would need your code to fuel. Some advanced cards also allow you to set purchase limits per transaction, per day, and by product category, which limits your exposure even if the card is compromised.

Are fuel card savings worth the hassle of being restricted to certain truck stops?

For most owner operators running regular routes, yes. If your lanes consistently pass through stops in your card's network, the savings are significant -- $300-$600 per month on average for a solo operator burning 1,000-1,500 gallons monthly. The restriction only becomes a problem if your routes are highly variable and frequently take you through areas with few network stops. In that case, either choose a card with the broadest network coverage or carry a backup card for a second network. The savings on 80% of your fills more than compensate for the occasional full-price fill at an off-network stop.