Fuelman Fleet Card Review

Time to get a fleet card? We think so. But is Fuelman the right provider to boost your business, or should you look elsewhere?

Fuelman is a US-based fleet card provider, established in 1985 in Norcross, Georgia. Acquired by Fleetcor in 2000, Fuelman offers four cards, which help managers of various fleet sizes to cut costs, increase security, and manage the administrative hassle of their vehicles, drivers, and fuel usage.

But is Fuelman the best fuel card for your business? Let’s take a look.

What is the Fuelman Fleet Card?

A Fuelman fleet card lets you pay for gas, repair services, and other supplies at a range of gas stations and convenience stores across the US. A Fuelman card can be topped up with regular money, and preset with customizable spend limits and restrictive access controls. A Fuelman card is ideal for fleets of vehicles pumping between 1,000 and 5,000 gallons per month.

What is the Fuelman Network?

The Fuelman network (also known as the Fuelman Discount Network) refers to the web of 20,000 maintenance sites and 50,000 gas stations where the Fuelman fleet card can be accepted. At these sites, Fuelman’s range of fleet cards can be used to fill up on gas or diesel, access repair or maintenance services, and receive discounts.

However, most other fleet card providers boast greater network coverage. WEX cards, for instance, are accepted at around 95% of all gas stations in the US, plus 45,000 service locations, while Comdata’s fleet card also boasts an impressive level of coverage.

Fuelman offers 50,000 sites, which is slightly fewer than most other fuel card companies

What Are Fuelman’s Services and Benefits?

Despite its low rating, Fuelman offers some good features, which we’ve explained below. With these benefits in mind, we’d recommend Fuelman to small fleets that don’t need access to an enormous number of fuel card sites.

✔ Save money

Fuelman can save you up to 8 cents per gallon on diesel and 5 cents per gallon on unleaded fuel – provided you fill up at one of the 40,000+ locations in its Discount Network. 

As well as that obvious benefit (less fuel spending = more money in your pocket!), a Fuelman fleet card also lets you enable purchase controls to drive down the overall costs of managing your fleet.

✔ Reduce fraud

We all know how easy it is to burn through your fuel spend as it is. But when you’ve got drivers skimming off the top, or cooking the books for a quick buck, it’s even harder to stay within budget. 

A Fuelman fleet card helps prevent driver theft and fraud – your staff will have to enter their Driver’s Identification Number if they want to access the card’s spend. And if any unauthorized activity does occur, rest assured you’ll know about it – Fuelman will send you an email or text alert at the first sign of suspicious activity.

✔ More spending control

With some of the strongest purchasing controls on the market, Fuelman helps you limit the excesses of your drivers when they’re out on the asphalt. With a Fuelman fleet card, you can easily set limits as to where, when, and on what can your team can spend – not to mention how much!

✔ Flexibility for fleets

Fuelman isn’t a ‘one-size-fits-all’ solution – far from it. Rather, it offers a range of different fleet cards designed to reflect the unique needs of your business. Whether you’re a small fleet or volume buyer, you rely on diesel, or you need a mixed fuel solution, Fuelman has a card to fit your demands.

While Fuelman does offer the redeeming features above, it still only offers 50,000 sites and comes with fees, including $12 per card per month on its Premium Card Program.

✔ Wide network

A fleet card might offer the world in benefits – but if you can’t use it anywhere, it’s not worth the plastic it’s made from. With Fuelman, though, that’s nothing to worry about. Accepted at over 50,000 gas stations across the US, it’s unlikely you’ll run out of places to get your fill.

✔ Reporting made simple

Fuelman also helps you save cash by collecting the data you need to keep a handle on your fuel spend, then placing it at your fingertips. Its mobile app (though a little ‘2008’ in look and feel) makes keeping tabs on transactions a cinch, cutting out the admin of fuel spend analysis and streamlining your back office processes.

No more fumbling around with cash, or despairing over lost or illegible old receipts – you’ll get everything in one place, all digitized and ready to be interpreted.

How Much Does Fuelman Cost?

As with most other fleet card suppliers, Fuelman doesn’t openly advertise its exact rates. That said, it’s likely you’ll pay a monthly card cost of anywhere between $0 and $10 per card, plus interest – typically an APR (annual percentage rate) of between 15% and 20%. If you fail to make repayments, you may also be eligible for late fees, too.

However, these rates are general, and you can expect to pay fees like these across a wide range of fleet card brands. We’ll be honest – the quickest, easiest, and most hassle-free way to get to get fleet card quotes is to utilize our 30-second webform.

Here’s how it works:

1) Provide us with a few details about your business, and the fleet card solution you’re looking to implement. We’ll ask:

• How you currently purchase fuel
• How large your fleet is
• Where you mainly pump gas

2) Next, give us your ZIP code, so we can get you quotes from suppliers who are best-placed to service your area

3) After that, you’ll receive tailored fleet card quotes for your business, location, and industry. It takes less than a minute, and is 100% free. Ready to give it a try?

Is Fuelman Right For My Business?

Fuelman sure does have plenty of benefits for fleets of all shapes and sizes. But is it right for your fleet? And, if it is, which of its fuel card offerings is most suitable for where (and what) you fill up? Let’s take a look.

“I operate a mixed fleet that pumps gas in metro areas”

If this sounds like you, the Fuelman Deep Saver card is your best bet. It’s well-suited to fleets looking to pump both gas and diesel in cities and more densely-populated areas, and is accepted at all Fuelman Network locations.

Better still, the Deep Saver card saves you 8 cents per gallon on diesel and 5 cents per gallon on unleaded, at any of the 40,000 sites that make up Fuelman’s Discount Network.

“I run an interstate freight business”

If you’re in the trucking trade, you may be better served by a more simple option – that is, the Fuelman Simple Saver fleet card. It’s ideal for heavier fleets, particularly those pumping diesel at truck stops.

Oh, and it’ll save you money, too – 10 cents on purchases at Pilot, Speedway, and Kwik Trip, to be exact, and 2 cents at other locations.

“I need a fuel card that’s universally accepted”

No problem! Simply apply for Fuelman’s Universal Premium Fleet Card Mastercard.

Rather than being limited to stations in Fuelman’s Discount Network, this card is accepted wherever Mastercard is – which, in practice, equates to 160,000 stations nationwide. 

“I operate a non-profit fleet. Is there a card for me?”

Absolutely. Fuelman’s Public Sector fleet card is tailor-made for business operating in the non-profit and governmental sectors. As well as rebates, this card offers special tax reporting, simplified accounting, and additional control over fuel spend.

Here’s what you can expect to save with Fuelman’s Public Sector card:

Not bad, right? 

And, providing your organization is tax-exempt, you’ll pay no taxes on qualified purchases at the time of billing. Better still, Fuelman will handle some of the tax process for you, and report on your behalf. On top of this, you’ll get all your transactions by driver, department, and vehicle wrapped up into a single, straightforward report – saving you time, patience, and potentially a headache, too!

What do Fuelman’s Customer Reviews Say?

At Expert Market, we believe that no Fuelman review would be complete without taking into account the opinions of its customers – whether good or bad. So, what do users of Fuelman’s range of fleet cards have to say about its services?

Sadly, it’s not good. Glowing endorsements of Fuelman are hard to come by, with the company scoring 2.1/5 as of July 2021.

The reviews don’t get much better for Fuelman or Fleetcor; especially considering the latter was recently confronted with a class-action lawsuit citing alleged ‘predatory fee practices’. We’ll let this review do the talking.

It’s not the most flattering verdict, of course – it indicates that Fuelman charges a minimum amount to ‘maintain the account’ when gas prices are below a certain amount. The fact that this wasn’t mentioned when the reviewer signed up also highlights what our own research turned up – a marked lack of transparency where fees are concerned.

Alarmingly, this doesn’t appear to be an isolated incident – at the time of writing, a cringe-inducing 218 complaints about Fleetcor had been registered with Better Business Bureau. A Citron research paper also had some… interesting things to say about Fuelman’s financial practices. Even Fuelman’s app was mercilessly ripped apart by reviewers.

Our advice? Make sure you know exactly what you’re going to be paying, before going anywhere near a contract. And when it comes to the terms and conditions, make sure you’ve read all 98 pages of them.

Want to know what we thought? Read our full Fleetcor review.

What Other Fuel Card Providers Could I Consider?

If you’ve read this far, run a business that pumps at least 1,000 gallons of gas per month, and are interested in what fleet cards can do for your business, then good news – you’re in the right place. Because even if Fuelman’s fleet card solution isn’t right for you, there’s a whole world of other providers making waves across the asphalt of the US…

…and we’ve reviewed them all. Jump into the table below to see how Fuelman compares, and browse our expert analysis of a range of top fleet cards.

Our Methodology: How Did We Find the Best Fuel Cards?

Five researchers carried out in-depth research into US fleet cards according to a comparison framework designed by our research team leader. For each card we’ve asked these questions:

• How convenient is it to use?
• How helpful is it for managing fuel expenses?
• What can it do to ensure your company’s funds are secure?
• What extra benefits do you receive from using it?

We’ve also broken down each card by fee structure, fuel type, network coverage and more to offer you the easiest choice.