Shell Fleet Cards Review: Are They Right for Your Fleet?

Shell's fleet cards offer solid savings on fuel, convenient spending controls and reporting, and pretty decent fuel station coverage. But is one of its card programs right for your business? Let's find out

Shell may be a British-Dutch multinational, but it's no stranger to American customers. Shell has always maintained a healthy presence in the United States, partly fueled by its acquisition of numerous Texaco and Marathon stations. Those acquisitions, plus the brand's reputation for quality, have made Shell a market leader with over 14,000 retail outlets in the US.

But consumers aren't the only ones to benefit from Shell's market position. The company also provides quality services for businesses that run commercial fleets – namely fleet cards. In this article, we're going to review Shell's fleet cards in detail.

Shell's Fleet Cards: Coverage, Benefits, and Fees

Shell provides three types of fleet cards, giving business owners and fleet managers a good variety that they can choose from based on their unique needs. Whether you're local, regional, or operate over long distances or multiple locations, one of Shell's fleet cards will likely be a good fit for your business.

Shell's fleet cards are:

Reviewed by Expert Market on 12/22/2020

As a nationwide company, Shell is better positioned than most to offer benefits not only to local and regional fleets, but to those that operate from coast to coast as well.

Shell's cards carry a number of benefits, from security and cost controls, to savings and rebates on fuel and maintenance costs.

In addition to savings at the pump, Shell fleet card customers can use the fleet reporting tools that come with the cards to leverage more savings, and even improve operating efficiency. Shell can provide reporting on:

• Driver and vehicle activity
• Business unit and monthly/yearly expenses
• Product purchases and activity at service stations

But let's take a closer look at what each of Shell's three cards can do.

Shell Small Business Card

The Shell Small Business Card is intended for small, local fleets. It comes with no card charges, no monthly or annual fees, and no cost for additional cards. Plus, holders can get 15% off Jiffy Lube oil changes and preventative services (at participating stations, that is).

The Shell Small Business Card also offers full-time online account management – including reports on all fueling activity (including breakdowns by driver), and the ability to set restrictions on what can be bought, where, and when. And you can manage all this from the palm of your hand using the Shell Card Online app.With these purchase controls plus driver IDs, detailed purchase records, and the ability to cancel lost or stolen cards immediately yourself, you know security's at the forefront.

This card is accepted at all Shell stations, as well as participating Jiffy Lube stations.

Shell Fleet Plus Card

If you buy 300 gallons (or more) of fuel in a billing cycle, the Shell Fleet Plus Card can help you to save on those costs with volume-based rebates. These rebates start at 3¢ per gallon, rising to 6¢ per gallon (when you buy 10,000 gallons or more). Your savings may not be unlimited, though – diesel rebates are capped at $300 per billing cycle.

Like the Small Business Card, the Shell Fleet Plus Card comes with no monthly fees, no annual fees, and no card fees, and can be used to get 15% off Jiffy Lube services at participating locations.

You'll also have all the 24/7 online monitoring and security features of the Small Business Card, as well as more detailed reporting and itemized breakdowns, including mileage analysis, fuel grades and prices, non-fuel purchases, and more.

Shell Fleet Navigator Card

The Shell Fleet Navigator Card is a good choice for larger regional and national fleets. It lays claim to a few handy features that its two cousins don't. For example, the reporting and security functions this program comes with are all customizable, and customer service is available via real-time customer updates.

Plus, while it's accepted at all Shell locations, this card can also be used at over 95% of all fuel stations nationwide, and the use of the card can be geofenced (that is to say, you can set virtual borders around the area your fleet operates in), letting you customize your business's own fuel network.

As well as all the features you'd expect – including purchase controls and fueling activity reports – this card also offers rebates on your fuel costs. These rebates vary by fleet size, up to a maximum saving of 5¢ per gallon.

Just like Shell's other cards, you can use the Fleet Navigator Card to get discounts at participating Jiffy Lube locations. Unlike Shell's other cards, though, this one does come with associated fees.

Where are Shell's Fuel Stations?

Finding a Shell station can be more of a challenge in some areas than others. There are no stations to speak of in Montana, and distribution in some areas (especially in the Mountain time zone, and some of the more sparsely-populated parts of the Midwest and Southwest) can be highly uneven. With that being said, Shell's coverage is far more extensive than many other fleet card providers.

The station finder and route planner on the Shell website is better than average, both in terms of visualizing the location data clearly, and giving you the option to filter your search by fuel types, services, amenities, and opening hours (no one wants to pull up to a closed station).

The company also has a free Android/iOS app that can be used to find stations, though some reviews complain that the station locations listed aren't always accurate.

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.