Fuel card savings calculator: what a discount is worth per year

How it's calculated

• Gallons a month = miles ÷ MPG.
• Gallons at discount stops = gallons × the share you buy where the card's discount applies.
• Discount per gallon = the cents off, or price × the percentage.
• Savings = discounted gallons × discount per gallon − monthly fee − per-fill-up fees.
• Per year = monthly net × 12. Break-even = gallons needed at the discount to cover the fees.

The diesel price defaults to the latest US weekly average we record from EIA. The discount, share and fees start as example values; take the real ones from the card's own terms, which change, so date them when you write them down.

A worked example: two offers

EXAMPLE: one truck, 10,000 miles a month at 6.5 MPG, diesel at $6.20. Card A takes 20 cents off a gallon at its network, where you buy about 70% of your fuel, with no fees. Card B takes 2% off at any station but charges $15 a month and $1.50 a fill-up.

At today's price the two land $692 apart. Card B's percentage is worth more when diesel rises and less when it falls, and its fees are fixed. Card A only pays where you actually fill up, so if your lanes take you away from its network, the 70% share drops and so does the saving. Run both with your own routes before you sign up.

Reading the result

Net, not the headline discount

A big advertised discount means little if it applies at stations you rarely pass or comes with fees on every fill-up. The net per gallon across all your fuel is the honest figure to compare two cards.

Discount type

A percentage moves with diesel prices; a cents-per-gallon discount doesn't. Some discounts are taken off the pump price, others off a cost-plus or retail-minus price set by the network. Ask which price the discount starts from.

Strings attached

Some cards tie the discount to a minimum number of gallons, a factoring contract, or a payment schedule. Those can be fine, but count them as part of the price.

Fuel card discounts vs fewer empty miles

A fuel card saves money on gallons you buy. Cutting deadhead saves the gallons entirely. At 6.5 MPG and $6.20 a gallon, fuel alone costs about $0.954 a mile. Running 300 fewer empty miles a month saves about $3,433 a year in fuel, before tires, maintenance and your time. That's why the two work best together: the card lowers the price, better load planning lowers the gallons.

Fuel cards for small fleets

With more than one truck, a card is as much about control as discount. Per-driver cards with limits on gallons, fuel type and locations stop a card being used for the wrong purchases, and per-truck reports show which unit is burning more than it should. Run the calculator for each truck with its own miles and MPG, then add the results; one truck on a lane far from the network can drag the total down.

Records that come with the card

A fuel card statement lists every purchase with date, location, gallons and price. That makes quarterly fuel tax reporting easier and gives you a clean source for real MPG. Keep your own receipts and odometer notes anyway, and check the statement against them once a month; a mismatch is easier to fix early.

When a card isn't worth it

If your lanes rarely pass the card's network, if the fees come close to the discount, or if the best discount only comes with a contract you don't want, skip it. Paying a few cents more at the pump while staying free to choose your stations, your factor and your loads is a reasonable trade. The calculator's break-even line tells you how many discounted gallons it takes just to cover the fees; if your truck doesn't buy that many, the card costs money.

Before you choose a card

• Check the network against your real lanes, not a map of the whole country.
• List every fee: monthly, per transaction, out of network, paper statements, late payment.
• Ask how the discount is calculated and when it shows up: at the pump or on a later statement.
• Check what controls the card offers if you run more than one truck: limits per driver, product restrictions, reports.
• Read whether the discount depends on another product, such as factoring, and what happens if you leave it.

For the whole trip's fuel bill, use the trip fuel cost calculator, and put the net price per gallon into the trucking cost per mile calculator to see what it does to your floor.

We don't sell fuel cards and don't get paid by any card company. What we do is plan loads so the truck runs fewer empty miles, for owner-operators and small fleets. Browse all tools or apply.