Which is the best supermarket fuel card

30 July 20206 min read

A supermarket fuel card is a great solution for any businesses that travel through urban areas on a regular basis.

They are designed to be used specifically at supermarket fuel sites and offer businesses access to low cost fuel, at easily recognisable and conveniently located sites.

There is currently no UK supermarket which offers its own fuel card however, there are a number of fuel card providers in the market which have products specifically pointed to supermarket fuel sites.

Access to low cost fuel

Supermarket sites can offer low fuel prices because of levels of throughout: regular high usage means more volume and cheaper prices. These low prices and offers are often used as a marketing tool to attract customers. It makes sense to offer low prices on their forecourts because drivers will then visit the store for other goods, and vice versa.

What this means is your drivers can take advantage of this cheap supermarket fuel, even if they don’t ever intend to do their weekly shop there.

Supermarket fuel is typically 3-5p per litre cheaper than the national average. For a fleet of 40 vehicles achieving 40mpg and each doing 20,000 miles a year, the saving buying fuel at 4p per litre less would be more than £3,500 a year. If your drivers are filling up at more expensive stations, such as on motorways which can be up to 8p per litre more expensive on average, that saving would double to £7,000 annually.

Fuel quality

There are many questions asked about supermarket fuel and whether businesses should use it. Often prices are much cheaper, yet drivers and fleet managers wonder if supermarket fuel is bad for their vehicles, or inferior in quality in comparison to fuel sold at branded sites such as Shell, Esso or BP. All petrol and diesel sold in the UK must conform to British and European standards - EN228 for unleaded and for diesel EN590. This means that they should all work in the same way and that you should be able to mix the same grade of fuel, bought from different outlets, without any problem.

We looked at the science behind supermarket fuel, view our myths and facts to understand more.

Convenience covered

Supermarket fuel cards work in just the same way as other fuel cards, allowing your drivers to access low cost fuel across a network of sites, and pay using the card rather than their own money.

As with most other fuel cards, each transaction records the vehicle registration number and mileage, transactions are then consolidated on one HMRC-compliant invoice. All information is captured at the point of sale including VAT details, so your drivers don’t need to keep fuel receipts, helping to reduce paperwork and speed up VAT reclaim, as well as simplifying your administration processes.

Supermarket fuel cards also enable drivers to collect their loyalty points when they fill up.

The right fuel card for your business

There are many supermarket fuel cards on the market, but there are a number of things you must take account of before choosing one. The first is location. It is important to offer drivers access to a convenient network, if drivers do not live or work near enough to locations it could be a false economy. Having to drive miles out of their way in search of low cost fuel negates the potential saving that could have been made in the first place.

Related to this, the number of outlets is also important, especially if you have vehicles travelling far and wide, so ensure the card and brand you choose is the right fit for your business.

The Allstar Supermarket+ fuel card, is the only UK supermarket fuel card which gives access to all major supermarket fuel sites at Asda, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s and Tesco. So there is always a convenient site nearby, ensuring employees do not have to drive unnecessary miles and spend time going to locations away from their routes.

With fleet management tools and driver aids such as the Co-Pilot app and site locator, you can ensure drivers find their nearest low cost sites whenever it is most convenient.

Some of the best supermarket fuel cards also offer additional services, such as breakdown assistance and servicing support.

With Allstar Supermarket+ you can access pay as you go AA Breakdown and Fuel Assist, vehicle maintenance management, and glass repair and replacement through our ServicePoint network, as well as being able to make M6toll payments, which could help save you even more.

Access to a wider fuel network when needed

Some fuel card providers offer access to supermarket fuel as part of a wider provision, giving businesses the best of both worlds: a network on motorways and A roads, and cheaper supermarket prices too.

Some businesses may see this as a benefit that drivers have access to a wider network when needed, while others that want more controlled low cost coverage can see this as a disadvantage that drivers can refuel at more expensive sites.

Allstar offer a range of solutions to support all business needs. As well as the savings offered by the supermarkets, businesses using the cards such as the Allstar Supermarket+ card can also benefit from additional savings on pump prices at over 1,500 Discount Diesel sites. That means you can be confident you are getting the best price every time, as well as more than 3,000 conveniently located branded fuel card sites across the UK on one card.

Those businesses wanting access to a wider network, the Allstar One fuel card could be the right solution, with the benefit of cheap fuel at supermarkets, Discount Diesel across more than 1,300 UK sites and covers 90% of the UK network, totalling more than 7,700 stations.

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