If you manage your company’s vehicles you’ve probably heard the term cardlock fueling before, but what is it? In short, cardlock fueling is a fleet fuel management method that uses a fleet card to track and control fuel purchases at cardlock fueling stations. You are probably thinking, what’s the difference between a regular retail fuel card program and a cardlock fueling program? Here’s a few key differences to help you determine retail fuel vs. cardlock fuel:
1. Cardlock fueling stations are different than regular gas stations. Cardlock fueling stations are unmanned fuel stations with 18 wheel access that are specifically made for businesses. Unlike retail stations, most cardlocks don’t have c-stores and aren’t open to the general public.
2. Cardlock fuel cards have product controls. Cardlock fuel cards allow you to set profiles for your individual drivers, departments or your entire fleet. Setting up fueling times, gallonage limits and product controls gives you a handle on fuel consumption.
3. Cardlock fuel cards are based off gallons not dollars. Retail fuel cards use dollar transactions limits while cardlock fuel cards have gallon transaction limits. The major difference is that you have to keep changing the dollar limit on retail fuel cards as the price changes.
4. Cardlock fuel card pricing vs. retail fuel card pricing. Retail fuel card pricing is usually the price you see at the pump plus fees or minus discounts. Cardlock fuel pricing is usually based off of the Oil Price Information Services (OPIS) plus the margin the fleet card company makes. The main difference is that retail locations pricing can fluctuate dramatically where two cardlock locations will be roughly the same price.
Interested in cardlock fueling? Learn more about our fleet fueling program and how we can help you streamline your processes and make data driven, money saving decisions. If your business operates in the Bakersfield, Fresno or Ventura areas, we’ll be happy to provide you with the best oils, lubes, fuel and service. Together, we can do great things! Contact us today to learn more about our products and services, and how we can help you.