Most Australian businesses see a headline discount on a fuel card and assume they’re saving money. Sometimes they are. Sometimes the fees cancel it out. Card fees, transaction fees, and payment surcharges all live in the fine print. If you don’t run the actual numbers for your fleet, you can easily sign up to a card that looks great on paper and costs you more in practice. We’ve gone through every major Australian fuel card to break down exactly what you’re paying for.
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The Three Fee Types
Before we get into specific cards, it’s worth understanding the fee structures you’ll find. There are three main ones to watch.
Card fees are the most common. Most fuel card providers charge a monthly fee per card, not per account. This distinction matters enormously for fleets with multiple vehicles. If you have ten drivers and each card costs $3 a month, that’s $360 a year in fees before you’ve saved a single cent on fuel. On a card with a modest discount, that fee might wipe out your savings entirely if your per-vehicle spend is low.
Transaction fees are charged each time a driver fills up. They’re less common than card fees but can add up fast for fleets making frequent, smaller purchases. A 75 cent transaction fee sounds minor, but a driver stopping twice a week generates $78 in transaction fees a year. Across a fleet of ten vehicles, that’s $780 annually.
Payment surcharges apply when you pay your fuel card invoice using a credit or debit card rather than direct debit. These are expressed as a percentage and vary by card type. If you’re a business that pays by Amex, this can sting — some providers charge over 2% on Amex payments, which on a $10,000 monthly fuel bill is an extra $200 just to pay your invoice.
Breaking Down the Major Fuel Card Fees
| Fuel Card | Card Fee (monthly) | Transaction Fee | Interest-Free Period |
| Fleet Card | $5.99 ($2.99 promo) | $0 at partners | 51 days |
| Shell Card | $2.50 (free if unused) | $0 | 0–14 days |
| BP Plus Card | $2.95–$4.95 ($2.95 for 3+ cards) | $0 | 21 days |
| WEX Motorpass | $5.99 | 75¢ per fill | 0–14 days |
| 7-Eleven Fuel Card | $0 | 75¢ per fill | 0 days |
| Mobil Card | $0 | $0 | 21 days |
| Metro Fuel Card | $3.50 | $0 | 44 days |
| StarCard | $2.50 ($0 promo) | $0 | 21 days |
| United Card | $2.95–$4.95 | $0 | 37 days |
| AmpolCard | $2.95 | $0 | 0 days |
Last updated January 2026. Source: fuelcard.report. Fuel discounts and any fees listed are indicative only and subject to change. Actual savings often depend on factors such as business usage, monthly spend, card type, and provider terms. Always check with your chosen fuel card provider for the most up-to-date rates and eligibility criteria.
Let’s get into the specifics. Here’s what the current data tells us about what you’re actually paying across the major Australian fuel cards.
Shell Card
The Shell Card offers 2 cents per litre off regular fuel and diesel, and 4 cents off premium grades, at Shell’s 1,500+ sites nationally. The promotional rate is a strong 6 cents across all fuel types for the first six months, with no monthly card fee during that period.
On the ongoing fee structure, the card fee drops to $2.50 per month — well below the General Fleet Card — and there are no transaction fees. The interest-free period is short at 0–14 days, so this isn’t a card to sit on if you carry a balance.
Best for: Fleets that run primarily on Shell or OTR/Reddy Express sites, especially those who can take advantage of the promotional period to lock in savings from the start.
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WEX Motorpass
The WEX Motorpass is one of the most widely accepted cards in Australia, with access to over 6,000 sites including Shell, BP, Caltex, Ampol, United, 7-Eleven, Mobil, and more. If your drivers operate across a wide range of locations and brands, this network breadth is hard to beat.
The ongoing fuel discount is modest at 1 cent per litre, with a promotional rate of 5 cents for the first six months for new customers. The card fee is $5.99 per month — the same as the General Fleet Card and among the highest we track. Where WEX differentiates is in its reporting and fleet management tools, which are genuinely strong and worth something to businesses that want detailed visibility over driver spending.
There’s a 75 cent transaction fee per fill-up, which is the main watch-out here. Run the numbers for your fleet’s refuelling frequency before committing.
Best for: Larger fleets that prioritise network coverage and reporting over the lowest possible cost-per-litre, and where the transaction fee impact is manageable against total spend.
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Fleet Card
Fleet Card has a broad network — over 6,200 accepted sites across Australia — which is one of its strongest selling points for fleets that operate across multiple states or regional areas.
On the discount side, you’re looking at 1 cent per litre at 7-Eleven and Ampol sites, and 3 cents at Shell. That’s modest for the ongoing rate, but the promotional rate jumps to 6 cents at Shell and 3 cents at 7-Eleven/Ampol for the first six months.
Card fees sit at $5.99 per card per month on the standard rate, which is the highest of the cards we track. That drops to $2.99 during the promotional period. There are no transaction fees at partner sites (Shell, Ampol, 7-Eleven), but be aware that using the card at other sites attracts a 1.5–2% merchant surcharge. That’s not a small number if your drivers regularly fill up outside the network.
The 51-day interest-free period is the longest of any card we cover, which gives businesses with tighter cash flow some breathing room.
Best for: Businesses that predominantly fuel at Shell stations and want maximum network flexibility, provided the card fee is justified by their monthly spend.
BP Plus Card
The BP Plus Card covers BP’s 1,400+ sites with a 2 cent ongoing discount on regular fuel and diesel, and 3 cents on premium diesel. The promo discount is 5 cents for new customers across the first six months.
The fee structure has a nuance worth paying attention to: if you have fewer than three BP Plus cards, you pay $4.95 per card per month. Once you hit three or more cards, that drops to $2.95. This is a meaningful difference for small operators. A single-vehicle business pays $59.40 a year per card more than a business with three vehicles on the same card. It’s an odd structure that effectively penalises very small operators and rewards those who scale.
There are no transaction fees and the interest-free period is 21 days.
Best for: Businesses with three or more vehicles that fuel predominantly at BP, where the per-card fee becomes competitive.
7-Eleven Fuel Card
The 7-Eleven Fuel Card is genuinely interesting for urban fleets. At 3 cents per litre ongoing across all fuel types and a promotional rate of 10 cents for the first six months for new customers, it has the strongest new-customer offer of any card we currently track.
There’s no card fee, no joining fee, no annual fee, and no transaction fee — making this one of the cleanest fee structures available. The obvious limitation is network: 7-Eleven operates around 640 sites, predominantly in metropolitan areas. If your drivers spend time in regional or rural areas, the network coverage may not be sufficient.
Best for: Urban businesses with drivers who refuel regularly at 7-Eleven — particularly during the promotional window, where the savings can be substantial.
AmpolCard and StarCard
The AmpolCard covers 2,000+ Ampol sites nationally and offers a 2 cent ongoing discount with no transaction fees and a $2.95 monthly card fee. It’s a straightforward, mid-range option for businesses whose drivers frequent Ampol sites.
The StarCard offers 4 cents off regular fuel and diesel at their 550+ sites, which is among the stronger ongoing discount rates. With a $2.50 monthly card fee and 21-day interest-free period, it’s a competitive option for businesses in areas well-served by the United network.
The Hidden Cost Nobody Talks About: Payment Surcharges
If your business pays its fuel card invoice via credit card, you need to factor in the surcharge. Most providers charge around 1.20–1.30% for Visa and Mastercard payments, and 2.10–2.50% for Amex.
On a $5,000 monthly fuel bill, a 2.5% Amex surcharge costs you $125 extra. That’s $1,500 a year — more than the discount on many cards at that spend level. If you pay by Amex, either factor this into your comparison or switch to direct debit to avoid the surcharge entirely.
What This Means When You’re Comparing Cards
The single most important thing you can do before choosing a fuel card is model your own numbers. You need to know:
Your average monthly spend in dollars and litres. Your typical refuelling frequency per vehicle. Which fuel station brands your drivers actually use. How you currently pay your bills (Visa, Mastercard, Amex, direct debit).
Once you have those numbers, you can calculate the true net saving — or cost — of any card. Discount times litres, minus card fees, minus transaction fees, minus any payment surcharge. That’s your actual position.
Every business is different. A tradie in suburban Melbourne with one van and easy access to 7-Eleven sites will find a completely different card optimal compared to a transport operator running refrigerated trucks up the Hume Highway.
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