CFN and Pacific Pride are the two most widely used cardlock fuel cards, offering businesses access to the two largest cardlock fuel networks in the U.S. While the CFN and Pacific Pride fuel cards are nearly identical in features, differences in network coverage and card providers can impact which one is best for your business.
Our guide delivers key insights into the history of both cards to help you understand how the products are similar. We'll also point out the main differences to consider when deciding which card is best for your business and how to leverage cardlock fuel stations to get the most savings for your business.
Table of Contents
- CFN vs. Pacific Pride: overview
- Why CFN and Pacific Pride cards are similar
- CFN vs. Pacific Pride: acceptance
- Fuel at cardlock locations for savings
- CFN and Pacific Pride card providers
- How to choose the best CFN or Pacific Pride card provider
- CFN and Pacific Pride alternatives
- CFN vs. Pacific Pride: Which fuel card should you choose
CFN vs. Pacific Pride: Overview
| CFN | Pacific Pride | |
| Cardlock stations | 3,000 | 1,400 |
| Retail gas stations & truck stops | 65,000 | 65,000 |
| Fraud protection | Fraud detection, alerts, and fraud loss coverage | Fraud detection, alerts, and fraud loss coverage |
| Controls | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Reporting | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Pricing | Varies by card provider Get a free fuel quote | Varies by card provider |
| Fees | Varies by card provider | Varies by card provider |
| Customer service | Varies by card provider | Varies by card provider |
Why CFN and Pacific Pride Fuel Cards are Similar
The CFN and Pacific Pride fuel networks are competing fuel networks, comprised of marketers (card providers) who distribute fuel cards and service customers. The features and functionality of both cards are nearly identical, as both fuel card networks are owned by the same company, Corpay.
Corpay acquired CFN in 2003 and later purchased Pacific Pride in 2014. Since 2014, Corpay has made both fuel card products almost identical, which means you get similar controls, reports, and card functionality for both cards.
The main difference between the two cards is where the cards are accepted. Corpay has not combined the cardlock networks which means CFN cards can’t use Pacific Pride cardlock locations and Pacific Pride cards can’t use CFN cardlock locations.
However, Corpay also owns Fuelman, so they added Fuelman acceptance to both the CFN and Pacific Pride fuel cards which means both cards are accepted at the same retail gas stations and truck stops.
CFN vs. Pacific Pride: Acceptance
| CFN | Pacific Pride | |
| Cardlock locations | 3,000 | 1,400 |
| Retail gas stations & truck stops | 65,000 | 65,000 |
Both fuel cards can be used at the same 65,000 retail gas stations and truck stops via the Fuelman network. The difference is in cardlock acceptance. CFN has 3,000 cardlock locations compared to Pacific Pride’s 1,400 cardlock locations.
Now don’t just choose the CFN card because it has more cardlock locations. You need to search for cardlock locations in the areas you fuel in to determine which card has more coverage for your businesses service areas.
Here are links to search for cardlock stations for each card:
- Find CFN locations
- Find Pacific Pride locations: Under search options, select "Pacific Pride Cardlock" and "PrideNet Retail" to see only cardlock locations.
Fuel at Cardlock Locations for Savings
The most important thing to understand for both fuel cards is that the savings are at the cardlock locations. If you don’t fuel at cardlock locations, you’ll miss out on the savings offered by CFN and Pacific Pride.
CFN and Pacific Pride provide cost-plus fuel card pricing at all cardlock locations that is on average 10-30¢ per gallon cheaper than average retail gas station and truck stop prices. A common mistake new CFN and Pacific Pride fuel card customers make is fueling at retail locations expecting cardlock pricing, but the savings are only available at cardlock locations.
That is why it’s important to choose the card that has the most cardlock coverage in your area so you can direct your drivers to fuel at cardlock locations to get the most savings for your business.
Get A Free CFN Cardlock Fuel Quote
CFN and Pacific Pride Fuel Card Providers
CFN and Pacific Pride are competing fuel networks made up of independent fuel card providers who distribute cards and service customers.
Think Mastercard or Visa. There are many banks and credit card companies that offer cards on their networks that function the same, but they all have different rewards, fees, service, and software.
To provide more context, these fuel card providers are traditionally oil marketers that distribute oil and own cardlock fuel stations. Over the years, some of these oil marketers focused more on the fuel card products of their businesses or altogether sold their oil departments to only focus on fuel cards.
As you would expect, the card providers that focus more on their fuel card products typically have better product offerings and customer support as that’s where they are primarily invested.
How To Choose the Best CFN or Pacific Pride Card Provider
There are four things you need to consider when choosing a card provider:
- Pricing: Card providers set their own pricing which means pricing varies among providers depending on their pricing structures. Get a fuel quote from CFN or Pacific pride card providers to compare pricing.
- Fees: Card providers also set their own fees. Make sure you compare fees before signing up for a CFN or Pacific Pride fuel card.
- Software: Some card providers have developed additional software to give customers a better user experience. For example, at P-Fleet we have a CFN pricing map in our customer portal so you can see CFN cardlock prices before you fuel.
- Customer support: Customer service will vary widely by CFN or Pacific Pride card provider. Some card providers have a team dedicated to all fleet card support tickets while others aren’t nearly as invested in their fuel card customer service.
CFN and Pacific Pride Alternatives
Currently there are no other cardlock fuel cards on the market in the U.S. right now. Other fuel cards would be categorized as universal retail fuel cards, over-the-road fuel cards, and fintech fuel cards. If you're interested in reviewing other fuel cards, check out the 10 best fleet fuel cards for business in 2025.
CFN vs. Pacific Pride: Which Fuel Card Should You Choose
Choosing the right card depends on your business's needs. Start by seeing which fuel card has more cardlock locations in your area. Then compare fuel card providers to get the best price and service.
At P-Fleet we provide the CFN card with no hidden fees. We can send you a free fuel quote to help you with your fuel card comparison or you can apply for our CFN fuel card if CFN is the best fuel card for your business.
