Motive Fuel Card Review: Is it the Right Fuel Card for Your Business?

If you’re looking for a modern, tech-driven fuel card, the Motive fuel card stands out for combining fleet management and spend management in one native platform.

In this review, we break down where the Motive fuel card is accepted, how the discounts work, the fees to expect, and the controls and reporting features included. We’ll also cover the key pros and cons and provide alternatives to help you decide if it’s the right fit for your business.

Motive Fuel Card: Overview

What Is the Motive Fuel Card?

The Motive fuel card is a modern fleet card designed to help businesses manage fuel and operating expenses while gaining more visibility and control over spending. Because Motive is a telematics company with its own fuel card, it has the advantage of  combining fuel savings, expense management, and telematics integration into a single native platform.

The card runs on the Mastercard network, so it can be used almost anywhere your drivers fuel, including gas stations and truck stops nationwide. This makes it a strong option for fleets that need maximum flexibility rather than being limited to a specific network.

Motive offers rebates on fuel, maintenance, and more at 35,000+ partner locations, with fuel discounts of up to 21¢ per gallon. It also includes cash back rewards and additional savings through its maintenance partner network.

One of Motive’s biggest differentiators is its technology and controls. Fleet managers can set spend limits, require mobile or SMS card unlock, block merchants, and track purchases in real time. It also includes advanced features like fuel type matching, location-based controls, and telematics-based fraud detection, helping reduce misuse and improve accountability.

Where Is the Motive Fuel Card Accepted?
Since the Motive fuel card runs on the Mastercard network, it works at any gas station or truck stop that accepts Mastercard. Because Mastercard is widely accepted across the U.S., Motive works almost anywhere your drivers fuel up.

Motive Fuel Card Discounts

Motive offers rebates on fuel, maintenance, and more at 35,000+ partner locations. You can save up to 21¢ per gallon on fuel, plus earn 2.5% cash back in your first year and 1.5% in the years after. See fuel and maintenance discount partner brands below.

Fuel Discount Brands

Maintenance Discount Brands

Motive Fuel Card Fees

Motive’s fuel card fees are relatively simple. You pay $5 per active card per month. There is also a late fee if you don't pay an invoice on time.

Motive Fuel Card Controls and Reporting

Controls

• Mobile-based card unlock: Require cardholders to unlock cards with the Motive Driver App or SMS before use.
• Spend categories: Choose the product categories you want to allow or block, such as fuel, maintenance, hardware, etc.
  
• Capture data: Prompt for drivers to enter specific data points before every purchase.
• Receipt upload: Remind drivers to upload receipts after each transaction.
  
• Merchant control: Block purchases at specific merchants.
  
• Spend limits per transaction, day, week, month, or billing cycle: Dollar amount a driver can purchase per transaction, day, week, month, or billing cycle.
• Time limits: Days and hours when a card can be used.
• Vehicle location and spend location mismatch: Flag or decline transaction if card is trying to be used in a different location than the vehicle.
• Fuel level and spend mismatch: Flag transactions that don't match the increase in fuel level or vehicle's tank capacity.
• Fuel type mismatch: Flag transactions when a fuel type is purchased that doesn’t match the fuel type of the vehicle.
• Fraud protection: Real-time fraud monitoring and alerts, chip in every card, fraud protection up to $250,000  per year ($15,000 per card).
  
  

Reporting

• Transaction detail report: See transactions details for all your fuel cards.
• Spend summary detail: See detailed summary of spend by driver, vehicle, card, or category
• Missed savings report: See when and where drivers are paying more for fuel.
• IFTA report: Download a report of IFTA transactions, including gallons purchased by vehicle by jurisdiction.

Pros and Cons of the Motive Fuel Card

Pros

• Works almost everywhere, so drivers don't have to go out of their way to fill up
• Large network of discount locations
• Strong fraud protection coverage
• Native fuel card for Motive telematics users

Cons

• Mastercard network has fewer purchase restrictions than traditional fleet card networks
  
  

Motive Fuel Card Alternatives

If you want to compare Motive with other options, check out these Motive fuel card alternatives.

One strong alternative to consider is the Voyager fuel card, which offers:

• Accepted at 97% of fuel stations
• No monthly card fees, account setup fees, late fees, or extended network fees
• Trustpilot rating: 4.7/5
• Free fraud loss coverage