Ampol Fuel Card

Pauline Hatch

Pauline is a personal finance expert at CreditCard.com.au, with 9 years in money, budgeting and property reporting under her belt. Ask Pauline a Question about this card.

Ampol Fuel Card

AmpolCard is the fuel card of Australia’s largest branded fuel network, designed to make life on the road easier by offering all-in-one expense management, decent extras and even discounts on fuel. This fuel card has some decent features, the standout being its discounts on fuel every time without needing to hit spending thresholds.

What we love

For a limited time, Ampol is offering up to 300,000 bonus Woolworths Everyday Rewards points and even more savings on fuel for the first 12 months. Here's how it works:

• You'll receive 100,000 points when you link your Everyday Rewards Card to your AmpolCard account.
• Then, you can earn an additional 100,000 points when you spend $3000 in the first 6 months.
• Finally, you can earn another 100,000 points when you spend $3000 in the following 6 months.

Under this promotion, you'll also earn a 6 cent per litre discount on premium fuels for 12 months. After that, you'll get the standard 4 cents off premium petrol and 3 cents off premium diesel.

Let's take a look at AmpolCard's standard features.

Savings on fuel. Fuel costs (especially right now) is one of the biggest on-road expenses for most businesses. After the 8c promotion ends, AmpolCard gives you up to 4 cents per litre off on fuel, which isn't to be sneezed at even if you're a sole trader with one vehicle. Here are the discounts you can get:

• Save 4c per litre on Amplify Premium petrol
• Save 3c per litre on Amplify Premium diesel
• Save 2c per litre on regular petrol and diesel
• Get 10% off packaged engine oils

Bonus Everyday Rewards. You can link your Woolworths Everyday Rewards card and your points will be automatically added every time you use your AmpolCard for fuel and in-store purchases:

• Earn 2 points per litre of Premium fuel
• Earn 1 point per litre of regular fuel
• Earn 1 point per $1 spent on eligible in-shop purchases
• Earn 1 point per $1 on AmpolCard Services and Repairs

For every 2,000 Everyday Rewards points earned, you can use $10 towards eligible purchases at Woolworths, Big W and BWS. Or, you can convert them to Qantas Points. Very few fuel cards offer bonus rewards points, so it's a nice way to get a little more back on your fuel costs.

Business convenience. One of the other great features of fuel cards is convenience. No more petty cash, a glovebox full of receipts, or discrepancies at the end of the month. Transactions show up in one account, with a range of reports available including ATO-ready statements. You can integrate your account with Xero and MYOB for seamless bookkeeping. The myAmpol online portal and the Ampol app let you monitor your fuel expenses in real time, and pay at the pump without leaving your vehicle (where the service station accepts FuelPay).

You can choose to pay your AmpolCard account via direct debit or credit card. If you pay using direct debit from a Mastercard, Ampol will waive the card service fee, too.

Low monthly fees plus flexible extras. The card's flat fee per month is $2.95, or you can choose to add extras for a little more. You can add 24/7 Roadside Assistance for $5.25 per month, which includes unlimited callouts for minor breakdowns. The Services and Repairs extra costs an additional $2 per month and gives you 12% off tyres, repairs, servicing and tuning at participating merchants, and other exclusive offers.

What’s not so great

AmpolCard is a perk-filled card but the minimum monthly cost only offers the basics. Extras like 24/7 Roadside Assistance will add $5.25 per month, and Service and Repairs will cost an extra $2 per month per vehicle. You'll have to weigh up the extra costs against the value you'll get.

Another (admittedly mild) downside is that Everyday Rewards points can't be redeemed for Ampol purchases. That means you can use your rewards to buy from Woolworths, BWS or Big W, but you can't use them for fuel or for shopping at Ampol-branded stores. You also can't access the 4-cent per litre discount on your Everyday Rewards card and the AmpolCard fuel discounts simultaneously. Basically, no double-dipping of rewards points.

If you don't pay your invoice in full by the due date, you may be charged interest on the overdue amount. The Ampol terms and conditions say interest is charged at the current Westpac Banking Corporation overdraft rate, plus 2% p.a. until the account is paid off.

Why should you choose this card?

Fuel cards are an easy and inexpensive way to boost your company's cost-efficiency and manage your accounts. The AmpolCard is helpful whether you have one vehicle or a giant fleet because the low monthly cost per card is the same regardless of quantity. Many fuel cards only offer discounts when you hit certain volume thresholds, but AmpolCard delivers discounts every time.

In a nutshell, AmpolCard gives you the following:

• Control over your employee spending. Keep fraudulent spending at a minimum and check your ongoing expenses in real-time.
• Easy money management. Use the online myAmpol portal or the app to view spending, print reports and get ATO-approved statements. Accounts also link with MYOB and Xero.
• Discounts and rewards. Discounts on fuel are a huge bonus, plus earn Everyday Rewards points on eligible purchases.
• Flexible extras. Adding extras like 24/7 Roadside Assistance is optional, so you can opt for the basic features or upgrade depending on your business.
• Cashflow control. You'll get a 44-day credit term, so you can fill up now and pay later.

Ampol has the advantage of being one of the country's largest fuel suppliers, making it easier to find a participating service station. It offers 24/7 customer support, and extras that can save you a lot of time and money if they suit your business.

You can add your AmpolCard to Ampol's app by activating FuelPay, which lets you pay at the pump easily. FuelPay is available at over 600 participating sites.

To be eligible for an AmpolCard, you must be at least 18 years old and a director, trustee, partner or business owner to apply. You’ll also need to have been trading for at least six months and usage of a card must be wholly or predominantly for business purposes.

Overall Rating

The AmpolCard is flexible, allowing you to choose the basic features or upgrade with extras for a little more each month, per vehicle. It comes with account management solutions that link to popular software like MYOB and Xero, so life is easier month-to-month and at tax time.

As a business owner, you could get some very handy insights into your on-road expenses, as well as reduce your overall costs using all the discounts on offer. Fuel cards can be a valuable tool, and the AmpolCard is one with some better-than-usual business-savvy features.

The 300,000 bonus Woolworths Everyday Rewards points up for grabs are a huge drawcard if you're considering a fuel card.