The Shell Business Credit Card and 2 Great Alternatives

Do you run a small business with employees who are constantly driving around town on its dime? When this is the case, it’s easy to feel like all of your cash flow is being funneled directly into the pump. Plus, distributing or reimbursing money for gas and only gas can be a tricky thing to navigate. Well, the Shell business credit card can help you with all of these things.

The Shell Small Business Card is one of the top business fuel cards out there, and it can help you organize and manage your employee fleet to a tee. Plus, you’ll save money on gas with every gallon you and your employees buy with the card.

Though the Shell card can offer stellar fueling-specific perks, if your business isn’t particularly driving-focused, this card might not be worthwhile for you to do your business spending on. If you’re not looking specifically for a fuel card, you can find a much better deal on the market. And even if you thought you might want a fuel card, you also might be able to find a sweeter deal for a more general business credit card that will sway you.

We’ll review the ins and outs of the Shell business credit card, and then we share the best alternatives that offer bigger and broader rewards.

To start, let’s break down what exactly the Shell business credit card does and does not offer:

The Rundown on the Shell Business Credit Card

The Shell Small Business Card is a fuel card meant to systematize and organize business spending on gas, all while supplying a small discount for any gas you buy at all the Shell stations around the nation.

Well, that’s the basic idea, at least. But you’re here for the details, so let’s look closely at all there is to know about the Shell business credit card.

Who Can Get the Shell Business Credit Card?

The Shell Small Business Credit Card is available to business owners with good credit. So if your personal credit score rounds in at 650 or above, you can apply for this card.

How Much Will I Pay to Spend on the Shell Business Credit Card?

You won’t have to pay much to spend with the Shell business credit card, especially if you don’t carry a balance.

The Shell business credit card doesn’t come with monthly recurring fees or account setup fees. Even better? You also won’t have to pay for the additional cards that your employees will use. The Shell business credit card comes with free unlimited additional cards.

So, if you pay off your balance in full every month, it will be free to spend with this Shell business credit card.

Of course, if you carry a balance from month to month, this balance will accrue interest at a 23% APR.

What Kind of Rewards Does the Shell Business Credit Card Offer?

While this card doesn’t offer traditional business rewards for your spending, it does offer a discount on every gallon of gas your and your employees buy from Shell stations.

For every gallon of gas bought with this card, you’ll get a 3 cent discount. If you and your employees are spending a lot of your business’s cash flow on gas, this discount could majorly add up and save your business some serious money in the long run.

And when you consider that this discount applies to all 14,000 Shell stations across the nation, this fractional discount seems even more substantial.

It’s true—you can find business credit cards with rewards rates that are much more wide-reaching and often more lucrative. Nonetheless, with the Shell business credit card, every time you use it to buy gas, the money save with the card will automatically go straight back into your business. No points, no statement credits, just savings.

What Kind of Employee Management Conveniences Does the Shell Business Credit Card Offer?

Employee managing is one feature where the Shell business credit card really shines. When your employees use the Shell business credit card for business expenses, you can control their spending preemptively and monitor their purchases afterward.

To start, you can limit your employee card’s purchasing power from one card to another. You can choose what each employee’s card can be used to buy—fuel only, or fuel and convenience store and vehicle-related purchases.

With your shell business card, you can also monitor and download your billed and unbilled transactions online. Additionally, you can designate preferred Shell stations for your employees through the designated station card option.

Are There Any Other Defining Factors the Shell Business Credit Card Boasts?

Finally, one extra feature the Shell business credit card offers that is definitely worth noting is its liability choices. Unlike with many business credit cards, with the Shell business credit card, you can qualify for company only liability instead of joint liability.

What does this mean, exactly?

Well, “joint liability” is just a fancy way of saying that both you, personally, and your business are liable for any unpaid spending on the card. Most business credit cards only allow joint liability.

The Shell business credit card, however, lets businesses that fulfill certain criteria to dodge the burden of a personal guarantee. If your business has been up and running for more than three years, earns at least $1 million in annual revenue, and has a good business credit rating, you can qualify for “company liability.” This means that only your company, and not you, will be on the hook for any unpaid balances run on the card.

Looking for Bigger Rewards? Consider these 2 Alternatives to the Shell Business Credit Card

Are you hoping to earn more for your and your employee’s business spending? While the Shell business credit card can offer you plenty of non-monetary perks like company liability and employee spending oversight, its 3 cent per gallon discount ends up looking like small change relative to all of the other business rewards credit cards on the market.

While these more general business credit cards don’t come with the gas-specific perks that the Shell business credit card comes with, they more than make up for that with their wide-reaching benefits.

Here are the two best alternatives to the Shell business credit card:

The Blue Business Plus from American Express

The Blue Business Plus is one of the sweetest business credit card deals on the market. When you sign on as a cardholder, you gain access to a 15-month 0% intro APR period. For 15 months, you’ll be able to carry a balance from month to month without accruing interest.

That means you can buy all of the gas you want, pay it off gradually, and not incur a single cent of interest, The great thing about this card, though, is that this perk applies to all of your purchases, not just your Shell purchases, as long as you pay your minimum monthly payment on time.

This card also offers 2x rewards for up to $50,000 on purchases annually and 1x rewards after that cap. For any and all purchases you make on the Blue Business Plus, you know you’ll be earning.

Though the rewards the Blue Business Plus offers are much more substantial than the Shell business credit card’s, it has no annual fee and no fees for employee card either. Even better, after your intro APR period is up, your APR will be lower than with the Shell card. Depending on your creditworthiness when you apply for the Blue Business Plus, your APR with either be 12.24%, 16.24%, or 20.24%. Compared to the Shell card’s 23% APR, even at the highest rate with the Blue Business Plus, carrying a balance will cost you less.

This card may seem too good to qualify for, but its credit score threshold, 620+, is lower than the Shell business credit card’s, so more business owners may be able to qualify.

One feature where the Blue Business Plus falls short? You will always have joint reliability with this card, whereas the Shell business credit card offers the opportunity to waive personal liability for your business spending.

 

The Capital One Spark Classic for Business

Have you been searching for a way to consolidate and organize your business’s spending, but unable to find a business credit card that you can qualify for because of your personal credit score? If your business is running remarkably smoothly—and has been for a while—the Shell business credit card could be a good option because you might be able to rely on “company liability” to qualify for the card without a personal credit check.

However, what if you’re just starting up? Or your business isn’t quite hitting that $1 million in annual revenue that the Shell card requires for company liability? If either of these applies to you, and your personal credit isn’t stellar, the Shell card might be hard to qualify for.

For those business owners who don’t qualify for the Shell business credit card’s company liability option and don’t have the personal credit history to qualify for the card with joint liability, the Capital One Spark Classic is the answer.

If your personal credit rounds in at 550 or more, you’ll be able to apply for the Spark Classic, whereas you’ll need a personal credit score of at least 640 to apply for the Shell business credit card.

The Spark Classic also offers more substantial rewards than the Shell business credit card. You’ll get 1% cash back for every dollar you spend with your Spark Classic with no caps and no restrictions. And just like with the Shell business credit card, you won’t have to pay annual fees or employee card fees.

However, it is important to note that the Spark Classic’s APR, at 23.99%, is slightly higher than the Shell business credit card’s. If you plan on carrying a balance on your card, this 0.99% could end up costing you a lot more than you’d expect.

The Bottom Line for the Shell Business Credit Card

If you’re looking for a fuel card and only a fuel card, the Sell business credit card is a great option. It’s Shell-specific rewards open up huge savings and employee management opportunities for business owners who are over-seeing a lot of mileage.

However, many business owners, even if they have a huge fleet of employees, could benefit more from doing their business spending on a broader business rewards card. These cards often offer sweeter deals and enticing features like 0% intro APR periods and cash back rates.

Now that you have all of the information necessary to master the ins and outs of the Shell business credit cards and its competitors, you’re ready to decide if it’s the right card for you, your business, and your employees.

Thinking the Shell business credit card is not a good fit? Learn more about the Blue Business Plus and the Spark Classic, and apply now if you already like what you see!

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from Fundera Ledger https://www.fundera.com/blog/shell-business-credit-card