Opinion
You can save 22¢ a litre on petrol; Here’s how
By Joel Gibson
Desperate times call for desperate measures and, with the price of petrol now above $2 a litre in most states, hardcore money savers are finding innovative ways to combine all sorts of petrol discounts to save up to 20¢ a litre at the pump.
Here are some of the latest strategies you can use to help combat surging fuel costs. Some are new, while others are more tried and tested.
It’s relatively easy to combine fuel price discounts to make big savings on the pump price.Credit:Flavio Brancaleone
I have written before about how to use petrol price apps and price cycles to save as much as 40¢ to 50¢ as litre, but this article focuses on discounts and loopholes that you can exploit on top of those.
Stack discounts
One trick is to buy discounted gift cards and use those to buy fuel, then combine the savings with another discount.
For years, canny money savers have bought Woolworths Wish gift cards at discounts of up to 5 per cent and then used them at participating Caltex Woolworths or Ampol petrol stations.
Combine the card discount with the 4¢ a litre Woolworths shopper docket discount you get if you spend $30 at the supermarket, and you could end up with a discount of 14¢ a litre.
For a grey nomad driving around Australia that has a Seniors Card – one way to access the 5¢ a litre gift card discount – a savings like that could be worth hundreds of dollars.
A newer version of the same fuel price hack is to buy Ampol petrol gift cards and then stack the savings made on top of supermarket discounts.
For example, Shopback is offering 3 per cent cash back on AmpolCash eGift Cards, which can be combined with the 4¢ a litre shopper docket to save about 10¢ a litre, when fuel is $2 a litre.
Ampol also sometimes offers 5 per cent off its gift cards in-store for an even bigger saving.
Competitor Shell Coles Express is offering 14¢ a litre off fuel. The deal applies until May 25 and is activated if you spend $20 or more in store.
You can then combine it with a 4¢ a litre Woolies shopper docket and one of a range of other Coles Express partnership deals that give you an extra 4¢ a litre – such as Linkt toll road customers, carsales.com.au members or AFL Live app customers – for total savings of 22¢ a litre.
Club discounts
The other area where you can find extra savings is in discount clubs and rewards programs.
United Energy was rated one of the cheapest petrol retailers on average by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission last year and also has a 4¢ a litre discount on offer.
It is designed for members of the Suncorp and APIA insurance loyalty programs, but it is also open to anyone who downloads the digital fuel discount card to their phone.
New fuel discount club Ruckus Energy has launched in NSW and plans to move into Queensland and Victoria next. It buys fuel at wholesale rates and passes on the club price – usually about 20¢ a litre cheaper – to members for a fee of $5 a month.
Motoring groups have also long offered fuel price discounts, for a similar membership fee.
- Loading
NRMA members get 3¢ to 5¢ a litre off at participating Ampol and Caltex stations.
- RACQ gives members 4¢ a litre off at Puma Energy petrol stations.
- RAA offers a 4¢ a litre discount with EG and Caltex Woolworths.
- RACWA offers 4¢ a litre off with Puma Energy and Better Choice.
Most motoring clubs also offer the 3-5 per cent discount on the Woolies Wish gift cards mentioned above.
If you are a Costco member, you can gain access to some of the cheapest petrol in the country.
There is an annual membership fee, but Costco fuel is consistently among the cheapest, so be sure to make the most of it if you are a member.
- Advice given in this article is general in nature and is not intended to influence readers’ decisions about investing or financial products. They should always seek their own professional advice that takes into account their own personal circumstances before making any financial decisions.
Joel Gibson is the author of KILL BILLS. Catch his money saving segments on Nine Radio, TODAY and on Twitter @joelgibson.