How South Africans can save up to R530 per tank on petrol

Motorists can save up to R533 on petrol every time they visit the pump by using their bank’s rewards programmes.

Several banks in South Africa offer incentives for using their cards at specific stores or outlets, including petrol stations.

These rewards usually take the form of a cash-back system where a percentage of the purchase is paid back or transformed into virtual currency.

Users who accumulate virtual currency then use it to pay for fuel at their bank’s partnered service station.

Big savings on the cards

Most banks in South Africa allow users to accumulate points on a reward system whenever they swipe their cards at approved retailers.

For example, FNB clients can earn back 15% of their spending at Spar or Checkers stores in the form of the company’s eBucks virtual currency, while Absa users can get up to 30% back at Woolworths or Pick n Pay.

While the criteria vary between service providers, most banks use a tiered programme that increases the percentage of the rewards based on the user’s profile and spending habits.

This is important to consider when looking for fuel discounts, as the amount that you can be refunded will be determined by your bank account’s status.

In the case of Standard Bank’s UCount benefits, a Tier 1 user can earn back up to 60c per litre of petrol, but this can go all the way up to R10 per litre at Tier 5, making a dramatic difference to the amount saved.

Your account’s status is not the only criteria though, as several banks will award different amounts depending on whether you use a credit or debit card.

Credit cards are the preferred payment option, as a provider like Standard Bank will only pay out R4 per litre with a debit card instead of the maximum of R5 per litre, according to research by MyBroadband.

Another thing to point out is that these programmes are not universal, as every bank in South Africa is only partnered with one or two petrol companies.

For example, Nedbank customers will be limited to BP garages if they want to maximize their fuel savings, while Standard Bank is partnered with Astron Energy – which is busy taking over the familiar Caltex’s local operations.

It must also be noted that, while it is possible to save a lot on petrol using a bank’s reward scheme, several providers actually place a cap on the amount that can be paid out each month.

You can see a list of South Africa’s banks and petrol station partners, and the rewards they offer, in the table below:

To crunch the numbers and see what these incentive programmes can actually save consumers, we compared Absa’s 30% cash-back for six different car fuel tank sizes, which you can see below.

The cost of fuel is calculated based on the current inland rate of R22.19 for petrol 95 as of September 2024.

Unsurprisingly, 30% is no joke, as you can save up to R530 on a single visit to the pump with the largest tank size of 80 litres, though given that the savings are proportional, someone with a small tank is just as likely to see a massive benefit.

It also shows that the R3,000 spending cap is actually quite generous, as you’d have to fill up a large tank several times per month in order to hit the limit.

It is important to clarify that the 30% is only available to tier 5 members who use their credit cards, so it is a rather exclusive benefit that will not be accessible to all motorists.