How to save up to R10 per litre on petrol in South Africa

Many of South Africa’s largest banks offer significant rewards through loyalty points and cashback for South Africans using certain fuel stations under the right circumstances.

This includes Standard Bank, which currently offers the highest potential reward, up to R10 per litre bought, for customers on UCount Tier 5 who use their credit cards to refuel at Astron Energy or Caltex stations.

This is 46% of the current inland price of unleaded 95 petrol, which is R21.55 per litre at the time of writing.

Customers who use the UCount points to offset their expenses could therefore functionally only pay R11.55 per litre of petrol.

This applies to those on Tier 5 of the scheme, while those of the lowest UCount tier would still earn R0.60 in UCount points for every litre of fuel, converting to around R27 on a typical hatchback’s tank.

Earning rates for customers who use debit or cheque cards are also lower, earning between R0.10 and R1 per litre.

Besides Standard Bank, FND also offers rewards and is the second highest in terms of payback per litre, at least for those on its Premier and Private accounts.

Those who use Engen fuel stations and their credit cards can earn up to R8 per litre in eBucks at Level 5.

This means they can pay as little as R13.55 per litre of fuel at current petrol prices when using eBucks to offset the cost.

Those with at least one car financed through Wesbank or Wesbank joint venture financiers can earn an additional R2 per litre back.

Another R2 is available to those who have insured their vehicles with FNB Insurance and, depending on the reward level, can earn up to 30% of their insurance premium in eBucks.

FNB Aspire customers earn R0.60 per litre at Engen, with a further R0.30 awarded if the customer has a Wesbank vehicle loan, and another R0.30 if FNB Insurance covers their car.

Percentage-related rewards

Absa provides the second-highest rates in terms of percentages spent, with up to 30% back for those who refuel at Sasol stations.

A major benefit of Absa’s reward programme is that it pays its customers back in cash rather than another point-based system.

With 30% back, customers can get around R6.47 per litre of unleaded 95 and reduce the functional price of fuel to R15.08 per litre.

However, those in Absa’s lower reward tiers receive much less, with those from Tier 1 to 4 having rates that range between 0.2% and 6.25% of spending.

This calculates to lower than FNB’s eBucks Level 1, which works out to roughly 9.3% of the current petrol price.

Discovery Bank customers who are also members of the Vitality rewards programme can get up to 20% back through Discovery Miles when refuelling at BP and Shell stations.

The payback rates are determined based on each customer’s banking habits, while Discovery Insure policyholders earn additional Miles if they drive responsibly.

Total earnings are capped at R1,500 for both.

Nedbank and Capitec, the last two major banks, offer a flat R0.25 and R0.20 per litre in cash.

The table below compares the rewards points or cashback for fuel purchases offered by South Africa’s major banks: