(First published Dec 6, 2022)
With fuel prices around 50c per litre higher from just a year ago, and the government's 25c fuel excise relief close to an end, the times are about to hit harder with fuel, but there are ways to combat the hikes.
With prices bound to be heading back towards $3/litre for 91 octane, saving money on fuel has become a key consideration for everyone. Even most EV owners still own an ICE car.
With many fuel companies offering loyalty plans for reduced prices, the AA Smartfuel program is one that we’ve that offers a little more, and through its use over the fast five+ years, we’ve worked out the best way to save the most amount of money from the price of fuel – in some cases, free fills.
The AA Smartfuel programme works around the accumulation of fuel discounts each month. Cardholders shop with participating retailers, including BP and GAS, and each time they receive a fuel discount it adds up on their card.
Tip 1: Don’t be tempted to ‘use’ at each BP/GAS fill, to save the 6c on that tank alone. This isn’t the best way to utilise the discounts: accumulate the discounts with a ‘save’. Those who ‘save’ are saving two thirds more on fuel than those who use the discount immediately.
According to the company, since AA Smartfuel’s inception 11 years ago, more than $900 million of fuel discounts have been issued to kiwi motorists. In 2022 alone, says AA Smartfuel, drivers have saved over $67 million in fuel discounts, with thousands of cardholders saving 50 cents per litre or more off their pump price when redeeming their discount balance.
Tip 2: Plan your fills on 10c days. Almost every week, BP and/or GAS offer an increased discount rate from the standard 6c to 10c, most often on Wednesdays.
Saving for almost two months is the best way to accumulate these discounts. For example, start saving from March 1, and plan to redeem around April 23-30. And drive so that the tank is empty enough to accept and redeem 50 litres (the maximum amount that can be redeemed). If 50 litres doesn’t fill the tank, if convenient, don’t be tempted to fill it, because you’ll be closer to that $40 fill again next month. And when my tank was near full, I filled it, and then put the surplus into a 20-litre fuel can, for the mower, or a car top-up in a few days.
Tip 3: Only ever put $40 in at a time ($40.20 is fine, but $39.99 will not save). This is the minimum amount required to accumulate the 6c saving.
These days, $40 is only around 15 litres, so this won’t come close to filling an empty tank. If you need more fuel, simply hang up the pump for a few seconds and pick it up again, and the attendant can reactivate it, for a second $40 transaction. This can also be done as pre-paids, in two-lot batches. The attendant will process two transactions, giving you twice the savings. I once accumulated 4x $40 fills on a 10c day, accumulating 40c in one visit, with our VW Touareg that had an almost empty 120-litre tank (though you do need to attend/pay every second transaction as the pumps only have two memories).
Tip 4: Save to accumulate and then redeem at the end of the second month, and plan to have a near empty tank in the final week.
Beyond just BP/GAS, there are many partners with the AA Smartfuel programme. Biggest and easiest is Countdown (though it was announced this week that the partnership is coming to end and), where each $100 spent will earn 3c/litre savings. $200 (max) per week, will earn another 3c. Outlets like Repco occasionally offer $40c savings for ins-store purchases above $100. There are 1200 partners across NZ to help accumulate AA Smartfuel savings, including Contact Energy (30c per month), Bottle-O or ASB credit cards.
Pre-Covid, Countdown also offered 40c saving in a single $200 purchase, though this offer hasn’t appeared since.
In 2022, Uber and Uber Eats joined, and EV charging network ChargeNet also partnered, allowing savings to be redeemed as charge credit, though my early use of this EV credit has not yeilded the same savings and petrol.
With management, it all adds up quickly: $80 a week in fuel (20c), $200 per week in groceries (6c) and one special offer spend (40c), (let-alone other accumulated savings) over a two-month saving term would yield a total of $2.48 off a 50-litre tank of fuel – or $124! That’s basically one free tank of fuel every two months.
Tip 5: When redeeming the (maximum of) 50-litres, it’s also possible to save another 6/10c with a pre-redeem $40/15-litre save fill, so keep that in mind if you’re tank is larger than 70 litres (or have a 20-litre fuel can).
For more information, see the AA Smartfuel website www.fillupforless.co.nz. Personally speaking, my own savings to date total $2500, as shown on the smartphone app, and once you’re familiar with the system, it’s a great way to save money on fuel.
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