Prices for fuel, petrol and diesel, vary greatly not only around the country, but around cities as well.
So what is the best way to get the best price (cheapest) for fuel as you travel around?
Those who use high volumes of fuel, and even those that don’t, buy fuel via a “fuel card”. There are a number of card options, the main ones being issued by the big stations, Mobil, Z, BP etc. But there are also some private operator (companies) that offer cards for no fee and discounts on pump or national prices. The main ones are Kiwi Fuel Cards and Farmlands and RD1, which is owned by Fontera the milk farmers company. Both have no monthly fee and offer discounts from 12 c/ltr with specials from time to time. Also, in the South Island mainly, there is a company called McKeown which is very popular. I don’t promote any company is particular as I don’t allow advertising on this site, at present. The card companies can offer you Mobil, Z or BP cards. Some cards like Mobil can be used at selected Waitomo stations and Z cards include Caltex which is owned by Z. Also, in the South Island and currently slowly expanding into the North Island is NPD, a Nelson based fuel supplier. Many have found their prices, especially in the South Island to be quite sharp. Also, “some” NPD stations will accept a Mobil card. Where a card is used at a competitors station, the supplier of the card discount applies. This is just so confusing, I know!
Just a google search of “fuel card suppliers NZ” will give you a list of others as well, but I will explain how the pricing works and what to watch out for.
There are two methods the fuel card companies use, one is “pump price” and the other is “national price”. The discount your fuel card offers is the appropriate “price” less the current discount price. You decide when you sign up for the card which price you want to use. I use “pump price” as I find it less confusing. The card companies usually have an “app” to advise you of the prices applicable and discount. There are “specials” offered by the card companies, e.g. 20c /ltr discount during January and February instead of the normal 15c /ltr, so watch out for when these are available.
BUT, there are other ways to get a good deal on fuel as I’ve seen prices vary by nearly 50c /ltr. There are a number of smaller fuel suppliers appearing around our country, like Gull, Waitomo, GAS, and others. Most stations have huge electronic signs advertising their prices. If you try to phone a station for a price, they won’t tell you as it’s “against” company policy. There is a way around that and that is the free “app” Gaspy. People who use this app update a price when they drive past or buy fuel, so it relies on users updating prices constantly. On this app, you select your fuel type, Diesel, 91, 95 or 98 and then the app works out where you are (your location which must be turned on with an internet connection) and searches the database for the best priced fuel and list stations from lowest and closet to you.
So now comes the part where you need to remember all those basic maths lessons from school and decide where is the best fuel deal. Is it better to use your fuel card or just buy fuel at the pump price.
Let me give you my example. We own a petrol car which takes 95 octane so I search for 95 or 98 octane prices. Some stations offer all four fuel types, (91, 95, 98 and diesel) some only three. Mobil for example don’t sell 95, so when I look at my fuel card’s Mobil discount I have to compare their 98 price against the price of 95 octane at other sites and what discount I can get. What I have found is that currently (Feb 2021) Pak n Save fuel price for 95 is between $2.027 (yes, they use three decimal places) and $2.057 per ltr. They then give you a 6c /ltr discount when you buy groceries. See, there is a reason to keep these, but I have always found them lying on the ground around the car park as many just throw them away! So at $2.027 less 6c discount coupon, my price is $1.967 /ltr compared to the current $2.419 at Mobil. At Mobil my current card deal is 20c/ltr discount, so I’d be paying $2.219 /ltr so I am far better buying at Pak n Save! Wow, that took some working out.
The other fuel I buy is diesel for our motorhome. I find diesel less confusing to buy and calculate prices. I mostly use Caltex “Truck Stops” with my Z fuel card. But again, with the current 20c ltr discount some Mobil Stations are cheaper. This is where using the fuel card company “app” can help as when you rock up at the Caltex truck stop, the price displayed is a pump price and is NOT the price you will be charged. For example, the pump price might show as $1.29 /ltr, but you’ll be charged between 85 – 95 c/ltr. So when I see Mobil selling diesel at $1.009, with my 20c /ltr current discount (February 2021) I will only pay $0.8009 c/ltr.
Of course, when you are low on fuel, you might have no choice as to where to fuel up, but in the past I have put in $20 worth and driven to where I can get the best deal.
Fuel cards will direct debit your monthly purchases on the 20th of the month following the month of purchase so if you don’t budget well you can get a fright. If this is the case, simply open a “fuel” account with your bank and each time you buy fuel pay the receipt price into your “fuel” account and you’ll slowly build up a credit which just may show how much you have saved on fuel and be available to cover registration, repairs, or a few coffees.
Another source of getting a discount is by obtaining fuel card discount cards like Mobil Smiles, AA Smart Fuel, Caltex Pumped, BP card etc. Simply by presenting your card, like the AA Card when buying tyres or car parts you “earn” discount points. These typically expire within a month or so, so you have to plan ahead as to when the accumulated discount expires, the amount of the discount versus using one of the many methods I’ve outlined.
I know it’s confusing and I apologise if I have confused you more. For this reason plenty of people just pay whatever pump price they get when they need fuel and don’t worry about discounts.
For me, we travel around 10,000 klms per year at a fuel rate of 12.5 ltrs per hundred klms in our diesel motorhome. If my calculations are correct, that is 1250 ltrs of fuel. If I was paying the common diesel price of $1.20 I would pay $1500. If I buy wisely and pay on average $0.95c /ltr, I would pay only $1187.50, saving $312.50 each year and probably more if I can average around $0.90 c/ltr. And this is just for my motorhome. We do around 20,000 klms a year in our car, so there is even more savings!
Happy motoring.