Driving In NZ? Here's How To Save Money On Fuel

Fuel prices in NZ have gone up, reaching record levels despite the lockdown. To help drivers save on their fuel and driving costs, we’ve compiled some tips that can help them save on their next fuel top-up.

Adjusting your Driving Habits

We’ve previously written about certain habits and actions you can do in order to reduce your fuel consumption, and how to make the most out of one fuel run. It mostly dealt with ensuring your car is well-maintained, and that you drive efficiently by reducing the weight you carry.

Aside from those adjustments however, you can also take a more proactive approach by seeking out special deals and promos, which could help you shave off a couple of bucks from the current high fuel prices.

Use a Fuel Discount Card

Reddit user u/sjbglobal suggests getting a Supercard from Farmsource, which allows drivers to save at least 16c/litre at Mobil and 12c/litre in most other places, which can help once you add in other discounts. No need to worry about any fees or sign-up costs in order to use this card.

It takes a while to set up but if you get one, you can get discounts, such as at least 6.5% when you buy fuel from Mobil. This may seem small at first, but it all eventually adds up. 

Check out the Gaspy App

Developed by HWEM, the free app called ‘Gaspy’ allows Kiwis and visitors to NZ to help each other find the nearest and cheapest petrol stations. No longer do drivers have to constantly Google, “cheapest fuel prices near me”.

You can easily look for gas stations based on a certain kilometre radius near you, or you can also sort results by the town or city you’re in. You can sort search results via price, distance, and even the type of fuel such as premium, diesel, 91, 95, and even 98. 

Being part of the Gaspy community also allows you to help other drivers. Whenever you pass by a gas station or even when you’re filling u, you can use the app to confirm if the price displayed is correct.

If it’s not, you can update it to ensure everyone is getting the latest information. What's more, you can add a supermarket voucher for a petrol discount to the app, showing the discounted price in red.

Check out Cardlink’s PriceWatch website

The PriceWatch website provides a snapshot of all the fuel transactions it processes in NZ. It's updated on a daily basis, allowing you to sort fuel prices today in NZ per region, and even per suburb. This way, you get the exact fuel pricing before you set out to drive.

Of course, it does have some limitations. While it can provide accurate information from different service stations, truck stops, and marinas, the display is limited to fuel sites that accept CardLink cards. They may not always cover all the smaller suppliers and retailers, but at least they have most of the big players like BP, Caltex, Mobil, Challenge, Gull, and Z.

PriceWatch is refreshed at midnight each night, and will require a minimum of five transactions to be processed by CardLink before it displays and updates new prices on the website. These transactions do not necessarily need to be from the same region.

CardLink does not make up any prices and does not manually alter them. Some discrepancies may just arise due to how prices are updated on their website.

More fuel discounts in NZ

As with any commodity or item, it pays to compare and shop around whenever you’re looking for fuel. There are several options available. For example, you can look at getting some coupons for fuel at your nearest supermarket stores to get a discount for every fuel top-up.

For one, shopping at participating New World and PAK’nSAVE stores can get you fuel discounts for Z. Simply spend at least $1 or more at any participating store to receive a Fuelup Supermarket Voucher, which you can then scan when you pay in-store, or at the pump at any Z service station.

You can also get fuel discounts from loyalty programs, alongside other types of rewards usually attached to such programs.

AA Smartfuel allows you to build a balance of fuel discounts, whenever you shop from over 1,200+ retailers across NZ. Save more money when you top up at BP or GAS.

It takes a bit of effort to accumulate the points needed for a really big discount, but it can be worth it, especially if you’re the type who doesn’t need to drive often, requiring fewer top-ups on average.

Be practical with your choice of gas stations

Of course, despite the presence of more lucrative deals and discounts, it pays to be a bit more practical on where you refuel. For one, if you find a station with the cheapest price but it requires a good amount of driving to get there, you may just want to go to a nearby gas station, as long as the difference isn’t too big. 

On the other hand, if you’re driving a lot, then it might be worth holding out a bit until you find a station with better prices. In this case, you’ll want to use apps like Gaspy in order to plan your route in advance.

Take care on the road, and be more mindful with your fuel consumption. Make the best of these deals and start saving today.