Consumers are exploring every opportunity to save money, especially when looking at their monthly fuel bill given the sharp increase in fuel prices compared to a few months ago.
Even if rewards programmes at filling stations only save a few cents, they are becoming more popular – with fuel companies advising motorists that most banks and some retailers offer more rewards on top of those available from the fuel company’s own loyalty scheme.
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It’s not surprising that loyalty programmes are becoming more popular.
The daily calculation of the petrol and diesel price by the Central Energy Fund – using the average daily oil price, exchange rate and international refinery costs since the last fuel price adjustment at the beginning of April – indicates that motorists have to prepare for another big fuel price hike next week.
The under-recovery on the so-called slate levy amounts to R2.08 per litre for petrol and a massive R5.43 per litre for diesel.
These figures suggest that petrol will increase to way above R26 per litre.
Diesel would have increased to above R31 per litre if not for National Treasury’s announcement that government will reduce the slate levy on diesel by another 93c for the month of May, adding to the temporary relief it gave motorists for the month of March.
However, diesel users need to realise that this relief will be reversed sooner or later.
The culprit is the increase in the oil price to around $100 per barrel due to the war in the Middle East. Rand strength or weakness affects the price by only a few cents.
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Unfortunately, fuel is a necessity and there is little people can do to reduce the impact, as well as the impact that rising fuel prices have on the cost of everything else.
Being told to drive less did not go down well a few weeks ago, which leaves driving carefully and less aggressively to save fuel, or get an electric car.
The only other suggestion is to take full advantage of loyalty programmes, and millions of consumers have signed up.
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Some programmes offer cash back on fuel purchases and others offer discounts on shopping at restaurants and retailers.
Fuel companies offer their own rewards programmes, and many partner with other loyalty schemes to offer better rewards.
There are many choices. You can earn an instant “discount” of up to 30c per litre of fuel when combining a bank’s and a fuel company’s reward programmes, and sometimes as much as R10 (advertised) when lumping bank, insurance and fuel rewards together.
BP
Presenting a BP Rewards card at the pump earns a motorist rewards of 20c per litre fuel, while adding a Pick n Pay Smart shopper card will earn an additional 10c per litre.
Motorists who are insured with Discovery Insure can earn 20c per litre on top of the BP Reward.
Motorists can also combine their Nedbank rewards programme when paying with their Nedbank Greenbacks card to get 25c worth of Greenbacks per litre fuel.
Nokwanda Khumalo, general manager of mobility and convenience at bpSA, says South Africans have strongly embraced the BP Rewards programme since its launch in mid 2024. It has more than one million users.
“The BP Rewards programme is widely available across bp forecourts nationally and is integrated with leading loyalty ecosystems such as Pick n Pay Smart Shopper, Discovery Insure and Nedbank Greenbacks. These partnerships, particularly Smart Shopper, have seen strong uptake since launch,” says Khumalo.
“Since the launch in July 2024, the team has also delivered strong commercial results, including market share gain in the first year and R200 million in cash back rewards to date.”
Engen
Engen partnered with Clicks and FirstRand to give customers the opportunity to earn either Clicks ClubCard points to redeem at Clicks or FNB eBucks for using on any of the FNB group payment solutions.
Engen advertises that motorists can earn up to R8 back per litre in eBucks when paying with a virtual card issued to FNB Premier, Private, Private Wealth and RMB Private Bank clients, depending on the applicable reward level.
It says people earn R4 per litre back each month when paying with their virtual cards, another R2 if they have an active vehicle finance agreement with WesBank or Toyota Financial Services, and another R2 per litre for using FNB Short Term Car Insurance (capped at 30% of your monthly car insurance premium). However, certain maximum limits apply.
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Sasol
Mahlatse Makwela, manager for loyalty and rewards at Sasol, says more than 2.3 million customers have joined Sasol Rewards since it launched the loyalty programme in April 2022.
“Uptake remains strong, reflecting the relevance of a programme that rewards everyday fuel and convenience store purchases.
“From June 2025 to March 2026, Sasol Rewards returned R229 million in value to customers. Since inception of the programme, rewards amount to R973 million,” says Makwela.
“Based on a monthly average payout of around R25 million, we expect to cross the R1 billion mark before the end of our current financial year to the end of June 2026.”
Sasol Rewards members earn 30 points (equal to 30c) for every litre of fuel purchased, as well as one point for every R2 spent in its forecourt convenience stores.
Makwela says points can be earned, tracked and redeemed instantly across a wide range of partners, including retail, grocery, quick-service restaurants, entertainment, gifting and health and beauty.
These include John Dory’s, Nu Metro, Dis-Chem, Checkers and Takealot, as well as airtime purchases from the large cellular networks.
She adds that the rewards programme is linked to the Absa Rewards programme and members who pay for fuel at Sasol using an Absa card can earn up to 30 percent real cash back (depending on their Absa Rewards tier), in addition to their Sasol Rewards benefits.
“For the period 1 April to 31 May 2026, Absa has increased its fuel earn cap by R2 000 per month and introduced higher earn rates for lower tiers, providing additional relief during a period of heightened cost and travel pressures. Together, these benefits help ease one of the largest recurring expenses for many households, delivering immediate, meaningful value at the pump,” she says.
Shell
Shell launched its own V+ Rewards programme, which offers cash back starting from 15c per litre of fuel purchased and a 0.5% discount on purchases in stores at the lowest tier.
Regular customers who buy a minimum of R750 in fuel at least four times a month earn 20c back on fuel.
Large customers who fill up more than 11 times per month at a minimum of R1 500 each time can get 40c back.
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Astron
Astron opted for an approach that engages customers by offering daily, weekly and monthly lucky prizes. These range from R25 vouchers to get a coffee or snack at the convenience store to a monthly prize of R150.
It also partners with Standard Bank’s UCount Rewards.
A spokesperson for Standard Bank says customers earn points on their fuel spend whenever they use a qualifying Standard Bank card. These points can be used towards shopping at more than 20 retailers.
“Customers can get up to R10 back in rewards points per litre of fuel and oil purchased based on their tier level when they fill up at Astron Energy service stations.
“UCount Rewards has approximately 1.7 million members and 97% of points earned are actively being redeemed,” says the spokesperson.
“UCount Rewards members can seamlessly earn fuel rewards when swiping their qualifying Standard Bank Card and are not required to present a separate rewards card for this benefit,” he says.
Standard Bank notes that UCount Rewards has given more than R1.5 billion in rewards on fuel purchases to its members since the programme started.
Total
Total offers a 15c reward per litre fuel on its loyalty programme, as well as 2.5% discount on oil, convenience store purchases and car washes.
Read: Fuel rationing sets in, some farmers battling supply shortages
The rewards help, if only a few cents at a time or in the form of a free can of cooldrink.
Peace in the Middle East will help more.
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