Absa boosts fuel rewards – will eBucks, uCount follow?

Absa has temporarily increased the earn cap for fuel spend on its Absa Rewards programme until the end of May as fuel prices skyrocket following the start of the Iran war (or ‘military operation’).

At the start of April, the price of 93 and 95 octane petrol increased by R3.06, while diesel went up by between R7.37 and R7.51 a litre. The increases would’ve been steeper had National Treasury not temporarily reduced the fuel levy by R3 a litre for the month.

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With petrol prices above R23 inland (R22 at the coast) and diesel above R26 (R25 at the coast), bank rewards programmes that typically offer a certain amount ‘back’ per litre are suddenly a lot less rewarding.

The ability to earn rewards at fuel partners is also capped, and at these levels, motorists will see an effective reduction in their earnings equal to the retail fuel price increase (around 15% for petrol and over 35% for diesel).

Absa says its fuel earn cap has increased from R3 000 to R5 000 “to deliver practical relief when it matters most”. Given the number of holidays, the bank says the increased cost pressures come at a “period of heightened travel”.

Customers who opt in to its free Absa Rewards programme can earn up to 30% back in cash on their fuel purchases at partner Sasol.

The actual rates depend on whether a debit card (0.15% to 4.5%) or credit card (0.2% to 30%) is used, and which rewards tier you are on.

The latter is determined by a points score calculated by the different bank products you hold (for example, vehicle finance or qualifying savings accounts).

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The move makes Absa the first among the major banks to offer additional value following the sharp fuel price increase. None of its rivals have given any indication that they will lift earn rates or caps.

FNB’s eBucks offers up to R8 a litre back on fuel spend at Engen, while with Standard Bank uCount, the “double fuel rewards” offer means up to R10 a litre back on Astron Energy/Caltex spend.

Discovery Bank customers who have a Gold, Platinum or Black credit card or Suite can earn up to 20% back on their fuel spend at BP and participating Shell service stations. This rate is determined by your overall spend as well as your Vitality Money status.

Nedbank’s Greenbacks programme offers 25c a litre back at BP with a linked debit or credit card.

* From 1 April to 31 May 2026 (normally R3 000 or 30% of total earn, whichever comes first)

** Without a Discovery Insure policy and Vitality Drive

At current prices, the earn caps of R2 500 on FNB eBucks and Standard Bank uCount look meagre. This equates to just over 100 litres of fuel and about 90 litres of diesel a month. Discovery Bank’s limit of R1 000 looks downright absurd – that’s roughly a tank of fuel. Even before the price increases, Nedbank’s Greenbacks earn rate was obviously out of line with the rest of the market.

Absa’s raising of its cap is a clear attempt to compete aggressively for retail customers, particularly at the higher end. It has 6.1 million active transactional customers and says the ‘Affluent’ segment grew by 6% and the ‘Private Wealth Banking’ segment by 7% in 2025. This was “supported by early activation initiatives and increased adoption of Absa Rewards” which it adds “continues to serve as a critical lever for driving customer behaviour and strengthening the depth and quality of customer relationships. Membership grew by 28% to 2.6m”.

Last year, it added Checkers and Shoprite as rewards partners (it already had deals with Pick n Pay, Woolworths and Food Lovers Market).

The bank says the number of unique customers moving up to higher rewards tiers “increased by 15% to more than 560 000 during the year”.

This means that, as with all bank rewards programmes which incentivise this, customers took up more of the Absa’s products.