Petrol Savings Guide

So filling up at the right petrol station at the right time can save you big money over the course of a year.

How can you sniff out the cheapest petrol without driving long distances checking the signs? Thanks to technology, you can now use price comparison websites or apps to save time and money.

Here are the major ones so far (with new updates coming almost every month) and their Pros and Cons. (By the way, they’re all FREE.)

PRO: The most comprehensive national app for petrol prices. Claims to report prices for around 4,500 Australian service stations each day

PRO: Covers both metro and regional areas

PRO: Shows graphs of the price cycle, suggesting the best days to fill up.

CON: You have to click on a station to see the price: doesn’t automatically display them.

CON: Mainly focuses on unleaded, diesel, e10 fuel

CON: Only updated twice daily outside NSW & NT

PRO: Offers the choice of 11 different fuel types across all brands, because the state/territory government makes all petrol stations contribute prices.

PRO: Provides up to the minute information and data as well as fuel price history.

PRO: Predicts price trends and suggests the best days to fill up.

CON: Only offered in NSW and NT at present.

PRO: Tells you whether you should fill up now, or wait for prices to drop.

CON: It’s a website so it’s not as simple as checking an app on your phone.

CON: Only updates 3 times a week – Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

CON: Does not cover regional areas. Capital cities only.

CON: Only shows one fuel type per city.

Petrol price cycles rise much quicker than they drop, which many motorists consider evidence of “price gouging”. But the upside of the price cycle is that the pattern gives savvy drivers some clue to when petrol will be cheapest.

Take a look at the below graph from the Motormouth petrol app of 60 days worth of average prices in Sydney, and you’ll see how there is a degree of predictability.

We’ve listed some of the apps and websites that track the cycle for you in our Guide on “The easy way to always find the cheapest petrol”

The duration of petrol price cycles across each state varies, and has increased in recent years. For instance, in 2017 alone, price cycle durations ranged from 11 days to 61 days.

Pump prices at your local servo are influenced by the Singapore wholesale price of petrol, plus taxes and importing costs, but the daily bowser numbers are also shaped by old-fashioned supply and demand in each region.

More competition in bigger cities usually means greater choice and lower prices for the consumer, however in small towns with fewer retailers rural motorists often pay more.

You can get more information about price cycles from the experts at the ACCC and the Australian Institute of Petroleum

Meanwhile, the petrol price cycle has become less predictable and the old idea of ‘cheap Tuesdays’ has seemingly disappeared.

So car owners need to get smart if they want to minimise their petrol bill.  We’ve pulled together 8 top tips to help you save at the bowser:

It has calmed down in recent times, with discount supermarkets such as Aldi providing stiff competition and petrol discounting now capped at a disappointing 4c/Litre (unless you combine offers, as is sometimes possible).

But there are still some savings to be had for motorists keen to save a few bucks.

For car owners who haven’t used the shopper docket discount before, here’s a little background:

Since 2003, Woolies have had a relationship with petrol giant Caltex whilst Coles joined forces with Shell. (Woolies have since sold their petrol stations to BP, but we’re yet to see what impact that will have…)

Customers who spend at least $30 at each supermarket earn a discount on fuel. Your supermarket receipts contain a fuel discount offer on the back that is redeemable at all Coles and Woolworths applicable service stations within Australia.

Just show the voucher to your service station attendant and receive a discount off the pump price of fuel, whether LPG, diesel or petrol.

Woolworths

There are currently 520+ Caltex Woolworths fuel outlets available for discount holders to pick from. What’s more, there are 100+ additional Caltex redemption sites.

Woolworths Supermarket Customers can redeem their 4c/L fuel discount at any of these locations, and combine it with another 4c/L offer for spending $5 in-store at the petrol station, making a 8c/L discount overall.

Coles

There are nearly 700 Coles Express stores around Australia. With Flybuys you can also earn points on fuel: 2,000 points for every $10 spent.

Meanwhile, if you spend $20 at any participating Coles Express store, you can save 10 c/L on fuel. Add that to your Coles Supermarket 4 cent fuel discount docket and you can save 14c/L on fuel.

BP

BP gives BP Plus cardholders 6c off per Litre for the first 7 months, and has a partnership with Velocity Frequent Flyer that means you can get 2 Velocity Points per litre and 2 Velocity Points per $1 spent in-store.

7 Eleven/Mobil

7 Eleven/Mobil has a fuel app that allows you to lock in a cheap price for 7 days if you have one of their fuel cards and pre-load it.