Drivers can rev up their savings at the pump if they sign up for the best petrol loyalty schemes before they fill up.
The savings may be relatively small - but if you are spending money with the retailer anyway, you might as well pocket the money off. With fuel prices staying sky high - even after Rishi Sunak's 5p cut last month - you'll still pay more than you did last year, but it makes sense to save when you can.
Most forecourt operators and supermarkets offer loyalty schemes, but the perks vary depending on which one you use, so it pays to shop around. That said, none of them cost anything to join, so you lose nothing by signing up and keeping the card handy for when you can use it.
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Of course, the loyalty schemes want you to stick to the company they're aligned to, which might not offer you the best value for money if fuel at the loyalty scheme's garage costs more than the forecourt up the road. So they cards should be regarded as an extra perk if the price is right.
According to Petrolprices.com, the cheapest unleaded petrol within five miles of Newcastle today (April 4) was £158.7 at Morrisons Byker, and Asda Benton. The cheapest diesel was £171.7 at Asda Gosforth. You can find the cheapest petrol or diesel for sale near to you by using a service such as the Petrol Prices app or Confused.com. That's down slightly on the sky-high rates recorded last week, but it's higher than usual as the war in Ukraine has pushed up global oil prices and it comes as consumers are facing other rising costs including soaring energy bills.
The Chancellor announced a 5p cut to fuel duty in the Spring Statement last month to tackle the problem, but many drivers claimed that discount wasn't passed on at the pumps, which fuelled calls by a Government minister to boycott forecourts who hadn't lowered the prices in line with the cut.
Supermarket loyalty cards perhaps offer the best value for money, as you can save up points for fuel when you do your weekly grocery shop. However, the points are not always as generous when you purchase fuel as they are when buying food, so watch out. If you're a Nectar saver, you may be better off saving your points at Sainsbury's but buying your petrol at an Esso garage, as you'll only need 300 points to save 5p per litre, whereas you will need 500 points to save £2.50 if you use a Sainsbury's garage.
Sainsbury's
Sainsbury's offers Nectar points. You will get one point for every £1 spent at Sainsbury's or for every £2 spent at one of the supermarket's fuel stations. In return, you'll get £2.50 for every 500 Nectar points, so you'd have to spend £500 on groceries or £1,000 on fuel to get £2.50 off. You can't spend these coupons at pay at pump fuel stations, you will have to go into the kiosk to redeem your points.
Tesco
Tesco Clubcard members can use their points to get money off fuel at the supermarket's forecourts. You collect one point for every £1 you spend at Tesco, or one point for ever £2 you spend on fuel. You'll get a £1.50 voucher for every 150 points you get, which can be used on fuel as well as groceries and days out. So £1.50 will cost you either £150 worth of groceries or £300 of fuel.
Asda
Despite having more than 300 petrol stations attached to stores in the UK, Asda does not currently offer a dedicated loyalty scheme, although the chain is trialling a pilot scheme in Newcastle currently.
Morrisons
Morrisons shoppers don't have the option of using their MyMorrisons card to save towards fuel, although the chain does offer one-off spot discounts, such as its most recent on in February, which gave customers 7p per litre off fuel when they spent over £40 in store.
Esso
Esso has partnered with Nectar for its loyalty scheme and you can get 5p off a litre when you swap 300 Nectar points. This could be the best choice if you already regularly collect Nectar points, for example when you shop at Sainsbury's. The way you collect Nectar points depends on which retailer you're shopping with. At Sainsbury's you can collect one point for every £1 spent. That means if you spent £300 at Sainsbury's, you could use those points to get 5p off a litre at Esso.
BP
Drivers with a BPme rewards card will get one point for every £1 they spend in store or on a litre of regular fuel at a BP garage. You'll get two points for every litre of the more expensive Ultimate fuel. Motorists will get £1 off their fuel or shopping for every 200 points. That means you'll need to spend £200 on regular fuel or shopping to get a £1 discount.
Texaco
Texaco members can save 1p per litre of fuel with its Star Rewards scheme. You'll get one point for every litre of fuel you buy, and you'll get £5 off when you hit 500 points. Customers can choose to use their points on fuel or to spend it on discounts with Texaco partners Love2Shop.
Shell
Motorists can sign up to Shell Go to get money off every 10th visit - but Shell doesn't specify exactly what the discount will be. A visit is defined as spending at least £2 in the shop or £10 on fuel. If you choose Shell V-Power, it's premium petrol, you'll get an extra £3 off every 300 litres you buy.
