We’re all worried about the cost of living rising dramatically over the next year. We’ve already been hit by a soaring rise in petrol and diesel costs at UK petrol stations which are only just starting to decrease. But with such little disposable income available to households in the UK, how can the transport industry help?
High Fuel prices are slowly starting to come down, it won’t be for too long. The Russian war was the first reason for the high prices of petrol or diesel in the UK and with talks of rationing energy in the Winter months, it won’t be long before they rise again.
So, here are just a few ways to get a bit more of your money back.
How much does petrol cost in the UK?
According to the RAC on the 16th of October 2022, Unleaded petrol was priced at 164.49p per litre whilst diesel towers high at 185.84p per litre and is still expected to rise. What does this mean for the average family vehicle?
If we convert that into pounds, you’ll be spending roughly £1.65 for the average unleaded price per litre for petrol and £1.86 per litre for diesel.
There are other ways to go about getting free petrol now. Sign up for reward programs and loyalty apps that pay you cash and free gift cards for completing various online activities, including many activities, you already complete every day.
Which country has free fuel?
Back in 2014, Turkmenistan discontinued a government effort that provided its citizens with 120 litres of free petrol or diesel each month. Since then, not many places have free fuel. But some countries sell super unleaded petrol on the cheap. Take Venezuela with its abundant oil reserves. It uses these reserves of oil to keep fuel prices at an all-time low – an average price of $0.06 per litre.
Other countries that have extremely cheap fuel include:
- · Libya – £0.10
- · Iran – £0.18
- · Algeria – £1.09
- · Kuwait – £1.13
- · Angola – £1.21
How can I get free petrol?
In August 2022, TopCashBack introduced a new petrol deal in which motorists were able to receive £5 back when they spent a minimum of £10 at any UK petrol station. All you had to do was take a photo of your receipt that clearly shows the date, has the fuel station name, and upload it onto your TopCashBack account. Once approved, £5 will be put into your TopCashBack account within 14 days.
TopCashBack introduced the idea back in October 2020. Whilst the offer isn’t currently valid, keep an eye out on the TopCashBack app for new deals regarding petrol or diesel.
1 | Swagbucks
Earn cash and free gift cards for taking surveys, playing games, installing apps, searching the web, and shopping online. You can shop online and earn cash back rebates at thousands of popular stores. Earn rewards online on your laptop or from your phone – anywhere you have Internet connection. It takes less than a minute to sign up for a free account. Cash out with as little as £3 in earnings and use your rewards for free gas Vouchers, PayPal cash, and more.
Many regular members earn an extra £50 to £100 a month with minimal time and effort.
Since 2008, Swagbucks has paid over £700 million to members in the UK, the US, and Canada. Join Swagbucks!
2 | Rakuten
Rakuten is a deals website that pays cash back rebates for shopping online at featured stores. It does feature more stores than Swagbucks, but unlike Swagbucks, there are no free ways to earn money. Shopping online and claiming cash back rebates is the only method of earning.
Additionally, you receive your rewards once every three months in the form of a cheque or PayPal deposit. On Swagbucks, you can cash out once you’ve reached £3 in earnings meaning you could cash out every week or even more frequently.
3 | Honey
Honey is a free cash back shopping extension that supports shopping sites in the UK, US, Canada, and Australia. Earn cash back rewards for online purchases made at featured merchants. Redeem your Honey rewards for gift cards.
After making a purchase at an eligible store, it can take 2 to 14 days for the reward (cash back rebate) to be credited to your Honey account. Once the funds have been credited, you can cash out the rewards for a gift card of your choice. The redemption process can take 1 day or more.
Are there any petrol loyalty card schemes?
Most major UK Supermarkets and Petrol Stations are coming up with new and inventive ways to attract new members with tight purse strings. With the rising prices of petrol, one way that many are doing this is through their petrol deal schemes. It’s one attractive way to help families amid soaring costs.
Let’s take a look at them.
4 | Sainsbury’s & Esso Nectar Card
You can use your Nectar Card to get money off your high fuel costs. You can spend these points at participating Nectar Card Petrol Stations like Esso.
At Esso, you can get 5p off per litre for every 300 points that you cash in on your Nectar Card.
The points work as follows:
- 1 point per litre of Esso Synergy fuel
- 2 points per pound spent on carwash, lubricants, or shop products
- Nectar points are limited to 100 points for unleaded and 250 points for diesel per purchase
Present your Nectar card at checkout at participating ESSO stores for the 5p off per litre of fuel you purchase. To view your points, visit the desktop or mobile site, or open the application on your phone.
5 | Shell
Shell has a loyalty program called Shell Go+. Instead of rewarding customers for money they spend in their fuel station, they reward customers based on how many times they visit the store. If you visit the store and spend at least £10 on petrol or £2 on food, then you will earn a visit.
For every 300 litres of Shell V-Power you purchase, you receive £3 off of your bill. Simply show your Shell Go+ app at checkout and collect your visit points.
6 | BPme Rewards
BPme has a range of rewards for you to collect, from money off in their fuel station to cashing on in some Airmiles for your next holiday. Here are how the points work:
- · 1L Unlimited Fuel – 2 points
- · 1L Regular Fuel – 1 point
- · £1 spent in-store – 1 point
Before you cash in any of your points for money off fuel, new members must have collected at least 25 base points. To collect a base point, you must purchase 25 litres of regular fuel, 12.5 litres of Unlimited fuel, or £25 in-store. Show the app at checkout to collect your points so you can swap them in-store for money off your fuel.
7 | Asda
Asda rewards work slightly differently than points. After spending money in the store, users earn pounds in a cashpot. At any time, you can cash out your cashpot and generate a voucher that provides a discount on your next shop.
To earn ‘pounds’ you can:
- · Complete missions
- · Star Rewards Purchases
- · Milestone Missions
8 | Texaco
Add a digital stars reward card to your apple wallet or google pay account. With a Texaco Stars Reward Account, new members are rewarded with 200 Star Reward Points.
Similar to Asda Rewards, users can collect points when they spend money on fuel in the store. When you collect enough points, you can convert the points into a digital voucher that can be scanned at checkout. Either this can provide a discount for your fuel costs, or pay for it altogether.
9 | Morrisons
With over 500 locations in the UK, Morrisons has a loyalty scheme called Morrisons More. With Morrisons More, you can earn up to five points for every litre of petrol that you purchase.
When you manage to collect 5000 points on your Morrisons more account, you can redeem a voucher for £5 off petrol. In-store, show your loyalty card to the checkout assistant so that the points can be uploaded to your account.
10 | Tesco
Tesco Clubcard is one of the leading loyalty programs on the market. Whether you’re at a Tesco Express or a supporting ESSO store, you can collect points or vouchers for purchasing fuel. With a Clubcard, you collect 1 point for every £2 you spend on fuel. For every 150 points you collect, you are given a £1.50 voucher to redeem off fuel.
What happens if you fill up with petrol and have no money?
In the UK, if you fill up and have no money for your fuel payment, you can do one of two things.
- Ask a friend/family member to come down and pay for the fuel.
- Sign a No Means to Pay form.
A ‘No Means to Pay’ form allows you to leave the petrol station with your car and fuel. However, your details will be passed on to the police. At this point, you have 48 hours to pay what is due otherwise you may face prosecution.
Is there an app to find fuel?
There is a range of great applications that help to compare and find the best fuel prices in the UK. Some of them you can sign up to free of charge, whilst others require a membership.
- The AA – need a silver or gold membership to access to find fuel feature
- CoPilot – £13.99 – mobile satnav that shows fuel costs as you’re driving near petrol stations
- Petrol Prices – a free application that compares 8500 petrol stations across the UK. Filter by distance, cost, and brand.
Final thoughts
With the cost-of-living crisis rising, and petrol prices bound to soar again, it is crucial to do as much as you can to save money. From downloading applications that help you save money on fuel, keeping an eye out for new promotions, or using apps that help you make conscious decisions on which petrol stations are the cheapest for you to go to, there are plenty of ways to save money on your fuel.
We’re all worried about the cost of living rising dramatically over the next year. We’ve already been hit by a soaring rise in petrol and diesel costs at UK petrol stations which are only just starting to decrease. But with such little disposable income available to households in the UK, how can the transport industry help?
High Fuel prices are slowly starting to come down, it won’t be for too long. The Russian war was the first reason for the high prices of petrol or diesel in the UK and with talks of rationing energy in the Winter months, it won’t be long before they rise again.
So, here are just a few ways to get a bit more of your money back.