NZMCA Kiwi Fuelcards Explained: Diesel prices cheat sheet
Late last year, we joined Kiwi Fuelcards as NZMCA members so that we could save as much as possible on our biggest expense this year: fuel. They have three cards available - one for Caltex and Z, one for Mobil and one for BP.
Getting a fuelcard is simple - you go to this link and click on NZMCA. You can fill in the form online. If you don’t like online forms, there is the option of emailing or calling someone. Once you get the card, you use it like an EFTPOS card whenever you fill up. Your designated account will be debited for the fuel you bought the previous month on the 20th. You will also get an itemised statement emailed to you, which is handy for recordkeeping. Don’t worry if you look at the receipt you get indicates the full price has been charged, when the debit goes out, it will be for the discounted amount. You can always double-check your receipts against the invoice that is sent through.
The tricky bit about Kiwi Fuelcards can be working out which fuelcard to use. It’s taken me a good couple of hours of comparing all the various PDFs and websites to figure it out and put it into an easily digestible and applicable format for hubby and me to use, so I thought it might be useful to share.
What I have done is I have compared each discount as applied to the supplier’s price and ranked them in order of what’s likely to be the best deal. I think the biggest stumbling block for me was the difference between pump price, national price and sector price. The pump price is the everyday price you see displayed on the pump. The national price is a set price which is not publicly displayed, although the Mobil national prices are here on the Kiwi Fuelcard website. You can ask them to join the email list to get the updated BP national prices (UPDATED 01/07/2020: BP have moved to the discount applying to PUMP prices for clarity and ease of calculation). Sector price is the set price for a particular area. You can find Caltex’s sector prices here and safely assume that these prices apply to both Caltex and Z truckstops.
Just as a point of comparison, even though Gull is not included on any of the fuelcards available, I have included them here. The simple reason for this is sometimes their pump price will trump the fuelcards’, even after discount.
DIESEL
Truckstops
Typically, the best price for NZMCA Kiwi Fuelcard members will be at a truckstop, and there’s the bonus of getting access to a faster pump. Be careful that you check the flow switch before you fill and make sure you use the low-flow option, as the high-flow option is intended for big trucks filling up a thousand litres. The best truckstop fill-ups go in this order:
Caltex - a discount of 8c per litre off the sector price. Remember that sector price is different to (and much lower than) the pump price. Today, the sector price for Caltex truckstops ranges from $1.269 to $1.299 (current at 31/01, check here for the latest). Depending on where you are, this would mean a per-litre price of between $1.189 and $1.219 after discount is applied.
Z (same card as Caltex) - a discount of 6c per litre off sector price. Z and Caltex have the same sector prices, so the lowest price you could pay here is $1.209 per litre.
BP - a discount of 4c per litre off pump prices.
Mobil^ - a discount of 20c* off the pump price. Although the discount seems bigger, pump prices are always higher than sector prices. The closest Mobil truckstop to me was in Thames and the pump price was $1.489, meaning after discount you would pay $1.289. As the discount for Mobil is the same off both truckstops and service stations, I have rolled all Mobil sites into one.
Gull - since Gull usually offers the lowest fuel prices across the board, it’s always worth checking that they don’t have a special on in your area before you head to one of the above truckstops. I use the GASPY app to check all fuel prices in the area before I commit.
^ Kiwi Fuelcard’s Mobil card can be used at selected Allied and Waitomo sites. Check the Kiwi Fuelcard app to check if your chosen site accepts it before you go.
*This Mobil discount will revert to 15c per litre after 29/02/20.
The next question obviously would be “how do I find these truckstops?” The Kiwi Fuelcard app has a great station-finder function that you can filter by type of fuelling location (service station or truckstop) and by supplier.
Further to that, here are links to PDF maps of all of the major suppliers’ truck stops:
Caltex
Z Energy
BP
Service stations
You’re typically not going to get as good a deal at service stations, but in a pinch, they are much more common and usually more conveniently located. And coffee and pies. Mmmmm, pies. Anyway, if you are filling up with diesel at a service station, the hierarchy of discounts should look like the below. I have used service station prices local to my location in Athenree to figure this out, so keep in mind this may vary a bit for you depending on the level of competition and other variables.
Mobil - 20c* off the pump price. Mobil Seddon Street in Waihi is having a special at the moment of $1.339, so after the discount, you’d pay $1.139. Typically, their diesel pump price would be closer to $1.419, meaning you’d more likely pay $1.219.
BP - 8c off the pump price.
Gull - After Mobil and BP, Gull will usually have a better pump price than what Caltex and Z will muster after discount. The closest Gull to me is Gull Paeroa, where the pump price is $1.377.
Caltex - 6c off the pump price. The closest Caltex to me is Caltex Katikati, where the pump price is currently $1.459. This would mean a price after discount of $1.399.
Z - 5c per litre off the pump price. The closest Z to me is Z Paeroa, where the pump price is $1.419. This would mean you’d pay $1.369.
As you can see, Mobil is the one to go to for diesel when you use a service station, and Z and Caltex service stations discounts aren’t really that exciting. BP seems decent, but again, it’s all about tracking that national price to make sure you don’t get caught out.
The final countdown
By my calculations, here is the breakdown of where you should go in order of best price shown on Gaspy across both truckstops and service stations (updated 09/02 to reflect geographic variance):
Auckland: 1. Caltex Truckstop; 2: Z Truckstop; 3. BP Truckstops; 4. BP service station; 5. Mobil sites.
The search radius was within 15km of Wiri.
Wellington: 1. Caltex truckstop; 2. Z truckstop; 3. BP truckstops; 4. Mobil sites; 5. Caltex Service stations.
The search radius was within 15km of Kaiwharawhaura.
Christchurch: 1. Caltex truckstops; 2. Z truckstops; 3. Mobil sites; 4. BP truckstops; 5. Allied/NPD sites.
The search radius was within 15km of Rolleston.
I’ve researched price comparisons for the three main centres of New Zealand to capture the reality for the majority of the population base and find overall trends. In general, it seems that if you can find a Caltex or Z truckstop to fill up at, they are your cheapest option. After that, it’s between BP truckstops and Mobil sites, depending on location.
As for the smaller players, it’s unlikely they will be able to beat the after-discount truckstop price of diesel, but it’s definitely worth checking to see if your local Allied or Waitomo accept the Mobilcard, as 15c off their lower pump prices may just swing it.
So there you have it! I hope this helps someone else understand how this whole thing works. Overall, the conclusion is that the Kiwi Fuelcard is well worth it for those of us on the road a lot, especially when you do a bit of forward-thinking! Happy travels!
