Loyalty schemes aim to make filling up cheaper

A new loyalty scheme providing discounts on petrol will be launched in the Western Bay within three weeks after a successful trial in Cambridge.

Glen Ion, founder and director of Queensland-based Servo Savers, told the Bay of Plenty Times that his fuel-savings company would begin signing up businesses in Tauranga by the month's end.

Under Servo Savers' rewards programme, motorists can make a purchase at participating retail outlets and redeem their cash register dockets for cheaper petrol at selected service stations.

Each docket has a discount of 6c a litre and a motorist handing over five dockets at one time can save 30c a litre - or $9 for 30 litres of petrol.

Servo Savers, operating in Australia for six years, will be followed soon after by New Plymouth-based FuelSave NZ, which will be offering discount vouchers of between 1-10c a litre - depending on each retailer's choice - for a bigger tank of 50 litres.

FuelSave has been operating in Taranaki for three months and is expanding to Matamata within two weeks.

Luke Watson, founder and director of FuelSave, said he had signed up 20 businesses and one service station in Matamata and "we are set to go on July 17".

He said there was a lot of interest and he would bring his fuel savings scheme to Tauranga in early August.

Mr Ion was delighted with his three-week trial in Cambridge. Last week 528 dockets were redeemed at the GAS service station after seven retailers agreed to participate in the trial.

The Cambridge redemptions were higher than in the same week of his original Australian trial at Bunbury, West Australia, in January 2000.

In the Cambridge trial, the retailers provided the 6c-a-litre fuel discount dockets for purchases ranging from $20 at the local deli, to $40 at the hardware store.

"My fear was whether Kiwis would accept the dockets and go for it.

"I'm glad to say they are going for it," said Mr Ion.

Servo Savers is now spreading its wings. It is setting up five offices on Auckland's North Shore and in Manukau City, Wellington and Christchurch, as well as Tauranga.

The Tauranga office will have a three-strong sales team managed by Carol Ann Bixon and service the whole Bay of Plenty and Hawkes Bay.

Mr Ion said his team would initially sign up 30 businesses and four to five service stations in Tauranga.

Across the Tasman, Servo Savers has signed on 3000 retailers and more than 700 independent service stations in all the Australian states.

Based on the Taranaki experience, Mr Watson said motorists collected FuelSave vouchers and redeemed them for an average discount of between 20-40c a litre.

"The biggest redemption has been a 53c-a-litre discount and a person could redeem two dozen vouchers at once and get 50 litres of free petrol," he said.

- NZPA