Should you choose the 4c off or 8 bonus points per litre at Coles Express?

Most people know that Shell and Coles Express provide the ubiquitous ‘4c off per litre’ dockets at the bottom of your receipt whenever you spend $30 or more at Coles – it’s always handy to have a docket in your wallet or now, in your Flybuys app.

Fewer people realise that you may be able to stack that voucher with a further 4c discount, courtesy of a number of free and paid memberships available to certain customers.

Finally, pay the discounted fuel bill with a points-earning credit card and you’ll be on top. Here’s how it works.

Earn a boosted 3 Membership Rewards points per dollar spent on fuel with the American Express Platinum Edge.

1. Use the Coles receipt voucher

As mentioned above, you will earn a fuel docket whenever you spend A$30 or more in-store at Coles Supermarkets, excluding gift cards, tobacco and other excluded purchases. With that docket, you can opt for one reward:

• 4c off per litre of fuel, or
• 8 bonus Flybuys points per litre of fuel
• A discounted or free in-store item

The default is 4c off, but you can login to your Flybuys account and switch to the bonus points instead (or vice versa) at any time. Note that the voucher that comes with Coles Online orders may only be valid for 4c/L off, regardless of what option you choose in Flybuys – check the voucher T&Cs to confirm.

Discount or points?

Let’s say you’re filling up 50L of unleaded fuel at 129.9c per litre. If you use the 4c off discount, that’s a $2 saving. If you opt for the 8 bonus points per litre, then that’s 400 bonus Flybuys points, which is also worth about $2 (given 2,000 Flybuys points is worth $10 off at Coles).

So there’s no material difference in the short term. But in the long term, if you’d rather forego the cash discounts and collect more Flybuys points to use on Virgin Australia flights (via a transfer to Velocity Frequent Flyer), then consider switching to the bonus points instead.

Remember, Flybuys points are flexible and you can still claim a cash discount later on if you change your mind about saving up for a transfer to Velocity Frequent Flyer.

2. Stack 4c off with memberships

Did you know that certain memberships offer an additional 4c off per litre at Coles Express, which can potentially be stacked with the fuel docket mentioned above?

For example, if you sign up for a Carsales free membership, register your car details and provide an odometer reading estimate, then you can access a discount voucher every day (selling your car is not required at all).

Best of all, the terms and conditions indicate that this membership offer can be stacked with the Coles shopping dockets (however, this may change over time). That means you could enjoy:

• 4c + 4c off per litre, or
• 4c off + 8 bonus points per litre – we recommend this

This offer is valid with other stackable offers from Coles Express including Coles Supermarket shopper dockets and “spend $20 in store to receive 10 cents per litre fuel discount” – subject to their terms and conditions.

– https://www.carsales.com.au/fuel (FAQs section)

Other memberships that offer similar perks include Linkt and G’Day Rewards, though a purchase or account may be required. Also, note that you can’t stack these types of fuel discounts with each other, as they are all provided in conjunction with Viva Energy.

3. Scan your Flybuys card

Flybuys members earn 1 point per $2 spent in-store at Coles Express locations on fuel and shop purchases. This is after any of the discounts and offers mentioned above have been applied.

4. Pay with a points-earning card

Most rewards credit cards will offer the standard earning rate on fuel purchases – once again, this is on top of all the previous offers.

Some cards even offer boosted earning amounts at fuel stations! For example, the popular American Express Platinum Edge offers 3 Membership Rewards Points per A$1 spent on fuel.

Summing up

Coles Express has numerous partnerships, some of which can be stacked for greater rewards. Carsales offers a free membership which also provides a 4c off coupon you can stack with a Coles fuel docket. Finally, don’t forget to pay with a points-earning credit card to really boost your earnings.