This is an analysis on what kind of rate of return you can get by using Petro Can’s rewards program.
What are Petro-Can’s points program?
It is a rewards program offered by Petro-Can Gas Station that gives you points each time you fill up gas or make purchases. To join, you can do it through a Petro-Can Gas station, online, or through phone.
How do you earn points?
Below contains chart a chart of how you can earn points, compliments to Petro-Can:
However, that isn’t all. Recently, they’ve introduced a new monthly program where you get an additional 1000 points when you buy 250L or more and 750 points when you buy 150-249L of fuel. This encourages you to fuel exclusively at Petro-Can. So how many points do you earn with the monthly bonus factored in?
| Purchase Type | Regular Points | Buy 150-249 litres | Buy +250 litres |
| Convenience or Store Items | 20 points per $1 | ||
| Car Wash | 20 points per $1 | ||
| SuperClean, Ultra 94 or Diesel Fuel | 10 points per litre | 13-15 points per litre | 10-14 points per litre |
| PlusClean Fuel | 7 points per litre | 10-12 points per litre | 7-10 points per litre |
| RegularClean Fuel | 5 points per litre | 8-10 points per litre | 5-9 points per litre |
I’m not sure why they implemented it this way, but from the table above, you are getting the most points if you buy exactly 150L per month. Then, you get the second most points if you buy exactly 250L per month.
What are the rewards?
At each Petro-Can station, you can take a rewards brochure or look at their website to browse for rewards. The table below contains the popular and points worthy rewards.
| Reward Type | Points Cost | Value | Points/$ |
| SuperWorks Car Wash | 8000 | Real Value: $10 ($13 Face) | 800 |
| Save 5c 200 L Card* | 5500 | $10 | 550 |
| Regular Save 5c 200 L Card | 12000 | $10 | 1200 |
| Self-Serve Beverage | 750 | Real Value: $1 | 750 |
| CoolStop Slush 750ml | 1000 | Real Value: $1 ($2 Face) | 500 |
*Temporary promo in February 2014.
Real value is the value I give compared to competitors price for the same service. Gas stations tend to overprice store items. If you wouldn’t purchase a car wash for $13, then it shouldn’t be valued at $13 when analyzing the points program.
What is my rate of return?
Finally, the question you’ve all been asking. What is the rate of return (aka percent discount) in doing all this? Well, the ideal rate of return would be 550 points/$, a moderate rate of return would be 750 points/$, and minimum would be getting the regular 5C Gas Savings Card at 1200 points/$.
| Petro Pts Rate of Return | Points Earned | Ideal Return (550 pts/$) | Moderate Return (750 pts/$) | Minimum Return (1200 pts/$) |
| Convenience or Store Items | 20 points per $1 | 3.64% | 2.67% | 1.67% |
| Car Wash | 20 points per $1 | 3.64% | 2.67% | 1.67% |
| *SuperClean, Ultra 94 or Diesel Fuel | 15 points per litre | 2.10% | 1.54% | 0.96% |
| *PlusClean Fuel | 12 points per litre | 1.68% | 1.23% | 0.77% |
| *RegularClean Fuel | 10 points per L | 1.40% | 1.03% | 0.64% |
| *RegularClean Fuel Under 150L/month | 5 points per L | 0.70% | 0.51% | 0.32% |
*Value based on gas price of $1.30/Litre
The last row is what the majority of people purchase at gas stations. It looks like if you are able to capture the promos, Petro-pts is actually not a bad program. You can expect at least 1% rate of return for purchasing 150L of gas a month and using the points to grab a coffee/slushie on the go. However, notice that if you aren’t able to fill up at least 150L a month, the reward bonus really levels off.