Prepaid electricity

[harmonmarie]

Are there any channels that are better than other channels for purchasing prepaid tokens? I.e there's a cash back or smart shopper points etc etc ?

Just curious.

 

[saidagha]

@harmonmarie The main thing you want to do is to make sure you stay in the lowest bracket. For me that means buying more than I need in the summer when I use less electricity. So that I have extra units in the winter without having to go into a higher bracket.

Also, if you buy extra each month while staying in the lowest bracket, then you can skip buying electricity every first month after they raised prices. You basically get an instant return on that investment at the rate of the price increase. I.e. if the price increase is 15%, you get an instant 15% return on that investment.

 

[asp510]

@harmonmarie For Citiq prepaid, buying it on their app saves you the "convenience fee" charged by banking apps, shops, etc.

For everyone else, no, you can't directly get reward points or discounts for paying for tokens - it's a bill payment

Edit: discovery and FNB advertised earning discounts / ebucks but I've not been able to ascertain their convenience fee structures for these transactions

 

[lewis1994]

@asp510 If I pay with my discovery miles I get 10% discount.

 

[asp510]

@lewis1994 What's their convenience fee? How much more units do you get for the same R200 compared to buying it with cash at pnp? Not saying discovery does this, but many online vendors charge 5-15% convenience fees all-in

 

[lewis1994]

@asp510 Unfortunately it's not obvious from the app. I don't ever by once the counter anymore, so I really can't tell you what the difference is, just wanted to note that there's not absolutely no benefit to buying via banking. From what I recall, I used to buy at Engen, then Capitec app then Disco, and didn't notice a change in the rate between the three.

Also note that I'm not in Pta anymore, so mileage may vary.

 

[cyberrocky]

@harmonmarie This is a great question. I've always purchased through Nedbank but their "convenience fee" seems totally outrageous. Is there a way to get around it? I have a "Alpha meters" unit

 

[saidagha]

@cyberrocky I buy through Standard Bank. I haven't noticed a convenience fee.l How much is it at Nedbank?

 

[iamsimeon]

@saidagha For clarity, the banks don’t develop these systems, they simply integrate into aggregator type systems, like flash.

The aggregators charge a fee which is then passed onto the customer.

The example above of Citiq appears to develop the meter so they have a bit of closed loop system.

 

[coctien]

@harmonmarie Clicks app, FNB account.

 

[elissanjuice]

@coctien To add, pay with virtual credit card. Earn 15% back on level 5

 

[coctien]

@elissanjuice Yep, and it counts towards your Ebucks smart spend as well.

Also get clicks points.

No service charges.

It remembers your meter number too.

You can even pay post paid municipal bills by using the easypay number.