Wednesday, September 30, 2009

New Kroger Gas Rewards - Up to $1.00 off per Gallon


If you are a Kroger shopper, you know they have had a Fuel Saver Rewards program for quite awhile. For every $100 you spend, you would get 10 cents off a gallon! That was great. But, that was the most you could get off each time at the pump.

Well, I am happy to say they will now be awarding you up to $1.00 of per gallon. This is a MUCH higher savings, IF you can get to the limit! I wanted to share my interpretation of the program. By the way, it goes live at midnight tonight! If any of us find any other useful tips about this program, please update us all.

1. For every $100 spent a month, you will get 100 points. Or, for every $50 in Gift Cards bought, you will get 100 points. Every 2 prescriptions in a month also equals 100 points
2. Each 100 points equals .10 off
3. Accumulate all your points and get that amount off per gallon on your fill up. So, if you accumulate 1000 points, you will get $1.00 per gallon
4. Points are calculated on a monthly basis and will expire after the next month.

OK, sounds good, right? And, it is. But, here are some roadblocks and some helpful tips to get the most value.

a. To get $1.00 of a gallon, you would need 1,000 points in a calendar month..or have spend $1,000!!!!! Of course, if you bought gift cards or had prescriptions, it may be a bit different. If you are a coupon shopper like me, you aren't even getting close to that. I have been down to about $60 a week right now for my family of 5, thanks to the Grocery Game. So, that would only be 240 points for me, and $.20 off per gallon. That is not that great of a savings! I could only use it once and the points would be gone!!

OR....so I thought! Thanks to Jen's comments below, she informed me that coupons savings do not come off and you get the full value of what you WOULD have spend without coupons!!!

So, if my bill would have normally been $100 and I got it for $60, per say, I would get 100 points!!!!

OK...maybe I will get closer to that $1.00 mark than I originally thought! :)

b. Your points will be gone after ONE time at the pump. For me, I would go to the pump once, use my $.20 off and then the rest of the fill ups during the month I would get nothing.

How can you get the most benefit from this program?

- If you are going to be shopping somewhere, going to a restaurant or shop somewhere regularly, consider buying a gift card to that location before you go shop or eat there via Kroger. You would then be getting credit towards your points.

- In the past, my Kroger Charity Card purchases counted towards my points. And, then when I actually bought my groceries the points would be added again. So, technically, I was getting double points for my groceries. My Kroger clerks always reminded me to give them my card when loading my charity card so I would get points again.

Will this continue? I have no idea. It does state Kroger Gift Card purchases will not count, but it said that before?? Hmmm... Basically, my point is to have your Kroger cards scanned when you load your money onto your Charity Card, and then hand them your card again when you buy your groceries and pay for them WITH the Charity Card. Potentially, you will not get double points, but you never know. Don't have a Charity Card for Kroger, and would like one? Email me for information. Remember, Kroger will donate 4% of your purchases to a charity if you use the card. It is no cost to you.

- Finally, and this is MOST important. Once you have accumulated your points and are deciding when to use them, ONLY use them when you have an empty tank. The points can only be used once, and if you go fill up with $1.00 off per gallon on a half tank, you are losing money. You cannot redeem those points again!

Hope this helps you manage the new Kroger program and gives you a bit more insight!



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12 comments:

Unknown said...

The points are based on your pre-coupon spending. When I went to the store the other day I only spent $43 but received $77 in points.

Thanks for the news. I do most of my grocery shopping at Kroger and get most of my gas there also, so this is great news for our house.

Carrie @ Moneysavingmethods.com said...

Jen,

Are you serious??? Woah! I just checked my receipt, and you are RIGHT.

I am updating the post now! I cant' believe it!

Jen...you JUST made my DAY!!! Maybe I will get closer to that $1.00 off per gallon after all. :)

Woo, hoo!!!!!!!!!

Emma's Mommy said...

At my Kroger when I go get gas, it asks me if I want to use my .10 off. If I am just topping off my tank, I can say no and just use the .03 that time and save the .10 till I need it. I would think that it would do that if I accumulated my points.

April said...

I was hoping Kroger would end up doing this eventually -- yay! I do have a charity gift card & will now give them my Kroger rewards card when I load it. We don't have a gas station at our kroger, but there is one in Fairborn & I use that one whenever i am in the area!

thanks, carrie!

MJ said...

What is a Charity card and how do you get one? Please email me. mjh90@hotmail.com

Jillian said...

For those who have Safeway in your area, they have been doing a very similar program for a year now, at least with the GROCERY points. I'm not sure if they count gift card purchases, etc., as well.

For every $100 you spend (before coupons) you get $.10 at the pump. These discounts accumulate and you can either choose to use the discount at fill-up time or just use the standard $.03 discount and "roll-over" your running discount balance.

Unlike Kroger's policy, I believe there is no cap on the discount you can get in one fill-up (you can surpass Kroger's $1.00 cap) and the rewards are on a quarterly basis.
Pretty awesome.

www.savingfortheboys.com

Carrie @ Moneysavingmethods.com said...

Emma's Mommy,

Yes, it is going to work the same way!!! You can choose yes or no at each fill up.

Definitely don't use it if you are just topping your tank off...saved it for the full fill ups to save more.

Best Credit Cards said...

Thank you so much for posting this. I learned a lot of things. Also read some of your postings and thank you for sharing them.

Evelyn said...

Carrie,

I missed this post earlier. I wonder if this deal is everywhere. I will call Kroger.

I had an idea to get my mother to use my phone number and add hers to mine. She doesn't care whether she gets the fill ups.

Also is the $1 off per gallon for one fill up or for all ten.

Have you got to the $1000 mark?

Evelyn said...

I forgot to ask if Kroger charges a fee for getting a gift card.

Carrie @ Moneysavingmethods.com said...

Hi Evelyn,

No fee for gift cards...yay!

It is for one fill up, so make sure you go to fill up when your tank is low, low, low!!!!

I have not gotten to the $1,000 mark..or even close. With using the Grocery Game and coupons, my weekly grocery bill for the family is below $100 each week.

So, I usually get about 40 cents off a month ( since they don't deduct coupons from the total earned...which is nice ).

It has been saving us about $6 to 6.50 a fill up, approx. I'll take it! Better than nothing.

Anonymous said...

is it possible to bring both my car and my wife's car and once getting the $1.00 off per gallon, fill up both cars?

 
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