One of my favorite ways to save money is to get my gas at gas stations which are owned by grocery store chains. This has become very popular in the past couple of years and it must be a successful cross selling opportunity for the chains because they are getting more aggressive at adding gas station locations.
I am going to do a comparison of the two largest grocery store free gas programs in Ohio. The two chains are Giant Eagle and Kroger. They each take a different approach to earning and cashing in on the rewards, but both have the same goal of trying to build loyalty among their shoppers and get them to buy gift cards at their stores as well.
Kroger Fuel Rewards
Kroger requires you to enroll and use your Kroger Plus Shoppers Card to earn gas rewards.
Here is how their program works:
- Depending on how much money you spend in a given month will determine what level of gas rewards you qualify for in the following month.
- This a breakdown of how much you have to spend in a month and the corresponding rewards
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Amount spent in a month
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Cents off per gallon
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$150
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10 cents
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$350
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20 cents
|
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$550
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30 cents
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$750
|
50 cents
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- You also earn the discounts for gift card purchases, which include a large selection of stores and services. THIS IS KEY WAY TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE PROGRAM. Get familiar with their gift card and when you are to purchase something at one of these stores, stop at the Kroger first and pick up the gift cards. This can easily help you reach the maximum discount level each month of 50 cents per gallon even if you do not buy a lot of groceries that month.
- Kroger does allow you to fill up you tank 4 times at the discount level earned the previous month. If you are a heavy driver or have several cars in your family this could prove to be more beneficial than the Giant Eagle program. Like Giant Eagle, there is a 30 gallon per fill up limit for the discounts.
- To take advantage of this program, just scan or swipe your Kroger Plus card at the pump and the discount will be taken off the price of the gas.
