Maximize your fuel saver points while stocking up your kitchen.
It’s no secret that gas prices have steadily been on the rise. A palpable frustration enters my body when I pull up to a gas station and see that the price is heading north of the $4 mark.
The price of gas is one of those things that is totally out of our control, yet affects our daily lives and routines significantly. It’s enough to make people wait until the last minute to fill up the tank or rethink any road trips they had planned for kicking off summer.
I chatted about this with Taste of Home‘s content director, Ellie Martin Cliffe. She revealed something that made me feel the tiniest glimmer of hope. Her Kroger loyalty card helped her save big when she filled up her car.
She pulled up to a BP where regular unleaded gas was $3.89. “I did the mental math and was bracing myself to pay more than $40 for a full tank on my little RAV-4,” she said. “When I entered my loyalty card number, I was shocked to see that I was about to save $1.30 per gallon. My total bill was $26.60 for over 10 gallons.”
The fuel saver component of her Kroger loyalty card was a bonus. Her primary use for the card was to save on groceries, not gas. “In the past, we’d racked up enough grocery points to save 50 or 60 cents per gallon at the most,” she said. But now she’s seen firsthand how helpful it can be. “We’ll be watching for more 2x or 4x deals on points from now on.”
Which Grocery Stores have Fuel Saver Rewards?
A lot of the stores you regularly shop at probably have this bonus! It’s usually a free program that requires a sign-up, whether via app or with a phone number or loyalty card number. There are also some ways to maximize your memberships at warehouse stores like Costco, Sam’s Club and more. Every store and every rewards program is slightly different, so find one that works for you.
Free Rewards Programs
Kroger, Albertsons and Hy-Vee
These stores and all their various regional affiliates (like Ralphs, Fred Meyer, Food 4 Less, Pick ‘n Save, Mariano’s, Harris Teeter, Safeway, Vons and Jewel-Osco) have loyalty programs that include fuel saver benefits. Notably, it is free to sign up for these programs. The fuel saver system only works at participating gas stations. Shell (Kroger and Hy-Vee), Texaco (Albertsons) and Chevron (Albertsons) are the main participating ones. Check out which gas station takes your loyalty points before you fuel up.
The fuel saver accrual works similarly across all these stores. $1 equals one point, and 100 points equals 10 cents off per gallon. The gist is the more you accrue, the more you save. And special in-store bonuses can help you rack up more points more quickly, like in Ellie’s case. There are usually limits on how many points you can redeem, and some max out at $1 off per gallon. But even so, if you buy groceries at these stores, you’re leaving money on the table if you don’t sign up for the loyalty program. Any discount on gas can be helpful right now!
The bottom line: Signing up for free loyalty programs at participating grocery stores is an easy way to receive at least 10 cents off per gallon.
Membership Rewards Programs
Costco, Sam’s Club and Walmart+
In a totally different way, these kinds of memberships can also save money on gas and groceries. Unlike Kroger and Albertsons, you do need to pay to take advantage of some of their fuel rewards. Both Costco and Sam’s Club have their own gas stations that are available for members to use. The gas prices are typically slightly cheaper per gallon than regular gas stations. My Costco gas price is typically 20 cents cheaper per gallon than the Mobile down the street from my house. Of course, my Costco membership is $65 per year. So it really depends on how conveniently located these stores are to your home or work to save.
Another way that a lot of members save money is by signing up for the Costco Anywhere Visa card through Citi. This gives cardholders 5% cash back on gas, up to $7,000 per year. The cash back is given as a voucher to use at Costco stores. So if you fuel up at Costco gas stations with the Anywhere Visa card, you can get both cheaper gas and cash back to use on groceries at Costco.
Sam’s Club operates similarly, except that in order to take advantage of its discounted gas prices, you must sign up for a Plus Membership, which is $110 per year (as opposed to the standard level, which is $50). This is also available for anyone who is a Walmart+ member.
The bottom line: Membership rewards programs have an additional cost, but can save significant money for people with large households who take advantage of bulk shopping.
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