Shoppers at the largest grocery chain in the United States are getting a new way to use the loyalty program points they accumulate while shopping.
While some customers will certainly welcome a new option to cash in on profits, it probably won’t appeal to everyone.
Fuel points no longer exist at Kroger
This week Kroger, an innovator in the grocery industry since the 1880s, announced Its fuel points will be known simply as points.
Why the change?
Because now they can no longer be applied only to save on gas.
As in the past, members of Kroger’s rewards program will earn one point for every $1 spent (or more during special events), and they can get 10 cents off per gallon for every 100 points redeemed.
However, fuel savings are no longer the only redemption option.
Customers will have the option to get $1 off for every 100 points purchased.
In both cases, there is a limit on how many points can be redeemed at one time: for fuel, customers can get up to $1 per gallon rebate at a time, while the maximum rebate used for groceries in the transaction is $10.
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Why are they making this addition?
In Announcing this changeKroger VP for customer development and strategy Megan Schaefer promised to make the program more flexible, but it’s a good bet Kroger also tried to catch up with Albertsons.
of that companyFor youThe program already allows members to cash out money on groceries or use points for fuel discounts.
While this will certainly appeal to some customers, the old way of redeeming points will likely be more valuable to many.
This is because the price cap is related to how many gallons of gas a person buys at one time.
For example, a person who uses 1000 points to get $1 off a tank of gas can save up to $35 at a fill-up if he purchases the maximum amount of gas allowed, whereas 1000 points used for groceries will save only $10.
Even for those who can’t afford that much gas at once, the deal is still better for anyone with a larger vehicle like a truck or SUV or even just for those who make sure they are on “E” when they get to their Kroger gas station in a Toyota Camry or Honda Accord and need more than 10 gallons of gas.
Not only this
Kroger, which was founded in Cincinnati in 1883 and is credited with being the first store to house its bakery and later butcher shop in the building to save customers time, is offering customers four times the points on purchases from July 1-4.
This deal is also available every Friday through July 24.
Members of the store’s Boost program always get double points on in-store purchases and other benefits, but there is an annual fee for Boost.
The Kroger chain has more than 2,700 stores in 35 states.
