Gas prices are now at a level that hasn’t been seen for many years. Blame whoever you want, but in this post we won’t point fingers. Rather, we’ll discuss some ideas on how you can get some mega discounts on the price you pay at the pump. 

Grocery Fuel Points

Stop & Shop Rewards, Giant Rewards, and Martin’s Rewards Points

Earning

At Stop & Shop, Giant, and Martin’s grocery stores you’ll earn points on grocery and merchandise purchases. Just make sure to enter your phone number or scan your member ID at checkout. Most weeks, there’s a promotional earning bonus on gift cards of between 2 and 10 points per dollar too; you can find these specials by checking the weekly ad. The earning structure is:

• Groceries and merchandise (1 fuel point per dollar)
• Gift cards when there’s a promotion (between 2 and 10 points per dollar)

You won’t earn points on purchases of:

• Alcohol and tobacco
• Money orders
• Gasoline
• Gift cards (unless there’s a promotion)
• Tickets
• Western Union

Note: Points expire the month after they’re earned.

Redeeming

You can redeem Stop & Shop, Giant, and Martin’s rewards points at Shell gas stations for $0.10 off of gas for every 100 points redeemed, just make sure to scan your rewards card or enter your phone number at the pump.

You can redeem up to 1,500 points for up to $1.50 off per gallon for up to 20 gallons per fill-up.

Tricks

Watch for new membership bonuses for an additional discount on your fil-up. Don’t forget to take advantage of the new membership bonus for each person in your household too.

Look for weekly gift card promotions to multiply your earnings potential, especially when Visa or Mastercard gift cards have bonus earning because you can use those to spend at other stores where you normally shop.

The 20 gallon limit is per transaction, but if you want to fill multiple cars you can bring them all at the same time and fill them up one after the other, just move the fuel nozzle to the next car after the last one is full.

Some gift cards, like BestBuy, Apple, and Home Depot have high resale rates, especially in the second half of the year. Advanced shoppers can often buy these gift cards for resale to turbo-charge their fuel points earning.

Kroger Fuel Points

Earning

At Kroger or its many affiliated stores, you earn fuel points on just about everything you purchase. Those fuel points are worth 10 cents off per gallon for each 100 points redeemed, up to 35 gallons. At checkout, just enter your phone number or scan your rewards ID and you’ll earn based on what you buy:

• Groceries and merchandise (1 fuel point per dollar)
• Third party store gift cards (2 fuel points per dollar)
• Fixed value Visa and Mastercard gift cards (2 fuel points per dollar)

There are a few exclusions to be aware of:

• Variable dollar amount Visa and Mastercard gift cards don’t earn points
• Kroger gift cards don’t earn points
• Reloadable debit cards and money packs don’t earn points

Every month or so, Kroger runs a fuel points promotion which makes the earning potential even bigger. Some of the recent promotions have been for 4 fuel points per dollar on third party gift cards or 2 points per dollar on all purchases between Friday and Sunday. Just be sure to check the weekly ad to see when a sale is running and clip the digital coupon in your Kroger account.

Redeeming

To redeem fuel points, visit a Kroger fuel station, a Kroger affiliate fuel station (like Smith’s, Fry’s, Ralphs, or other Kroger Family stores), or a participating Shell gas station in states with a large Kroger presence (mostly in Midwestern and Southern United States). When you get to the pump, enter your phone number (also called an Alt-ID) when prompted. Generally, you’ll be able to redeem 1,000 points for $1 off per gallon for up to 35 gallons, but the pump’s kiosk will give you the option to choose a different amount to redeem should you decide to do so.

Note: Points expire in the month after they’re earned.

Tricks

Certain cities and states in some Kroger territories have laws that don’t allow for limits on fuel points redemption, and in those places (like Richmond, Virginia for example), you can redeem 2,000 points for $2 off per gallon, 3,000 points for $3 off per gallon, and so on. In places like these you can fill up with up to 35 gallons for free if you have a sufficient point balance.

Sometimes Kroger pays fuel points on variable Visa and Mastercard gift card purchases even though their terms and conditions exclude it. If you’re buying those, make sure to always enter your phone number at checkout because you may get lucky and get points for those too.

Kroger will let you roll expired fuel points over to the next month, twice per year. All you have to do to roll points over is to call 1-800-576-4377 and ask nicely.

The 35 gallon limit is per transaction, but if you want to fill multiple cars you can bring them all at the same time and fill them up one after the other, just move the fuel nozzle to the next car after the last one is full.

Some gift cards, like BestBuy, Apple, and Home Depot have high resale rates, especially in the second half of the year. Advanced shoppers can often buy these gift cards for resale to turbo-charge their fuel points earning.

Buying Discount Gas Cards

Watch for discounted gift cards at grocery stores and drug stores like Shop N’ Save and Walgreens. When these promotions are active, you can typically buy Chevron, Texaco, Shell, or BP gift cards at a discount of between 10 and 15%.

Cashback applications on your mobile device like Fluz also occasionally offer a rebate of between 10 and 15%. Be sure to check the app before you fill up to see if there’s a current offer.

High Earning Gas Reward Cards

Another no-brainer strategy for shaving your gas bill is by getting a credit card that earns bonus points at gas stations, you can earn up to 8 points for each dollar you spend at gas stations, which can be worth up to $0.50 off per gallon.

Citi Custom Cash card (No annual fee) – 5 points on gas

With the Citi Custom Cash card you earn 5 points on purchases in your top eligible category each billing cycle, on up to the first $500 spent per cycle. Eligible categories are restaurants, gas stations, grocery stores, select travel, select transit, select streaming services, drugstores, home improvement stores, fitness clubs, and live entertainment.

If you use the Citi Custom Cash only for gas (or you make sure that gas remains the top category you spend on), then you’ll earn 5 points on gas for up to $500 spent per month.

Sam’s Club Mastercard (No annual fee) – 5% cashback on gas

With the Sam’s Club Mastercard you earn 5% cashback on gas on the first $6,000 in gas station spend each year.

US Bank Altitude Connect ($95 annual fee, waived 1st year) – 4 points on gas

With the US Bank Altitude Connect card you earn an unlimited 4 points at gas stations. 

Amex Gold Business ($375 annual fee) – 4 points on gas

With the Amex Gold Business card you earn 4 points on the 2 categories where you spend the most each billing period (up to $150,000 per calendar year). The categories can be one of the following; Airfare purchased directly from airlines, U.S. gas stations, U.S. purchases for shipping, U.S. restaurants, select media, and advertising, select providers of computer hardware, software, and cloud solutions.

As long as you make sure that the gas category is one of the two categories you spend the most on using your Gold Business card, you’ll earn 4 points on gas. 

Barclays Wyndham Business Card ($95 annual fee) – 8 points on gas

With the Barclays Wyndham Rewards Earner Business card you’ll earn 8 Wyndham points per dollar spent. Wyndham rewards are typically worth between 0.8 and 1.5 cents per point toward Wyndham Hotel and Vacasa vacation redemptions, which could mean up to 12% back on gas.

Chase Freedom Flex (No annual fee) – 5% back or 5 points per dollar on gas

With the Chase Freedom Flex card, you earn 5 Ultimate Rewards points per dollar on gas for up to $6,000 in purchases during your first year (during the current promo). These 5 Ultimate Rewards points per dollar can be redeemed for at least 5% cashback or more if you hold a Premium Chase card.

Conclusion

Don’t stress that the price of gas is going up! There are quite a few ways to save big when filling up your car, so don’t be afraid to use some tricks to save at the pump.

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Thanks to the great Matthew Wood from Miles Earn And Burn for working with us to put together this post.