Kroger Fuel Points Rollover
The Kroger family of grocery stores runs a gas discount program in which shoppers earn “Fuel Points” for grocery spend. This is a pretty massive operation spanning most states in the union when considering the entirety of Kroger store families. We will go over what the fuel points program is and why Kroger fuel points rollover ending is a big deal.
Thanks to Jim Fatzinger, The Travel Organizer, for this step away from amazing travel guides on Chicago and Santa Fe to break the news on this change.
UPDATE 1/25/24: Reminder that this has ended, unless things changed at the end of the year, so you might want to use the points now. If you reach out let us know what they say over in the ToP Facebook Group.
What Are Kroger Fuel Points?
As miles and points enthusiasts know, grocery stores are meccas for sourcing third party gift cards. On ToP of the credit card rewards you get for the purchase (hopefully with a grocery bonus), you even earn 2 Fuel Points per dollar spent on most gift cards. It gets better though, Kroger stores often run 4x promotions almost as frequently as American Airlines runs discounts on miles purchases! You also earn 1x on your groceries and sometimes 2x during promos or if you are a Kroger Boost member.
The Fuel Points earned can then be used to save up to $1.00/gallon off the price of fuel at participating fuel stations. In some states there is no $1 cap and you can get a $0 fill up! That is something special these days. With these promotions it is often possible to earn more Fuel Points in a month than one can redeem. Especially with the holidays coming up and people loading up on Amazon gift cards etc.
Even though the terms of Kroger’s Fuel Points program state that “…Fuel Points expire the last day of the month after they are earned,” it has always been possible to call Customer Service and have expiring Fuel Points rolled forward to the next month. It is why we put extending fuel points on of our end of the month checklist.
What Is Changing?
A telephone call to Harris Teeter’s Customer Service line yesterday led to the discovery that this customer-friendly flexibility may be coming to an end in the near future. That is unless corporate has a change of heart, but more on that later.
A helpful representative told me that she had been instructed to inform customers that Customer Service will no longer roll Fuel Points forward starting January 1. There is a bit of a disconnect here. While it would seem Kroger would want to provide an incentive to spend through its channels, and the fuel stations with which Kroger has partnered would appreciate drivers being directed their way, this new hard line from Kroger does exactly the opposite.
Unless something changes we will need to be more aware of how many fuel points we are earning in a month and be sure to use them. That is, if we can't win over some hearts and minds…
Grass Roots Effort For A Kroger Fuel Points Rollover Extension
Is this an irreversible decision? Maybe not! Put the adage that “the pen is mightier than the sword” to the test and send a succinct email to Kroger’s corporate offices at 1014 Vine Street, Cincinnati, OH 45202-1100 requesting the unpublished flexibility in their policy regarding the expiration of Fuel Points be preserved.
Here is the pertinent contact information:
- Megan Shaffer, Vice President of Retail Operations: Megan.Shaffer@kroger.com
- Mary Ellen Adcock, Senior Vice President Retail Operations: Mary.Adcock@kroger.com
- Michael J. Donnelly, Executive Vice President and COO: Michael.Donnelly@kroger.com
- Rodney McMullen, Chief Executive Officer: rodney.mcmullen@kroger.com
Be sure to keep your letter / email polite and brief, and focus on the “win-win” proposition here: continuing its longstanding willingness to roll earned but unused Fuel Points forward maximizes spend at Kroger stores. The other option is to move that spend to competitors or other fuel promotion earning opportunities. You should also mention that this is a customer-friendly position at the same time. They get more spend and lose just a little bit of breakage this way.
Kroger Fuel Points Rollover Ending: ToP Thoughts
We wanted to alert the ToP faithful to this impending change for two reasons. First, so you are aware of it and don't stockpile fuel points at the end of the year you may not be able to extend. Second, so that we can try to change this impending procedure change. This change makes the Kroger fuel points program a whole lot less valuable in our opinion.
Let us know what your thoughts are over in the ToP Facebook Group.
