Foregoing 'Ad Match,' Kroger Pumps Up Fuel Discounts

CINCINNATI -- Kroger might have decided to bow out of the price match game, but it is eager to give its heavy shoppers brakes on gas, through a new promotion that offers customers 15-cent off each gallon of fuel they buy if they charge at least $100 a month on a Kroger-branded credit card.

The chain, based here, has said recently that it will stop matching competitors' sale prices, because many elements of such an "ad match" program are cumbersome and difficult to manage effectively.

The new discount program, set to debut Nov. 1, will allow customers who spend at least $100 in a one-month period using the 1-2-3- Rewards MasterCard to get 15 cents per gallon off of the price of one fill-up. The discount is limited to a 32-gallon tank.

"The special discounts offered through the 1-2-3 Rewards MasterCard are another opportunity for us to reward our best customers for shopping at Kroger," Geoff Covert, president of Kroger's Cincinnati/Dayton division, said in a statement.

The card also allows customers to earn coupons, the value of which increases with the use of the card. Customers are awarded two or three points for every dollar they spend (three points are earned on private-label products), and for each 1,000 points customers they earn they receive a $20 coupon, mailed quarterly.

Currently, Kroger Plus card customers who make $100 dollar shopping trips are rewarded with 10 cents off.
X
This ad will auto-close in 10 seconds