Gas Rewards

Reward programs never seem to be straight forward. I am always thankful for the extra "help," but more often then not I feel like it takes more work to figure out how they work then they may be worth. 

Our Credit Card offered us reward points, or the option of the 1% cash back. I can handle this type of reward, every time I got up to a $25 cash back reward I applied it to my balance. Simple and Easy. Note: we are not using our credit cards anymore, but those random $25 were nice :) 

I still have not taken the time to figure out how I actually earn bonus reward points from my debt card. But, perhaps this blog post will encourage me to take time and research that program.  

When our grocery store started to do Gas Reward Points I was determined to figure out how it worked and how it could benefit us. This has been one of the easiest Reward programs to follow, as long as we remember to use the points we earn each month. 

Step One: Buy Groceries, every $100 in groceries earns you 10 cents off on gas. 

Step Two: Once you accumulate gas points, usually shown on the bottom of your receipt, go to the participating gas stations and use them. The stations are usually easy to spot because they have flags out front with the grocery stores name. 

Step Three: Using your Points. I lost my grocery card, so I always use my phone number at the store. The pump lets me use the card or put my phone number in to bring up my reward points. AWESOME. The pump gives you all the prompts to enter your store card/number, lists your available points and asks you if you want to use them- Yes/No, you then swipe your debit card and you are off. The first couple times I followed these steps and now I am a pro!! 

We have saved 50 cents and this past week 70 cents on gas. We have not yet made it to a full dollar off gas, but we'll get there. You need to pay attention to when your reward points expire, so you don't miss out on 10 cents.

We are always on the look out for coupons to double or triple our gas reward points. For the month of March, we found a coupon for 3x the gas rewards if we went to the gas station and picked up a coupon. So each week, we went to the gas station for the coupon.

Nick and I both have Safeway cards and have found that we get different personalized coupons. For example, if I don't use my card for a month, I get extra reward point coupons, or a coupon for $5 off our overall grocery bill. We have been trying to use one card each month and then switching when the other card gets better deals. Just an idea, if you don't mind managing two cards.

Happy Shopping!