Sorry, Kroger Customers, You're Losing Your Gas Discount

It's worth using all the tools in the toolbox to chip away at the record high gas prices that have become the new normal. Yet Kroger customers are about to lose one of those tools, a gas discount for Kroger credit card holders, reports The Street.

Until now, holders of a Kroger World Elite Mastercard were eligible for a 5-cent-per-gallon discount at Kroger gas stations anytime they used this card. People who spent at least $6,000 a year on their card (which feels like just an average grocery run these days) upped the discount to 25 cents a gallon when cashing in a minimum 100 fuel points. That could make a huge difference, especially for vehicles with large and thirsty gas tanks.

That's all ending, not because Kroger deliberately decided to kick us while we were down, but due to ending its credit card deal with U.S. Bank in July. "U.S. Bank will transition credit card clients with The Kroger Co. co-brand credit card to a U.S. Bank Smartly Visa card, with U.S. Bank maintaining account ownership, servicing and ongoing client relationships," said U.S. Bank. While cardholders will get some new benefits, anything directly associated with Kroger will go away, including the fuel discount.

That doesn't mean Kroger customers are losing all fuel discounts. Only the credit card discounts are going away. Kroger's loyalty points program remains unchanged, and points can be redeemed for fuel as well as groceries. In addition, Kroger has quietly rolled out a new rewards credit card, reports Cincinnati TV station WCPO. Rather than offering savings at the pump, using the new Kroger card for fuel earns four times the normal number of points  that can be put toward future purchases. And unlike the old system, those points won't disappear at the end of the next month.

That doesn't help current cardholders, who lost their Kroger benefits in September while at the same time that, according to AAA, average gas prices set another new record high at $4.48 per gallon. "That's not a situation Kroger could have predicted in July, when it shared that its relationship with U.S. Bank was ending," says The Street. 

But the U.S. and Israel first attacked Iran on February 28, and skyrocketing gas prices were a completely predictable result. Even if the war ended quickly, it would be months before the gas supply returned to normal. Kroger and U.S. Bank likely ended their relationship for business reasons unrelated to fuel prices, but as usual, we're the ones who end up paying the price.