These 4 Gas Discounts Can Fill The Void Kroger Left In Your Heart

Saving money on gas and groceries is an everyday struggle, but if you're lucky enough to get both at the same location, hurrah! One less place on that list, though, is Kroger, whose store-branded credit card lost its automatic discounts at the pump. This stemmed from Kroger and U.S. Bank parting ways.

To quote an old proverb: "When elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers." In this case, the stomped-on grass is credit card holders. As for the elephants, U.S. Bank, the now-former issuer of its Kroger Rewards World Elite Mastercard, switched to a cash-back Visa, and Kroger is now bedfellows with First Bank & Trust, yet confusingly did not file a post-divorce name change for its rewards credit card.

Cardholders of the U.S. Bank version previously received 2% cash back when shopping at Kroger, 1% elsewhere, and 5% on their first $3,000 spent through mobile wallet purchases. The biggest prize, however, was the automatic 5-cent-per-gallon discount at Kroger gas stations. First-year cardholders, and those who spent $6,000 a year on the card, got 25 cents off instead when redeeming fuel points. But poof, that's gone now. No more real-time card discounts. Granted, the 5 cents off was a credit card-only bonus, and although Kroger's store program also changed, fuel discounts at Kroger aren't completely off the table. You just have to be a bit more clever to earn them.

Because U.S. Bank-Kroger Mastercard holders need to apply for the new First Bank & Trust-Kroger ones, they risk carrying two credit cards. But there are other ways to save money on gas so you don't need either one.

The Costco Anywhere Visa by Citi will snag you 5% cash back at Costco-branded gas stations, and a respectable 4% back at other eligible fuel centers and EV chargers. But once you spend $7,000 in combined fill-ups in a year, the returns diminish to only 1%. The Sam's Club Mastercard is more flexible with 5% cash back on fuel and EV charging purchases, regardless of brand. But its threshold maxes out at a lower $6,000 per year. Then, like Costco, the discount is 1%.

Walmart has a OnePay CashRewards card that pays Walmart+ members 5% back at Walmart. Walmart+ membership itself gets you 10 cents off a gallon at participating store gas stations and partner brands like CITGO and Exxon, plus the wholesaler's member gas price at Sam's Club. Non-Walmart+ cardholders don't receive an at-the-pump discount but still get 3% cash back at Walmart, including its gas stations. Go elsewhere and the discount is 1.5%. Target fans get fuel savings, too. Despite Target not having gas stations or fuel partners, the Target Circle Mastercard still offers 2% cash back on all gas purchases.  

Regional supercenter chain Meijer also has branded gas stations as well as a store credit card and co-branded Mastercard. Cardholders of either don't receive a flat rate cash-back percentage. Instead, you get $10 back every $750 spent, which is a middling 1%, but do snag a 10-cent-per-gallon Meijer-only gas discount. Some of Albertsons Companies' regional chains, like Albertsons and Safeway, have branded gas stations alongside their grocery stores. But all Albertsons Cos. stores offer a co-branded American Express card with an everyday 3% gas cash back, no matter where you fuel up.

Want to cut ties with Kroger accounts altogether but not lose out on cheaper fuel prices there? Simply use another cash-back credit card, one that you probably already have in your wallet.

Banks, from nationwide behemoths to regional chains, offer cash-back credit cards, and with no annual fee to boot. Bank of America has a few, including one with a sign-up bonus of 6% cash back in the first year, up to $2,500 per quarter. This applies to one category of your choice, such as gas and EV charging. Wells Fargo's deal is 2% back but with no categories to monitor.

And U.S. Bank's Smartly Visa, which replaced the grocer's branded card, offers a 2% return on all purchases, but the cash-back percentage rises with the balance you keep in deposit accounts, up to 4% on qualified balances of $100,000 or more. With that, you can probably tap to pay for a new Toyota 4Runner, but your credit score and interest rate will be a separate matter.

Even non-cash back credit cards offer gas savings, too. Banks and retailers are polyamorous. They both want to be involved in your spending, including how and where you buy. So, check your credit and debit cards for any incentives or bonus offers. They usually need to be formally activated, but chances are you'll find handsome rewards for fueling up at specific brands and locations, including Kroger.

Don't want more credit cards or to sign up for yet another customer loyalty program? There's an app for that! GasBuddy is a car-related app you can't live without. It offers plenty of money-saving tools online like gas price heat maps, but its app is where the sweet savings are. Its integrated GasBack marketplace lets you buy everything from apparel to parking, and qualified purchases earn either a lump sum credit or up to 10% back. When your balance reaches $5, you can cash out or exchange your earnings for gift cards. Wanna save more, like up to 33 cents off a gallon? You'll have to sign up for the Pay with GasBuddy+ card. 

However, never mind its Mastercard logo; the Pay with GasBuddy+ card is not a credit card. Instead, it's connected to your bank account with payments made via ACH. The card includes a 3- or 5-cent-per-gallon discount, depending on the station, and adds up to 25 cents off through bonuses. Plus, every $25 spent on non-fuel purchases in convenience stores will net an additional 3-cent discount. When stacked, the per-gallon savings tops out at 33 cents.

Other popular shopping apps that offer money back for fuel stops are Checkout 51, Fetch Rewards, and Upside. Checkout 51 requires users to upload receipts, which earn cash back that can be cashed out via third-party payment methods like PayPal. Fetch also uses a receipt-based system but redemptions are only via gift cards.

Less complicated is Upside. No receipts needed. Just select a discount offer in the app, make a purchase, and the cash back is deposited into your account. Your earnings don't expire as long as your account stays active. 

Of course, the gas brands themselves offer fuel discounts, too. Sure, we'd like Big Oil to just set affordable prices no matter what, but sometimes gas costs have more to do with what the feds are doing than the fuel companies.

Anyway, while cash back offers are nice, you still have to wait for the reward. More satisfying is paying a lower price from the get-go. And pretty much every gas brand has a loyalty program, from bigwigs like Chevron Texaco, Shell, and ExxonMobil to road trip familiars Love's Travel Stop and Pilot Flying J.

Chevron members earn 5 points per gallon toward future discounts, while Exxon rewards by fuel type. Premium earns 6 cents a gallon in points while all other gas octanes and diesel net only 3 cents. Shell has a tiered system as well but it's based on fill-ups, with Platinum members receiving 10 cents off per gallon.

Popular convenience stores that also happen to have gas stations, such as 7-Eleven, Circle K, and Casey's, offer savings as well. Along with a free Slurpee every July 11, 7-Eleven gives members a minimum 5-cent-per-gallon discount. There are special promotions, too. Circle K has similar bonus days that cut the per-gallon price by up to 40 cents. Keep in mind that despite the freebies and fuel, these famous chains don't always sell additive-rich Top Tier-rated fuel, which is said to be cleaner gas for your engine.

If you'd rather stay loyal to Kroger, here's some good news: shortly before parting ways with U.S. Bank, Kroger updated its Fuel Points perks. The loyalty program is now simply called Points, reflecting the plan's flexibility to reward customers with more than just cheaper fuel. With a Kroger Points account, every $1 spent earns one point, but qualifying purchases and special bonus events can double or quadruple that earnings rate. Additionally, Kroger Boost or Boost Essential members can earn twice the points on most purchases all the time.

A minimum of 100 points is required for redemption, but values differ between store buys and gas purchases. For fuel, 100 points converts to 10 cents off per gallon, with a maximum discount of $1 per gallon. For food, that same 100 points will save you $1 at checkout in-store or online, up to $10 per day.

Kroger Points can be redeemed at any of the grocer's 1,232 stores located in 16 states, and then some. Parent company, The Kroger Co., operates more than 2,700 stores nationwide, including regional grocery chains like Ralphs, Smith's, Harris Teeter, and Pick 'n Save, to name a few. Among its brands, The Kroger Co. manages more than 1,700 gas stations. Fuel partners, such as Shell, will also accept redemption of Kroger Points. Yet, not all Shell locations participate in Kroger's program, and partnering fuel brands do vary by region. Check the app or website's store locator feature first, which can be filtered to show fuel-only locations.

All things considered, what Kroger taketh away, you can easily get back. Stick with Points, bring your own savings hack to Kroger gas stations, or simply fuel up somewhere else.