Points and Discounts

 I know I've covered at least a part of this topic previously, but I think that it is important enough in these economic times to make it all inclusive.

If you have any interest in budgeting and saving as much of your hard-earned dollars as you can, this column might just be your salvation.  The savings my wife and I enjoy were stumbled upon over the course of 5 or 6 years, but combined, they all add up to a lot of dollars that go twice as far.

There are certain necessities that we all have to have in our modern lives.  They all cost money, and some cost a lot more than others, so choices must be made.  To name a few, gasoline to power our vehicles, food for our stomachs and techology to keep in touch.

What if you could save on all three of those at the same place?

Well, we do!  And the savings are substantial.

We try to confine our grocery shopping to one store, which I will designate with 5 asterisks, since most grocery stores participate in similar programs to the one I'm going to describe for you.  So, every time you see *****, just substitute the name of the grocery store where you shop.

We do buy some food at Walmart, but a lot of their food is imported, so we stay away from it.  We have another reason to favor ***** with our business, though.  They award points for shopping that can be redeemed at their gas pump.  Each dollar spent, except on alcohol and tobacco, is worth one point.  For every 100 points, a discount of ten-cents-per-gallon is given, and most months, we redeem about 400 points–$.40-per-gallon–for one tank of gas. Some months we only fill up once, so our gas for that month is all discounted, a savings of about $8.00.

Some of the grocery stores don't have a fuel center, but most do have a name brand gas station -- Shell, Exxon/Mobile, etc. -- that does honor their points, so it is usually possible to fuel up anywhere in the country with the discount points.

***** gives bonus points on gift card purchases, so we buy those for games, restaurants, department stores, other businesses and online shopping we use frequently.  Buying a $25 gift card is worth 100 points, or $.10/gallon on our next fuel purchase.

Now, as if that isn't enough, there are even more benefits.  Since we are loyal customers, ***** sends us weekly email ads that feature not only the specials, but are tailored to our most frequent purchases.  At least one item will be offered free of charge, and sometimes the item is worth up to $5.  We just load the coupon on to our card, and the next time we pick up that item, it is free.  Other coupons for frequently purchased items are discounted in addition to what the store discount offers any customer.

There is yet one more great discount I enjoy due to my shopping at *****.  I purchased a cell phone from i-wireless at the store for $20 on a no-contract basis.  I pay only $5/month for the service, and I get 20 to 40 minutes of phone time free every time I shop. So far, I have never had to purchase a single minute, so I have a cell phone with service via the Sprint towers for just FIVE DOLLARS PER MONTH!  Oh, and the phone card I purchase at ***** to keep the service also gains me points (sometimes doubled or tripled) toward those gasoline purchases.

I figure that every dollar I spend at ***** benefits me at least two ways, and sometimes even more, so I am getting extra value every time I walk into the store.  All those points, discounts and free coupons add up to a heck of a lot of savings for my loyalty to that one business.

If you aren't taking advantage of these great benefits at the store where you shop, maybe it's time you looked into it.  ***** in my case, is Kroger, so if you have that chain in your area, you might start there.  I'm not advertising for the store, but they are the one that I happen to use for all those values.  Check with your favorite grocery chain and see what similar programs they offer.

Here is a list of stores that Kroger Company operates, all of which may have similar point and gas discount programs.

Grocery Retail

The Kroger Co. operates grocery retail stores under the following banners:

• Supermarkets - Kroger, Ralphs, Dillons, Smith's, King Soopers, Fry's, QFC, City Market, Owen's, Jay C, Pay Less, Baker's, Gerbes, Scott's Food & Pharmacy, Harris Teeter
• Multi-department stores - Fred Meyer
• Dillons Marketplace, Fry's Marketplace, King Soopers Marketplace, Kroger Marketplace, Smith's Marketplace
• Price-impact warehouse stores - Food 4 Less, Foods Co.