Earn and Manage Fuel Saver Points at Kroger

Points are earned on purchases made from the first to the last day of the same month. It “costs” 100 points to apply the 10 cent discount on gas. Any points above the hundred earned in a certain month, are wasted since they are not enough for a discount and are not transferable. Any points not used by the end of the following month will expire.

So towards the end of the month I make sure to gather up to the nearest hundred points, then I stop shopping for the rest of the month. On the first of the next month I start shopping again. This method has been very useful for maintaining a grocery budget and I strive to spend less and less cash for the same amount of points earned.

To fill up a whole tank or for just 3 gallons of gas with a 10 cent discount, 100 points get deducted from your account. We even got tricked to “spent” 100 points even for one gallon of gas that fits in the scooter tank. I have found that the best thing to do to maximize the savings is to fill up the nearly empty tank. How about filling up the scooter tank? This started not long ago, but when scanning your card you now get to choose whether you want your 10 cent discount to apply or not. If you choose to keep your points, a 3 cent discount still applies, which still makes me want to shop for groceries and gas at Kroger.

Add a comment February 17, 2009

Personalized Coupons – I Love You Too, Kroger

A pretty envelope featuring pink and red heart-shaped cookies was delivered the other day. “Personalized savings just for you” boasts on its front, in bold red letters. Great! Who doesn’t like free personalized coupons brought at the front door? A short (and sweet) message from the president of Kroger Atlanta explains the purpose of these coupons: Kroger wants us to be its Valentine.

Every once in a while, Kroger sends a booklet of “personalized coupons”. When going through the list however, I can’t help but wonder if someone actually sat down, looked at the items I usually purchase, then selected these coupons just for me. Because if this is actually the case, this person is probably overworked, overtired, and still suffering from a hangover. Unless, of course, ”personalized” means anybody who 1. still lives and 2. shops at Kroger. Sadly, though, the second condition could not possibly apply because these coupons were delivered in James’ name, yet we have not used James’ Kroger card in about 10 months. 

Every single purchase that we make is recorded on that shopper’s card. Whoever can see that list knows more of the stuff I buy at Kroger than James does! We have not been purchasing cat food in a few months, yet we have been purchasing baby food. We have started to purchase organic fruits and vegetables instead of the regular ones. We have replaced junk food with fresh fruits and vegetables.  I would expect that with all the software available today, a set of coupons that were actually personalized could easily be printed out and mailed. Why is this still not the case?

Nonetheless, these savings are greatly appreciated and we always use the coupon for Free eggs. So I guess I have to say it: Sure, Kroger, I will be your valentine.

Add a comment February 9, 2009

eCoupons: The Best Of Both Worlds

If you want to get a decent price on your groceries at any store, including at Kroger, you must have a shopper’s card. This red piece of plastic can save you hundreds of dollars a year and it costs nothing to get one. The latest way you can make this card work for you is by addig eCoupons to it.

E-Coupons are discounts that will apply on select products at check-out. They require no clipping, storing, flipping through and finding. You won’t forget them home: if you have your card, you have your coupons. The best part is that these coupons, which can usually be found in printed form in the same period of time, can be used together with the paper coupons. Let’s say I had a $0.55 off coupon from Sunday’s newspaper. Then, I load a $0.55 ecoupon for the same product onto my card. Ta-daaaa! $1.10 off that product.  How awesome is that!!

The system is not perfect and some problems do exist. Sometimes, these coupons will not apply to the respective product. Nobody can explain why, it’s just that “the system” has a mind of its own. This can be fixed by shooting a quick email to customer service and they will reinburse you for the value of that coupon, if you give them the receit number, shopper’s card number, and value of the coupon. Sometimes, the scanner will not recognize a scan bar and the cashier will manually put in the price. If this happens, again the coupon will not apply and you can’t prove to the customer support people that you actually purchased the right product for that coupon to apply. Lastly, these coupons do not double as the regular printed ones and you don’t have them in front of you when you shop, to see if they are still valid or if they expired.

Go online to Kroger.com. They have two digital coupon programs and they both require registration.  Register to have access to both eSaver and P&G coupons. Make sure you input the correct card number, as all the cents off will be loaded onto your card. Then browse through the list of coupons they offer at the time and click “Add”. It’s that simple.

Add a comment February 5, 2009