Grocery Store Gas Discounts

Really there are two major grocery stores that offer a gas discount for shopping at their store, one is Kroger (King Soopers) and the other is Safeway. I know I am probably missing some but these are the two that are in my area. There are advantages and disadvantages to both and you have to decide which is better for you. I will discuss why I like the Kroger one better.

The Kroger discount on gas is not nearly as good as the Safeway one but there are reasons why. Here's what happens. At Kroger you get $.10 off for every $100 dollars spent. However at Kroger you can only use the $.10 discount one at a time. In other words say you spent $500 at Kroger in November which would give you $.50 off of gas, but you can only use $.10 at a time. You can use it 5 times but only one per visit. OK you wonder why I prefer the Kroger? Here's why, the shopping is cheaper and the coupons you can use at Kroger are much greater than those you can use at Safeway. After all the bottom line savings is what we're all looking for anyway. At Kroger you can use double coupons and if you work at it you can save significant amounts of money in the store. My wife often saves 40%-50% off her grocery bill when she shops at Kroger. This can sometimes add up to over $100 per month just on shopping in the store, plus you get the $.10 discount on gas. To me you can't beat this.

Now, with Safeway you get a $.10 discount on gas as well but with Safeway it accumulates. In other words say you spend $500 on groceries in November, you can have the option to safe $.50 a gallon on one fill up. The gas discount is much better at Safeway but the shopping is more expensive and they offer fewer coupons while shopping in the store. So, you can save quite a bit on gas when you fill up but when you do the math you are still behind when it comes to total dollars saved. It really depends on what kind of shopper you are and really what kind of vehicle you drive. Now with both there is a maximum you can pump with the discount. I believe the most you can pump with either one is $100. Take my parents for example, they are pretty well off and my mother hasn't clipped a coupon for 15 years. She doesn't care about saving money on her groceries but my dad who drives a GMC Duramax with a converted gas tank loves it when he can fill it up for $50 when he used to pay $200. It really depends on you lifestyle.

So as you can see I prefer the Kroger discount because of the bottom line money saved because we are on a tight budget. The decision is obviously up to you but I have been doing some research and thought I would share with the rest of you. Look at what you do and how you do it and you can save yourself some money when you shop for groceries.

A little side note, back to the coupons. If you do your shopping at Kroger clip coupons and then you can go on line and get double coupons. In some cases you can actually get stuff for free. Like I said earlier, my wife saves between 40% and 50% on a weekly basis and it adds up to significant savings at the grocery store. We all know it's nice to fill up your tank for next to nothing especially right now when gas has been sky high, but you have to think about the total dollars saved.