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Almost every gas station chain has a rewards program nowadays, but just like the different credit card point currencies, they’re not created equal. In fact, some of them are vastly different. For example, some chains offer points, which are redeemable for gift cards, while others offer per gallon discounts. They all offer rewards, but depending on your preferences, some are better than others.
If you don’t already have a gas station preference, this post will help you decide what one you should put your loyalty in, based on their rewards program.
How They Work
These reward programs work similar to shopping portals. You get the reward or bonus on top of any credit card points, miles, or cash back you earn. So, there’s really no reason not to sign-up for one or all of these programs.
Guide
Name of Rewards Program (and link)
- Sign-up Bonus: This is the bonus you receive for signing up with the program.
- Everyday Bonus: This is the bonus you receive every time you swipe your card at the pump, regardless of whether you have any rewards in your account or not.
- How to Earn: These are the different ways you can earn rewards with this program.
- Gallon Limit: This is the gallon limit when you use rewards. For example, if you have $2.00 off per gallon and there’s a 20 gallon limit, you can save a maximum of $40 if you use the whole 20 gallons.
- Notes: This is where I can write any information pertaining to that specific rewards program.
- Rating: This is where I will put my rating of the reward system. I haven’t tried all of these programs out, due to many of them being region specific, but each rating is based on my research. Here is what the different ratings mean:
- 1/5 – The rewards are far too difficult and/or expensive to earn and there’s no sign-up bonus or everyday bonus.
- 2/5 – The rewards are a tad bit expensive to earn and there’s not an everyday bonus or a sign-up bonus.
- 3/5 – The rewards are easy to earn, but there’s not an everyday bonus or a sign-up bonus.
- 4/5 – The rewards are easy to earn and there’s an everyday bonus OR a sign-up bonus.
- 5/5 – There is a sign-up bonus, an everyday bonus, and there are plenty of ways to earn rewards.
Table of Contents
Different Programs
- Sign-up Bonus: None
- Everyday Bonus: None
- How to Earn:
- Misc Offers – Earn fuel discounts by buying promotional products. For example, earn $3 in fuel rewards when buying $25 worth of meat.
- Gallon Limit: No Limit
- Notes: This program does not earn money off the gallon, instead it earns actually money to use at the pump. The max your card can have is $500.
- Rating: 3/5
- Sign-up Bonus: $0.10 off per gallon when you register.
- Everyday Bonus: None
- How to Earn:
- Fuel Purchase – $0.05 off per gallon for every 20 gallons purchased. There is a minimum of two transactions that must total 20 gallons.
- Gallon Limit: 20 gallons
- Notes: This is BP’s response to Shell’s Fuel Network. It’s pretty straightforward, but it seems like it’s much easier to earn money off the gallon with Shell’s program vs this.
- Rating: 4/5
- Sign-up Bonus: None
- Everyday Bonus: Varying amount of points earned on every purchase.
- How to Earn:
- Purchases – All purchases in store or at the pump earn points, such as 5pts per dollar spent at the pump
- Misc Offers – Different offers come out all the time, such as 200pts for buying a Special K bar.
- Gallon Limit: N/A
- Notes: You earn points for every purchase, then you can redeem those points for food, gas, gift cards, or other merchandise. The points are far from valuable (they’re worth about 0.15 cents each), but they can add up quickly.
- Rating: 4/5
- Sign-up Bonus: None
- Everyday Bonus: None
- How to Earn:
- Purchases – Specifically marked specials earn money off the gallon.
- Gallon Limit: None that I could find.
- Notes: This is a very lackluster rewards program, I wouldn’t suggest it.
- Rating: 2/5
- Sign-up Bonus: None
- Everyday Bonus: None
- How to Earn:
- Shopping – Earn 1 fuel point for every $1 spent at Freddy’s. For every 100 points you earn in a calendar month, you get $0.10 off the gallon.
- Gallon Limit: 35 gallons per reward.
- Notes: Some Fred Meyer stores have partnerships with Shell where you can redeem your fuel points at Fred Meyer Fuel Centers or Shell. You’ll need to check your state with the link above to see if your’s does. When you use your rewards at Fred Meyer, you can choose how much you use, at Shell you cannot.
- Rating: 2/5
- Sign-up Bonus: None
- Everyday Bonus: None
- How to Earn:
- Shopping – Earn 1 point per $1 spent. For every 100 points you earn, you get $0.10 off the gallon. Points totals under 100 in a calendar month expire.
- Gallon Limit: 35 gallons
- Notes: Rewards expire 30 days after earning them and they aren’t the easiest to earn.
- Rating: 2/5
- Sign-up Bonus: None
- Everyday Bonus: None
- How to Earn:
- Purchases – Specifically marked specials earn money off the gallon.
- Gallon Limit: 20 gallons
- Notes: Your rewards can be redeemed at Hy-Vee, Shell, PDQ, and Casey’s.
- Rating: 2/5
- Sign-up Bonus: None
- Everyday Bonus: None
- How to Earn:
- Shopping – For every 50 gallons you purchase, you get $0.10 off per gallon on your next fill up.
- Gallon Limit: 20 gallons
- Notes: Your not going to be saving much with this rewards program, so if you have other options, it might be better.
- Rating: 2/5
- Sign-up Bonus: None
- Everyday Bonus: None
- How to Earn:
- Shopping – Earn 1 point per $1 spent on groceries and pharmacy and 2 points per $1 spent on store gift cards. For every 100 points you earn, you get $0.10 off the gallon. Points totals under 100 in a calendar month expire.
- Gallon Limit: 35 gallons
- Notes: Kroger is partnered with Shell, so you can redeem your rewards at either station. You can only redeem a max of $0.10 off the gallon at a time at Shell, and a max of $1.00 off the gallon at Kroger.
- Rating: 2/5
- Sign-up Bonus: 500 points for signing up
- Everyday Bonus: 10 points for every fill up
- How to Earn:
- Shopping – 20 points earned for every dollar spent inside the store.
- Gallon Limit: N/A
- Notes: The points earned can be used for gallon discounts or gift cards and merchandise. This program is very similar to Speedway’s.
- Rating: 5/5
- Sign-up Bonus: None
- Everyday Bonus: None
- How to Earn:
- Shopping – Earn 1 point per $1 spent on groceries and pharmacy and 2 points per $1 spent on store gift cards. For every 100 points you earn, you get $0.10 off the gallon. Points totals under 100 in a calendar month expire.
- Gallon Limit: 25 gallons
- Notes: Pavilions is partnered with Chevron and Texaco, so you can redeem your rewards at any of the three gas stations. You can only redeem a max of $0.20 off the gallon at a time at Chevron and Texaco, and a max of $1.00 off the gallon at Pavilions.
- Rating: 2/5
- Sign-up Bonus: None
- Everyday Bonus: None
- How to Earn:
- Shopping – Rewards are earned by hitting spending thresholds that change regularly.
- Gallon Limit: 20 gallons
- Notes: These rewards are usable at most Sunoco locations.
- Rating: 2/5
- Sign-up Bonus: None
- Everyday Bonus: None
- How to Earn:
- Shopping – Earn 1 point per $1 spent on groceries and pharmacy and 2 points per $1 spent on store gift cards. For every 100 points you earn, you get $0.10 off the gallon. Points totals under 100 in a calendar month expire.
- Gallon Limit: 25 gallons
- Notes: Randalls is partnered with Exxon and Mobil, so you can redeem your rewards at any of the three gas stations. You can only redeem a max of $0.20 off the gallon at a time at Exxon and Mobil, and a max of $1.00 off the gallon at Randalls.
- Rating: 2/5
- Sign-up Bonus: None
- Everyday Bonus: None
- How to Earn:
- Shopping – Earn 1 point per $1 spent on groceries and pharmacy and 2 points per $1 spent on store gift cards. For every 100 points you earn, you get $0.10 off the gallon. Points totals under 100 in a calendar month expire.
- Gallon Limit: 25 gallons
- Notes: Safeway is partnered with Exxon and Mobil, so you can redeem your rewards at any of the three gas stations. You can only redeem a max of $1.00 off the gallon at a time.
- Rating: 2/5
- Sign-up Bonus: None
- Everyday Bonus: None
- How to Earn:
- Shopping – You earn $0.05 off per gallon for every $50 you spend at Lucky.
- Gallon Limit: 20
- Notes: This program works on the Fuel Rewards Network, so you might as well sign-up for Shell’s rewards as well. That way you get gallon rewards from everything Shell offers and from Lucky.
- Rating: 3/5
- Sign-up Bonus: $0.20 off per gallon on your second fill up and another $0.20 off per gallon after linking a card.
- Everyday Bonus: $0.03 off per gallon.
- How to Earn:
- Portals – $0.05 off per gallon for every $50 spent.
- Referrals – $0.20 off per gallon for every referral.
- Misc Offers – ex. $0.05 off for spending $100 at electronics stores.
- Gallon Limit: 20 gallons per reward.
- Notes: This is one of the most robust rewards programs around. Shell offers many different ways to say money off the gallon, so you’ll want to check your account regularly. Also, Shell uses your maximum reward at once. So, if you have $0.50 off a gallon or $0.05 off a gallon, it will use the total reward regardless of how many gallons your filling up with (max 20).
- Rating: 5/5
Disclaimer: This is an affiliate link. I earn $0.20 off per gallon if you sign-up through my link.
- Sign-up Bonus: None
- Everyday Bonus: Varying amount of points earned on every purchase.
- How to Earn:
- Portals – Anywhere from 15pts/$1 – 50pts/$1.
- Purchases – All purchases in store or at the pump earn points.
- Misc Offers – Different offers come out all the time, such as 1,000 bonus points for buying a $50 Speedway gift card. That promotion is one of the fastest ways to earn points since you can use those gift cards on gas.
- Gallon Limit: N/A
- Notes: Speedy Rewards are very different. You earn points for every purchase, then you can redeem those points for food, gas, gift cards, or other merchandise. The points are far from valuable (they’re worth about 0.1 cents each), but they can add up quickly.
- Rating: 4/5
- Sign-up Bonus: None
- Everyday Bonus: None
- How to Earn:
- Shopping – Earn 1 point per $1 spent. For every 100 points you earn, you get $0.10 off the gallon. Points totals under 100 in a calendar month expire.
- Gallon Limit: 35 gallons
- Notes: Rewards expire 30 days after earning them and they aren’t the easiest to earn.
- Rating: 2/5
- Sign-up Bonus: None
- Everyday Bonus: None
- How to Earn:
- Purchases – Specifically marked specials earn money off the gallon.
- Gallon Limit: 20 gallons.
- Notes: I don’t have a Sunoco in my area, but from the sounds of it, their rewards program is kind of a bear.
- Rating: 2/5
- Sign-up Bonus: None
- Everyday Bonus: None
- How to Earn:
- Shopping – Earn 1 point per $1 spent on groceries and pharmacy and 2 points per $1 spent on store gift cards. For every 100 points you earn, you get $0.10 off the gallon. Points totals under 100 in a calendar month expire.
- Gallon Limit: 25 gallons
- Notes: Tom Thumb is partnered with Exxon and Mobil, so you can redeem your rewards at any of the three gas stations. You can only redeem a max of $0.20 off the gallon at a time at Exxon and Mobil, and a max of $1.00 off the gallon at Tom Thumb.
- Rating: 2/5
- Sign-up Bonus: None
- Everyday Bonus: None
- How to Earn:
- Shopping – Earn 1 point per $1 spent on groceries and pharmacy and 2 points per $1 spent on store gift cards. For every 100 points you earn, you get $0.10 off the gallon. Points totals under 100 in a calendar month expire.
- Gallon Limit: 25 gallons
- Notes: Vons is partnered with Exxon and Mobil, so you can redeem your rewards at any of the three gas stations. You can only redeem a max of $0.20 off the gallon at a time at Exxon and Mobil, and a max of $1.00 off the gallon at Vons.
- Rating: 2/5
- Sign-up Bonus: None
- Everyday Bonus: None
- How to Earn:
- Shopping – Spend $50 get $0.05 off the gallon. Buy specifically marked products and earn bonus money off the gallon. For every $50 you spend in store gift cards, you get $0.10 off the gallon.
- Misc Offers – Such as spend $25 of baby products and get $0.10 off per gallon.
- Gallon Limit: 20 gallons
- Notes: These rewards can be redeemed at a variety of gas stations including Shell, BP, Chevron, Sunoco, and Citgo, which makes them very flexible. That being said, only certain gas stations accept fuelperks!, so you will need to check their participating locations here.
- Rating: 3/5