Don’t Despair, Your Kroger Fuel Points Haven’t Been Mysteriously Lost

If you're a Kroger customer and you've gotten used to occasionally saving 50 cents or even a dollar off per gallon, you may have noticed a change at the pump. But don't worry, your Kroger fuel points haven't disappeared.

A recent change to the way Kroger gas pumps display options to redeem points has some customers a little confused.

Why the Confusion?

If you've purchased enough groceries to earn discounts in both the current month and the previous month, it's a good practice to use the older discount first in order to prevent it from expiring. And once you scan your card at the pump, you should be given three options:

1. Use last month's discount,
2. Use this month's discount,
3. Or use the default 3 cents per gallon discount.

But many customers have noted that the option to make a selection disappears rather quickly and if no selection is made the system automatically defaults to option 3, giving customers the standard three cents per gallon discount.

Why the Change?

Jenifer Moore tells WCPO-TV that the change is designed to prevent customers from losing old discounts. Previously, Kroger fuel pumps would default to only giving the option to use the biggest discount available. If your current month's discount was indeed larger than last month's, it could result in the eventual loss of an older discount.

The new system is designed to help prevent customers from losing older discounts that they still may want to use. But Moore says the system may not be giving customers long enough to make their choice at the pump.

"If you wait too long to decide what points to use," she explained, "it defaults to the no-points three-cent discount. As a result, some customers believe they have lost the 400 or 500 points they had been planning to use."

She goes on to tell the TV station that the Kroger tech team is working to extend the time the system gives customers to make a decision, which should result in less confusion.