Grocery giant Bi-Lo on Wednesday kicked off a program in the Chattanooga area that its officials hope will woo more shoppers and save patrons money on gas.
Called Fuelperks, it will offer shoppers a savings of 5 cents per gallon, up to 20 gallons, of gas for every $50 in qualifying purchases at Bi-Lo, officials said. For $100 in groceries, gas savings would be $2.
"Fuelperks is one of the new pillars of the company," said Stephanie Ryals, marketing manager for Bi-Lo's Bonuscard.
The $50 threshold can be achieved through multiple visits, and savings are tracked electronically on new Bonuscards.
Kip Faulhaber, a Bi-Lo vice president, said there are 38 locations in the area where customers can use their savings when buying gas.
"We're seeking additional stations," he said.
Customers redeem their Fuelperks rewards by swiping their Bonuscards at any of the participating Shell, Exxon, Texaco, Mr. Zip, Phillips 66, Conoco, Chevron, BP or Spur Market gas stations, according to the company.
Chattanooga is the last of the Mauldin, S.C.-based grocer's major markets for Fuelperks to be introduced. Other companies, too, have offered fuel savings programs, including Wal-Mart and Costco.
Since the Bi-Lo program started in 2008, Fuelperks has saved customers over $63 million on gas, the company said.
Fuelperks rewards can be achieved on every product Bi-Lo sells except tobacco, Faulhaber said. That's because federal law prohibits rewards programs on tobacco, he said.
While there's no limit on the amount of rewards a customer can earn, they expire after three months.
Ryals said about 83 percent of Bonuscard users redeem their Fuelperks rewards.