The grocery chain Safeway consists of Safeway, Vons, Pavilions, Randalls, Tom Thumb, and Carrs. Like so many supermarket chains, Safeway has a gas rewards program which offers points for purchases made at the supermarket. Those points can then be used to receive discounts at the pump.
Up until now, Safeway has partnered with Exxon/Mobil and the gas points were able to be used for discounts at Exxon/Mobil stations, as well as at Safeway-branded gas stations. A change has been publicized by Safeway that Exxon/Mobil will no longer be a valid redemption option and  points will only be able to be used at Safeway-company gas stations.
The change is set to take effect on 6/1/15, at which time the points will have more limited use.
[As an aside, from what I gather, merchant gift card purchases (i.e. an Amazon gift card) do earn gas points, in-fact they earn double points, but Visa/Mastercard/Amex gift cards don’t earn gas points.]
So far, I’ve been very pleased switching to Giant. The meats aren’t as good, but I don’t eat that much meat. Overall prices appear to be lower, and you can receive a gas rewards discount up to $2.20/gal for up to 35 gallons. You simply need to keep an eye on the Wednesday newspaper coupons for the big discounts.
time to stop shopping a Safeway which is expensive. I will be checking out Giant.
Big mistake, Safeway. There are no Chevron stations located in or around my town. The only one listed was converted to a Mobil station. Either way, Safeway didn’t do its homework before making this decision. They are about to lose a whole class of customer, a group that generally shops at Safeway because of its rewards points program. Since Safeway doesn’t deal with diesel fuel, we have no option but to move on if we want to get a good deal. Even if there were Chevron stations nearby, a savings of $0.20/gal doesn’t do it. After being a loyal Safeway customer for at least 35 years, I must move on. Giant Food still allows me to earn gas point for discounts. Besides, I prefer to buy American, not Canadian. BTW, I’m not threatening, just trying to save a few bucks. I’ve spoken with other diesel pushers who will be doing the same. Keep in mind, it’s not just trucks that use diesel anymore. Many of your high-end vehicles (ie; Mercedes, BMW, Volvo), and others (VW, etc.) are now using diesel, so this could have a greater impact on sales than one would imagine.
Interesting point with the diesel fuel.
I didn’t even know Exxon Mobil was a partner. I thought it was only Chevron! But they only let you use a maximum 20c/gallon discount, which was often still more expensive than regular price at the Safeway gas station. At the Safeway gas station, you can use up to $1/gallon discount, which is pretty awesome.
Yeah, Safeway gas station can still work great.
Seems there’s a disparity in the details of the program between Safeway and some of the other stores in the chain.
Thanks for the heads up. That’s too bad, it has been extremely convenient to use Safeway gas points at Exxon instead of having to drive 6+ miles to the Safeway station.
Yeah, definitely inconvenient.
Exxon/Mobile? Vons’ gas rewards partner is Chevron/Texaco…
Thanks, I don’t have personal experience with this program and I was looking at the Safeway site.
As far as I can tell, Vons shoppers are safe and they’ll still be able to redeem at Chevron/Texaco. Only Safeway shoppers are affected.