Stop&Shop/Giant Gas Points Devaluation on August 8

Stop&Shop is printing on their receipts that there will be a fuel program devaluation on August 8, 2016. I assume the same applies to their partner, Giant Foods.

 

• Max fuel discount will be $1.50, down from $2.20.
• Max 20 gallons, down from 35.

Previously, the maximum possible value to get from 100 points was $3.50, now it’s just $2. That’s 2 cents-per-point instead of 3.5 cents-per-point. This part won’t make a difference for those who didn’t max out the 35 gallons.

Most of us will be affected by the max $1.50, however. This doesn’t lower the value per-point, but it limits how many points we can use. No more free gas 🙁

Stop&Shop/Giant fuel program became much less relevant since March 2016 when they went cash/debit only for buying prepaid cards. Still useful in some cases, though.

As we’ve noted in the past, fuel program details are YMMV; some areas never had a $2.20 max, and it might be that they’ll continue to be unlimited as before. The max-20-gallons limit will probably apply to everyone.

Gas Points Details 

Here’s the revised basics of the fuel program after August 8, 2016.

Every 100 points gets you 10¢ off per gallon at Shell, up to 20 gallons. If you have 1000 points, you’ll get $1 off. If you have 1500 points, you’ll get $1.50 off per gallon. 

• Max discount in some areas is $1.50. (Giant PA and Martin’s might not have a max.)
• You have 30 days to use the points. The day of purchase is Day #1. (Giant PA and Martins might expire at the end of the following month.)
• Points can only be used at partner Shell stations. You can redeem the points in a different area from where you got the points, but only if that Shell station is a partner. Check out the gas locator for Stop & Shop and for Giant for exact listings of which Shell stations are included.  (Giant PA and Martins might only be valid at their own gas stations.)
• See the FAQ for more details. Some of the details vary by area and store.
• Points usually are available immediately, but I’ve had on occasion where it took a day until they showed up and were usable.
• Pro tip: Use a Shell gift card and you’ll usually get the cash price; it’s especially worthwhile to get the lower cash price when using fuel points.

Note that these details are true for Stop&Shop and Giant. There’s also Giantfoodstores who has the same offers as SS/Giant (all are owned by Ahold), but their fuel points details are a bit different as they allow redemption on the full price of the gas and they expire the points at the end of the month following when they are earned. So if earned in June they’ll expire at the end of July.

Thanks to friends Audrey and Tom for letting me know about this and sending the picture