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Winn Dixie’s Fuel Perks Program Is Going Away {OR IS IT??!!}

Are you one of the gazillion people who have seen the signs plastered all over Shell Stations telling motorists that Winn Dixie’s Fuel Perks program is ending?

There are even a couple BILLBOARD SIGNS on two local interstates near me in Brandon/Tampa Florida, so this must mean something serious is going on, right? {RIGHT!!}

Check out the replay from my Fox Segment:

 

Let me explain what’s happening and how it’s gonna impact your bottom line:

What’s REALLY Going On? 

I’ll tell you, Winn Dixie is being very difficult to deal with on this issue. Their Facebook Page is riddled with people asking them questions about what is going on, and they have a VERY generic “canned” response that does not specifically answer anything.

That’s frustrating. So I have the true story.

Winn Dixie’s parent company, Southeast Grocers, did not renew the Fuel Perks program with Shell, instead they decided to change direction and go with a program called the “Plenti Program” that allows you to redeem reward points at Exxon/Mobile instead of Shell.

Shell, not wanting to lose Winn Dixie’s current FuelPerks customers, decided to alert customers about the program ending in order to get these same customers, who are redeeming their Fuel Perks (earned by shopping at Winn Dixie), to join Shell’s already existing Fuel Reward Network.

You still with me?!

  • Winn Dixie is changing Fuel Perks to flow through the “Plenti” Program.
  • Shell has their own Reward Program they want you to join instead of going over to Plenti because that program benefits their competitor, Exxon/Mobile.

What About Your Current Fuel Perks Balance?

You can continue earning Fuel Perks through Sunday March 26, 2017. Those new points will be added to any current balance of Fuel Perks that you have and you have until April 30th to redeem them.

Any unused Fuel Perks points will be relinquished after 4/30/17.

The New Program at Winn Dixie

Wednesday, April 5th the new Plenti Program will roll out in stores with the new card.

The Plenti Program is a rewards program operated by American Express and allows you to earn reward points from multiple companies instead of ONLY from Winn Dixie.

I first joined the Plenti Program back in November 2016 when Chili’s converted their rewards program over to Plenti. I’ll tell you, I haven’t noticed any difference with relation to Chili’s (but we don’t eat there as often as I get gas so that’s not completely a fair comparison).

This is what one of my friends paid for 20 Gallons of gas once because of Winn Dixie’s Fuel Perks program. YES, that is 38¢ TOTAL for 20 gallons of gas!! I am hoping that this will continue to be the rewards with Winn Dixie’s new program.

Pro’s:

  • Points have longer expiration date.
    With this new Plenti program, points don’t expire for at least TWO YEARS. You have until 12/31 of the following year in which you earn your rewards to use them. For example, any points earned during April 2017 will expire on December 31, 2018.
  • You earn points on everything you buy, not just FuelPerks items
    This means you can earn points on purchases outside of shopping at Winn Dixie. First, you will earn 1 Plenti Point (which amounts to 1¢ off) for each gallon of gas you buy. My van can hold 20 gallons of gas, so that will get me an extra 20¢ off each time I fill up at Mobile/Exxon.Also, there are local restaurants where you will earn 3 points for each $1 you spend to accelerate your earning points (a local BBQ restaurant that my family loves, BubbaQue is on the list so we are excited, check locations that have partnered with Plenti near you here).I know what you are thinking… well, we also earned 5¢ with every $50 we spent on all groceries. And you are right, that would amount to $1 off your total gas purchase (5¢ x 20 gallons). Under the new program, that same $50 purchase will only earn you 25 Plenti points, which equals 25¢ off your total gas… only NOW you have the added potential to earn points when you make purchases at other stores, not limited to just Winn Dixie.

Con’s:

  • Rewards are not off each gallon, they are a total dollar amount off.
    For example, 1,000 points gets you $10 off your gas. That means each point you earn gets you 1¢ off gas, not each gallon of gas, just 1¢ total.
  • Earning Points is not quite as easy.
    Instead of earning 5¢ per gallon (which amounted to $1 total off your gas {5¢ x 20 gallons} when you buy something, now you will earn 1 point (which equals 1¢) for each $2 you spend.Looking at a sale from 2 weeks ago, Swiffers were on sale for $3.99 and earned you 3¢ in FuelPerk rewards, that translates to 60¢ Total off your gas under the old Fuel Perks system (3¢ x 20 gallons) and now it will only get you 2 Plenti points which is 2¢ off your total gas for the same spending. 60¢ is always better than 2¢. So that is a bummer.

Besides Exxon/Mobile, Plenti also has partnered with Macy’s, AT&T, Chili’s and RiteAid, as well as local businesses near you.

If You Already Use Shell Gas

Because of Winn Dixie’s Fuel Perks program, I regularly get Shell Gas Gift Cards whenever my local grocery store (Publix) offers a $10 Off Promotion. I love that when I use a Gas Gift Card, I get the “cash” price and that saves me a few cents off each gallon.

Your gas will get even cheaper with the Fuel Rewards Network discounts.

Pros:

  • Rewards are off each gallon, just like we are used to with the Fuel Perks program.
  • The rewards are up to 20 gallons, just like we are used to with the Fuel Perks program.
  • With the Fuel Rewards Network, you’ll save 3¢ off each gallon immediately.
  • They also offer a few retailer rewards to save an additional money off each gallon. The problem is that there are not many stores included.
  • Save 5¢ per gallon with every $50 you spend on gift cards purchased at Shell stations (this is the same as Fuel Perks).
  • If you fill up at a Shell station 4 times in a month, you’ll get a bonus 25¢ Off (per gallon).
  • They offer a Referral Bonus. That’ll get you 25¢ off per gallon (up to 20 gallons) when you have a friend sign up for Fuel Rewards (that is my referral link, thank you!)

Cons:

  • The points expire quickly:
    Most rewards earned expire the end of the month after they are earned. That means a reward earned this month, will expire at the end of next month. For example, if you earn a reward in March 2017, then the last day to use it is April 30, 2017 (this is the same way FuelPerks worked).Rewards earned with Card-Linked, Online Shopping and Travel purchases expire after 2 months, so if you earn a reward in March, it will expire the last day of May.Dining rewards expire after 3 months, so if you earn a reward in March, it will expire the last day of June.
  • Rewards don’t necessarily post immediately.
    While some rewards are almost instant (within 48 hours), it takes 4-7 days for the rewards to post from linking your Mastercard Credit/Debit card and up to 10 days for the Dining rewards to post to your account.

**IMPORTANT NOTE: When you redeem your rewards, you have ONE CHANCE to use the reward UP TO 20 gallons. If you don’t use all 20 gallons, it does NOT carry forward for you to use next time. You must use your 20 gallons of rewards at ONE TIME. That means, if you redeem $1 off per gallon, and you use 10 gallons to fill your car, you have another 10 gallons that have the $1 discount on them. Use It or Lose It! You do not get a second chance to utilize that $1 reward until you earn it all over again!

I WASTED 3 gallons of gas I could’ve gotten for 6.9¢ a gallon because my tank was full at 17 gallons… we asked a stranger to pull their car over to our tank so it wouldn’t go to waste, but the tank timed out and we missed our opportunity to give them such cheap gas. From now on I’ll be keeping a gas can in my trunk so I can add the rest of the gas to it for us to use in the lawnmower.

The Bottom Line

In the last 30-days (Feb/Mar 2017) I earned $2 Off each gallon of gas at Shell! {see that photo above, I only paid $1.17 TOTAL for 17 GALLONS of gas!}

Here are a couple tips for just how I accomplished it:

• I linked three cards to the Fuel Rewards Network last month when I first started hearing rumors that Winn Dixie would be changing their program. I “connected” mine, my hubby’s and my Mom’s debit/credit cards. When we ate out at Bubbaque’s we earned 10¢ per gallon!
• My Mom & Dad both filled up their cars 2 times at Shell during the month, because it was paid for on a debit card that was connected to my account, that earned me another 25¢ Off!

With either program, you should seriously consider “linking” your debit/credit card, that way you can earn rewards automatically when you normally use your card and do your regular shopping.

Personally, I feel that unless you have AT&T (which I don’t) then I think the better program is going to be Shell’s Fuel Reward Network.

I have to  say I’m a little disappointed with the FuelPerks program ending, it just seems like I won’t earn as much cheap gas.

What do you think? Are you already a Fuel Rewards member from gassing up at Shell before? Are you still going to shop at Winn Dixie and use their new Plenti Program? Please comment with your opinion below!

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