Kroger expands loyalty program: What you need to know

The Kroger Co. announced a major expansion to its loyalty program on Thursday, allowing members to redeem shopping points for direct grocery discounts.

Kroger grocery discounts

What we know:

Kroger rewards program members can now redeem their points for dollars off groceries when shopping in-store or online. Under the updated system, every 100 points redeemed equals $1 off purchases, up to a maximum of $10 per day. Customers must log into their digital account on the Kroger app or website to apply these points before completing their checkout.

The grocery store chain is also running promotional events to help shoppers build up their balances more quickly. Members can earn 4X points on purchases every Friday through July 24, as well as during a special holiday window running from July 1 through July 4. Points are standardly accumulated at a rate of one point for every $1 spent, while Boost membership tiers can earn double points on qualifying grocery trips.

Reward options and limits

What we don't know:

Company officials have not yet confirmed if these grocery point redemptions will feature specific geographic restrictions or location-based exclusions outside of the standard fuel limits. While the underlying terms mention that point offers vary by geography, Kroger has not detailed which specific regions might face limited coupon availability during the upcoming July promotional blocks.

Fuel point background

The backstory:

Prior to this program expansion, the accumulated savings cards were explicitly labeled as "Fuel Points" and were restricted to gasoline price breaks. The previous program layout focused rewards entirely on saving 10 cents per gallon at the pump for every 100 points spent. The new change shifts the branding simply to "Points" to reflect that customers are no longer locked into gas station redemptions alone.