Rainbow Trades 'Fuelperks' For 'Fresh Perks'

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) - A Twin Cities grocery chain is cutting a popular rewards program. Saturday will be the last day that Rainbow Foods customers can take advantage of their "Fuelperks" cards.

For every $50 customers spent on groceries, they received 10-cents off per gallon of gas at Shell gas stations.

Rainbow customer John Kiesner isn't exactly sure how much gas money he saved over the years, but he's been using Rainbow's Fuelperks program since it began in 2009.

"If I have it on my card, I'll use it," Kiesner said. "It adds up over time. I didn't use it every single time, but it does add up I think," he said.

During a time when gas prices can climb quickly and without warning, much like a grocery bill, Kiesner says the program is nice to have. He's sad to see it running on empty.

Fuelperks will officially end on April 27. On April 28, Rainbow customers will be asked to switch from gas to groceries.

On Sunday, Rainbow will unveil its new "Fresh Perks" program. When shoppers spend more than $400 over a three-month period, they earn 1-percent cash back.

Rainbow says the change is based on customer feedback. Rainbow Foods spokeswoman Vivian King says not everybody drives, but everybody shops.

"Once they learn about it, we think that they will find some true value in it," said spokesperson Vivian King.

Rainbow says another advantage of the new Fresh Perks program is that customers can load manufacturer coupons right onto the new card – eliminating coupon clipping.