Convenience-store giants Circle K and 7-Eleven are encouraging consumers to get out and drive this holiday weekend by offering big discounts on fuel for their rewards program members, while bp has announced a sizeable discount off gas prices for 60 days this summer for new rewards credit card customers.
The promotional programs serve a dual purpose of promoting the companies’ rewards programs, which provide consumer data to the marketers.
- 7-Eleven Inc. is No. 1, Circle K is No. 2 and bp is No. 7 on CSP’s 2023 Top 40 update to the 2022 Top 202 ranking of U.S. convenience-store chains by store count.
Circle K loyalty members can get a head start on weekend travel and save a whopping 40 cents per gallon from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday at more than 5,000 participating Circle K and Holiday Stationstores locations, parent company Alimentation Touche-Card said. The pump price will reflect the savings during those hours at Circle K, but Holiday customers must pay in the store to receive the savings, the company said.
AAA forecasts 37.1 million Americans will spend Memorial Day weekend traveling somewhere by car, up 6% from 35 million a year ago but down 1.4% from 37.6 million in 2019. It expects air travel to rise 11% to 3.4 million flyers from 3 million a year ago.
As part of its Fuel Day promotion, Laval, Quebec-based Couche-Tard plans to drive repeat traffic to Circle K and Holiday locations by handing out fuel discount cards offering 10 cents off per gallon this summer.
“After an overwhelming response from customers, we are thrilled to bring back Circle K Fuel Day in a bigger way,” said Louise Warner, senior vice president of global fuels for Circle K. “With summer right around the corner, we want to thank our customers for their loyalty by providing them an opportunity to fuel their adventures and enjoy some great savings.
Circle K offered similar savings during the 2022 Labor Day weekend, when it also ran a Fuel Day promotion.
7-Eleven’s Holiday Promotions
On Memorial Day, travelers can replenish their tanks at 7-Eleven and Speedway stations and save 11 cents per gallon if they belong to 7Rewards or Speedy Rewards loyalty programs and use the apps, which are downloadable from the App Store or Google Play.
App users can find participating locations by pressing 7Rewards on the fuel screen and entering their phone number to confirm their savings. From Friday through Sunday, the per-gallon discount is 5 cents per gallon.
Stay-at-Home Deals
For 7-Eleven customers staying home on Monday, the convenience store is offering $20 off a $30 online purchase from when they use 7NOW Delivery. Other online promotions also are available. The company often offers promotions tied to holidays, such as Mother's Day.
For online customers, 7-Eleven’s 7Now Gold Pass offering unlimited free delivery is priced at $6.95 per month with the first 30 days free. Loyalty members receive double rewards and extra perks, according to 7-Eleven’s website.
Summer Discount at bp
On Wednesday, bp announced a 50-cent discount on the per-gallon fuel price for 60 days for new BPme Rewards Visa customers at bp and Amoco stations, the company said. Consumers must apply for a card by Aug. 1 to participate in the special offer. After the 60-day period, BPme Rewards Visa members will save 15 cents off per gallon of fuel at bp and Amoco stations, the company said.
The credit card, issued by First National Bank of Omaha, carries no annual fee and allows users to earn 5% cash back on nonfuel purchases at bp and Amoco c-stores. It also offers 3% cash back rewards on purchases at grocery stores, restaurants and food delivery services.
Gas Price Trends
The national average per-gallon price of gasoline was flat at $3.51 per gallon Monday, about the same as the prior week but $1.10 lower than a year ago, according to GasBuddy data from over 150,000 gas stations and 11 million price reports.
The average per-gallon price of regular unleaded gasoline varied by state. It was $2.95 in Mississippi, $3.03 in Texas, $3.05 in Louisiana, $4.63 in Arizona, $4.76 in California and $4.74 in Hawaii, according to GasBuddy data. GasBuddy is owned by Alpharetta, Georgia-based PDI Technologies.
“In the runup to Memorial Day, the national average price of gas has seen little overall movement over the last week. We’ve seen more states see prices climb than fall, which has been driven by oil’s volatility as debt ceiling discussions are ongoing,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy in a statement on the company’s website.
“I continue to be optimistic that the national average will remain under $4 per gallon for most of, if not the entire summer, with Americans spending a combined $1.6 billion less on gasoline over Memorial Day weekend this year compared to last.”
No E15 Waiver Extension Yet
While fuel stations in all states were allowed to sell lower-priced E15 fuel from May 1 to May 20 after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued an emergency fuel waiver April 28 to allow the sale of the gasoline blended with 15% ethanol in areas without a Reformulated Gasoline Program, the EPA hasn’t announced an extension of that waiver as of Wednesday.
In April, the agency said it expected to issue new waivers extending E15 sales into the summer, according to a news release. It’s unclear whether an extension will be approved this summer.
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