I’m always happy to see airline and hotel loyalty programs form partnerships with other companies to offer more rewards for members. For example, the partnership between Marriott and United is great, as is the partnership between Starwood and Uber, just to give a couple of examples. Both partnerships make sense, since typically people who fly a lot also stay in hotels, and people who stay in hotels often use ridesharing apps.
While not quite the same, IHG Rewards Club has formed a new partnership with Fuel Rewards, which is the rewards program for Shell gas stations.
Through this partnership, IHG Rewards Club members who link their account will receive at least the following savings for fuel purchases:
- 5 cents per gallon everyday savings for Club and Gold Elite members (minimum 10 nights or 10,000 qualifying points in a calendar year)
- 6 cents per gallon everyday savings for Platinum Elite members (40 nights or 40,000 qualifying points)
- 7 cents per gallon everyday savings for Spire Elite (75 nights or 75,000 qualifying points) members
Keep in mind that anyone with the IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card (which just about everyone should have, given that it offers an annual free night certificate) automatically gets Gold status, meaning you’d get five cents of savings per gallon.
Now, I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not an expert when it comes to gas stations, let alone gas rewards programs. However, if I’m reading the Fuel Rewards website correctly, ordinarily those who sign up receive three cents per gallon of rewards, so through this partnership you’re earning an extra 2-4 cents per gallon.
To enroll in this partnership visit this page, where you can enter your IHG Rewards Club number and create a Fuel Rewards account. Then you can either be sent a physical card, or you can just enter your member number (which is likely your phone number) when you go to the pump.
Lastly, the savings earned with IHG can be stacked with the savings you earn from Fuel Rewards’ other partners, so you can potentially get substantial savings on your purchases.
Bottom line
I appreciate when travel loyalty programs get creative in adding partners. For my own travel patterns I don’t find this especially useful (since I rarely buy gas), but I appreciate the idea behind this. People who stay in hotels are also likely to drive a fair amount, so it’s cool to create a partnership like this.
What do you make of the IHG & Fuel Rewards partnership?
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