As someone who’s taken many a road trip (including driving the 16 hours to Florida just last week), I’m very familiar with the GasBuddy app. However, as much as I use the app to help me find the best gas stations to stop at along the way, I had apparently ignored their Pay with GasBuddy option. This free service issues you a card that links to your checking account you can use at numerous stations across the country, saving you money with each gallon. I mention all this because, this week, GasBuddy announced it was sweetening the pot by partnering with Sears/Kmart to offer users Shop Your Way rewards points when they use the service.
Under the new partnership, Shop Your Way members who use Pay with GasBuddy can earn $.30 per gallon in CASHBACK points for fill-ups made in the first 60 days and $.15 per gallon in points after that. Alternatively, non-Shop Your Way customers can earn $.10 per gallon off their first purchase and $.05 cents off each gallon thereafter. As Shop Your Way chief commercial officer Robert Naedele notes, this partnership brings more perks to users, saying “With gas rates expected to rise and the potential for gas tax hikes looming on the horizon, Shop Your Way is there for our members – with an industry-leading value proposition, thanks to our partners at GasBuddy.”
Let me say off the bat that I don’t tend to shop at Sears very often. However, I did recently have a major shopping success story thanks to Shop Your Way. During the dead of winter when I decided I needed a better coat, I logged onto the Sears site to learn I had some surprise CASHBACK points — even though the only other purchase I had made at Sears in recent years were some $10 headphones. Long story short, I was able to get a $180 jacket that was marked down to $60 for just $20. In other words, these CASHBACK rewards can be quite lucrative.
Incidentally, this is not the first time Sears has partnered with a transportation-based app. In 2016, the retail chain announced a partnership with Uber that offers perks for both riders and drivers.
Honestly, I’m not only surprised by Sears’ partnership with GasBuddy but also really intrigued. In fact, I’ve just applied for my Pay with GasBuddy card and look forward to giving it a shot (watch out for a full review on Dyer News in the coming weeks). So if you’re looking to save money on essentials by filling up your car, this Shop Your Way/Pay with GasBuddy offer might just be worth checking out.