5 Kroger Secrets Employees Wish Tennesseans Knew
Planning a Kroger trip for this week?
A few small steps, taken before and after you reach the store, can stretch your grocery budget.
Here are the secrets Kroger employees wish Tennesseans knew.
1. Tuesday-Night Weekly Ad
Kroger’s 114 Tennessee stores run from Memphis to Johnson City.
That spread covers two time zones: Memphis and Nashville are on Central Time, while Knoxville is on Eastern Time, according to the Knoxville News Sentinel.
Kroger’s help center says the new weekly ad becomes available at midnight Eastern Time on Wednesday.
In Memphis and Nashville, that’s 11 p.m. Tuesday.
To view the ad online, you need a digital account and a preferred store selected.
Your list can be built before Wednesday starts.
2. Freshness Guarantee
Don’t love a Kroger item?
Its Freshness Guarantee page says the chain will make it right with a replacement or refund.
For an in-store purchase, you can return the item to the store for an immediate replacement.
Refunds for in-store purchases go through customer service by live chat or phone.
Alcohol, gift cards, taxes and fees are non-refundable.
Once a refund is confirmed, it takes 5-7 business days to reach your payment method.
The chain’s Our Brands page makes a matching guarantee for store brands like Kroger Brand, Simple Truth and Private Selection.
3. Fuel Points on Groceries
Kroger’s points program page says every 100 points equals $1 off groceries.
The daily limit is 1,000 points, or $10.
At the pump, 100 points take 10 cents off per gallon.
Fuel savings top out at $1 per gallon and $35 per fill-up.
You can redeem at participating Kroger Family Fuel Centers and participating partner stations.
Unless you’re an active Kroger Rewards World Elite Mastercard cardholder, points expire at the end of the month after they’re earned.
That means points you earn in October expire at the end of November.
Psst! How much do you know about grocery stores? Take our quiz and see how many you can get right.
Quiz
Grocery Aisle Trivia
Answer these questions on Kroger, Piggly Wiggly and grocery shopping. We bet you can’t get them all right. Prove us wrong?
What did customers walk through to enter the first Piggly Wiggly, which opened in Memphis in September 1916?
4. Coupon Fine Print
Kroger's coupon help page says rain checks or make-good offers are available at your manager's discretion.
In other words, it's the store manager's call.
Most offers can only be loaded one time per household.
Store inventories vary, and Kroger can't guarantee that every store carries every product.
You'll spot digital coupon discounts on your receipt below the qualifying item, where they're labeled ecpn.
If a discount doesn't apply, ask the cashier for help while you're at the register.
Redeemed coupons show up in your Redeemed Coupons list by the next business day.
5. Bonus Fuel Points
A 90-day prescription earns 75 points, according to Kroger's points program page.
A non-federally funded prescription earns 25.
On federally funded prescriptions, you get 1 point per $1 of out-of-pocket costs.
Your gift card purchases can earn points too: Most earn 2 points per $1, though Kroger Family of Companies gift cards and prepaid reloadable debit cards don't count.
Most groceries earn 1 point per $1, so you'd need $75 of groceries to match one 90-day script.
Changing a Pickup Order
Kroger's Pickup help page says you can't change your pickup time or location once you place an order.
Next-day orders stay open for added or edited items until midnight the day before.
Same-day orders lock once you submit them.
If you miss your scheduled pickup date, the items are restocked in the store and you need to place the order again.
Recall Alerts
Kroger's Recall Alerts page lists recalled products, each with a recall date and a reason.
Most entries carry a link to more information.
Check it before you cook with anything new.
Substitution Pricing
Kroger's Pickup help page says accepting a substitution means paying the price of the substituted item.
The Delivery help page says the substitution is added to your order at the same price as the original item.
The two pages cover different ways of ordering, so read the one that matches yours.
What Kroger Says It Substitutes
Kroger's Pickup help page says an out-of-stock item is upgraded to a larger quantity of the same type when one is available.
If a larger quantity isn't available, the Delivery help page says the next choice is the same brand and item in different packaging.
The page's example is boxed sugar in place of bagged sugar.
If the same brand isn't available, the same type of item from a different brand may be substituted.
Special dietary items, like gluten-free or vegan products, always get a substitute that meets the same dietary requirements.
Late Express Orders
Kroger's Delivery help page lists a $4.95 surcharge for Express Delivery.
Instacart fulfills those orders.
If your express order is more than 15 minutes late, Instacart will refund the surcharge.
Community Rewards
Kroger donates annually to participating organizations, according to its Community Rewards page.
Each donation follows your percentage of spending compared with the total spending tied to every participating organization.
You find an organization in your digital account by searching its name or its nonprofit organization (NPO) number.
Purchases on the Shopper's Card tied to your account count at no added cost to you.
The total takes about 10 days to begin showing on your receipt.
You can revisit your choice under Account details.
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