Yes. (Well, to be exact, I don't buy new Kroger GCs every time. I use the same one I've had since I started this testing. However, I did buy another one yesterday now that I know the limit is $1,000 per card.)

And it's YMMV on whether the station CSR will allow you to load these large amounts. One store here is great about it, while another store likes to make up rules and tell you to go inside (despite one of the inside managers telling me there was no limit).

Also, it has been said in previous posts that some fuel stations have Kroger GCs available, eliminating the need to go inside. However, here at Fry's, I've been to a few and none sell any type of gift card directly.

I don't care about Kroger fuel points, and I buy $500 VGCs which do not earn them. Yes, I'm doing this to get CC gas bonuses.

Good, cause I just did the math and unless you are going to fill up more than 178 gallons a month, you lose money on the PenFed card, which is effectively a 4.2517% Cashback card, one of the highest % for gas (or unlimited grocery).

So I'm looking at (for two RedCards at 10k) a $306.17 profit per month using this trick, as opposed to $136.10 using PenFed as a 2.551% cash back card.

Looks like I just found my new go to MS method.

That was my conclusion as well: not worth paying the higher VGC fees for $100 fixed value cards + gas points, vs. $500 variable.

Exactly why this has been my focus in the past few weeks!

Buying kroger GC @ Kroger gas station qualifies for 5% cashback on Penfed???!

Test it yourself with a small value transaction first. I don't use the PenFed card, but on my other cards with gas station bonuses, all purchases at the Fry's (a Kroger store) fuel station have coded as gas stations and received the appropriate bonus. It seems that this is the experience of everyone else as well, however I can't rule out the possibility that some Kroger fuel stations may code as grocery, so you're best off testing at your own stores.

Also, don't rely on the Visa MCC finder to make this determination. I was doing some testing at Safeway fuel stations and the Visa MCC finder showed a "Safeway Fuel" entity (coded as gas station), but when I went and tested inside their convenience store, the charge was coded as grocery. (My guess is that payments at the pumps themselves would be coded as fuel, just not inside the convenience store.) Again, I haven't seen any reports of such things with Kroger stores, but it's wise to verify with your own stores.

awesome find. i've never bothered to stop at the gas station just because its a pain when i buy gas somewhere else.

quick question, you stated you do the vgc 500's in store with your kroger gc but need cs override, is that correct? I was trying to follow the self check out part, unless that was just part of your testing for limits.

Correct on the first part - I buy $500 VGCs in store using the Kroger GC but need a manager override. I'm not sure where the self-checkout part came from; I don't use self-checkout for this. (I tried to use the self-checkout to buy my first Kroger GC a few weeks ago. It immediately called the attendant over, who told me to go to CS because "it's too hard to do the cards at the self-checkout." While that was a Kroger GC, I'd assume it's also difficult to do VGCs at self-checkout, so I haven't tried.)

thank you, sorry i misread an earlier post where he said he did not go to self checkout. i thought he said he did use self check out but either way its cool, thank you for this information. i'll update after my trips to kroger.

For me, the value of a fuel point maxes out at around 3.2 cents when I buy 35 gallons. That's $32 per 1000 points so I will occasionally buy points with $100 VGCs especially during 4x points. YMMV based on local conditions.

I've never had any trouble at a Kroger store buying VGCs or 3rd party gift cards at self-checkout, but it requires just as much human interaction as any other line.

Thanks for the tips on using Chase Freedom for Kroger fuel. I didn't know that worked.

Has anybody tried the Citi TY premier card at a Kroger Gas Station. Does it give 3x? i have tried using the TYP at 7-11 gas stations but unfortunately it does not record it under the gas category.

I can't speak for Kroger gas stations specifically, but my purchases made inside gas stations do not code as "gas purchases". Only those at the pump do.

Yes, I've used the TYP. On my last statement I had one charge from Fry's Fuel for about $2, and it did earn 3x points. I have some larger charges on the current statement with identical coding, but won't be able to absolutely confirm 3x on those until my next statement. However, since the charges look identical (all "service station" category), I see no reason these won't be 3x as well.

That was my understanding as well (only at the pump purchases qualify) - so I was a little surprised when someone mentioned it. I've never tried it but next time when I am there I will do a test and report back if it qualifies.

Just providing a data point. I went to Frys (Kroger) today, bought a $100 Kroger gift card at the fueling station, then went straight inside and bought a $100 VGC. I then went back to the fueling station and filled up with gas. My Kroger gift card and the fuel I purchased are currently showing up exactly the same..."Fry's Fuel #XXXX".

Edit: This was with a Chase Ink. The purchase of the VGC did earn the 4x fuel points today as well.

I don't have Citi TY, but I can say that with AMEX some 7-11s don't code as fuel inside while the same ones code as fuel for Chase. For my AMEX the inside codes as grocery which gets the same points as gas.

I know this would be a pain in the @$$, but another test would be to buy the gebit or a soda inside and prepay a few $s of gas. Then you would know to prepay for gas whenever buying other items. The instances where mine my transactions coded as merchandise- groceries occurred at 7-11s with no gas and a 7-11 with a different branded gas (like 7-11 store with Exxon has or something).