Safeway is responding to the sluggish economy by appealing to shoppers’ attention to the region’s fuel prices.

The grocery store recently changed its PowerPump Rewards Program to help customers who don’t live close to a Safeway fuel station. For stores more than 10 miles away from the grocer’s gas station (Madras has Central Oregon’s only station), an Arco program applies. That means customers elsewhere in the High Desert can earn a fuel rewards card to use at an Arco station to redeem their Safeway fuel discounts.

How it works: Customers will receive a gift card after they spend $600 on Safeway purchases within the calendar quarter. They will get a 10 cent per gallon fuel discount for every $150 they spend.

Shoppers’ discounts expire at the end of the quarter.

Additionally, Safeway has added a new feature to all its PowerPump programs in the country. From now until the end of the year, customers who buy gift cards earn double rewards. That means they get 20 cents off per gallon of Safeway fuel, instead of 10 cents off.

— Anna Sowa, The Bulletin