Giant Eagle wants its ''Fuel Perks'' program to be even more enticing to customers searching for affordable gasoline.

Starting today, the Pittsburgh-based grocery chain will begin introducing in the Akron area a Giant Eagle credit card that customers can use only at the grocery store and GetGo fuel locations. Use of the credit card will get customers an additional 4 cents per gallon savings on gas purchases at GetGo locations.

For a limited time, when customers sign up for the credit card, they'll get an additional $1 off per gallon up to $30 off. (The savings is on a one-day delay, so if customers sign up for a credit card today, their $1 off savings won't show up until the next day.)

In the Akron area, Giant Eagle credit-card users will get an additional 4 cents per gallon off for every $100 they spend at the GetGo fuel pump.

That's on top of a promotion for Giant Eagle Advantage card users (the store's loyalty program) that will start today. The fuel savings for grocery purchases is going up from 10 cents a gallon to 15 cents a gallon. That's for all Advantage
card users without a credit card.

The extra savings come with credit-card usage, so a customer who signs up for a credit card and uses an Advantage card can potentially get 19 cents a gallon off for every $50 spent in the store while the promotion is going — plus the extra $1 off per gallon incentive. (Customers will be able to request a special bar code sticker with their Advantage Card number on it to place on their Giant Eagle credit card to eliminate the need for two cards.)

The credit card and special 15 cents-a-gallon promotion is available only at 16 Giant Eagle locations in Summit County and some in Medina and Portage counties. There are 10 GetGo locations in the same areas. The Canton-area Giant Eagle stores are not included.

Giant Eagle piloted the credit-card program in Columbus last year and has chosen Akron as its second location, said Linda Wakim, Giant Eagle director of customer relationship marketing.

There are plans to roll out the program to other areas, but the company declined to say where.

''The driver behind this is to help us continue to strengthen the Fuel Perks program,'' said Brett Merrell, Giant Eagle senior vice president of marketing of the private label credit card, which will be issued by World Financial National Network Bank and will not be affiliated with Visa or Mastercard networks.

''With the rising cost of gasoline, everybody is very concerned about it.

The grocery chain has expanded the fuel perks by including gift card purchases that count toward fuel rewards and now is including its own credit card, Merrell said.

''Our goal is to continue to expand this and make it easier and simple. We're not trying to get them to spend extra, but buy things they would have already purchased,'' Merrell said.

There are no annual fees associated with the Giant Eagle credit card and customers who pay their balance each month will get no additional fees. However, customers who carry a balance will have an annual interest rate of 22.49 percent.

More retailers are offering their own so-called private-label brand credit cards that are not associated with the Visa or Mastercard networks to bypass fees the networks charge on all purchases, called interchange fees, said Gene Gerke, a consultant for the grocery and fuel retailing industries.

''This is speculation on my part, but by bypassing [Visa and Mastercard fees], they're able to pass part of that savings on as part of their programs,'' said Gerke. For grocery operators, fees from Visa and Mastercard can cut into profit margins, he said.

''If I can get my customers to use a card that I don't have to pay an interchange fee, that's a smart move on their part,'' said Gerke, president of Gerke & Associates in Columbia, Mo.

Jim Trout, Acme Fresh Market's vice president of merchandising and sales, declined to comment about Giant Eagle's new promotions, but said the Akron-based grocery chain has one Acme fuel station at its Manchester Road store. Acme's technology does not allow it to offer gas savings per gallon, but customers of the Manchester Road store receive coupons for $1 off Acme gas for $50 in purchases and $2 for $100 purchases. Acme is not considering a private-label credit card, Trout said.

Trout declined to say whether Acme was considering expanding its fuel station and reward program. But Trout said fuel purchases are a big thing for grocery customers.

''What supermarkets are seeing is that their customers all use fuel. It's a great way to reward customers,'' Trout said.

According to the Food Marketing Institute, 32 percent of grocery stores nationwide have gas stations and 53 percent of customers use them.

Merrell of Giant Eagle said a lot of customers have become savvy about the Fuel Perks program.

''There's a lot of people getting free tanks of gas,'' he said. ''Customers love it. Any help they can get to make their paycheck go further, they appreciate it and make it a high value. We understand that and that's why we're coming out with the credit card and we continue to expand the [Fuel Perks] program.''

Gerke, the consultant, said shoppers are extremely price sensitive when it comes to gas.

''Gasoline consumer price sensitivity is so much greater than what it is to Oreo cookies. It is amazing how far people will go out of their way to save 2 cents a gallon,'' Gerke said. Offering savings on a gallon of gas is a better move than offering a 20-cent coupon off cookies, he said.

In the Akron area, according to Giant Eagle, customers have saved almost $23 million in fuel over the past 12 months through the Fuel Perks program. Giant Eagle's Akron-area locations have more than 200,000 Advantage Card holders, the company said.