- Loyalty and rewards pay: average savings at the pump are 12.8 cents per gallon, but some drivers knock more than $1.51 off per gallon depending on their rewards program and retailer
- The gap is wide: of 45.8 million fuel transactions, 11 million transactions (24%) presented a gas rewards or loyalty card, with only a third of those redeeming per-gallon discounts – meaning 38.5 million transactions are missing out on savings
- Real savings, bigger potential: Loyalty and rewards users who redeemed per-gallon discounts saved a combined $5.6 million — nearly $700,000 per day — a figure that would multiply dramatically if adoption matched availability
NEW YORK, July 02, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — As 72 million Americans hit the road for Independence Day,1 new aggregated payment activity data from Verifone — drawn from more than 40,000 convenience stores and fuel retailers across the United States — shows exactly how drivers are responding to elevated gas prices: many are getting smarter at the pump. But most still aren’t taking full advantage of the savings available to them.
Between June 18–25, 45.8 million outdoor fuel transactions were captured by Verifone’s point-of-sale systems and payment terminals — an average of 5.7 million transactions per day — offering an unprecedented, real-time look at American fueling behavior during one of the busiest travel weeks of the year.
The Advantage of Loyalty and Rewards Are Real
Of those 45.8 million transactions, 11 million (24%) presented a gas rewards or loyalty card at the pump — pumping a combined 120 million gallons. Of those, a third redeemed a per-gallon discount. The average savings clocked in at 12.8 cents per gallon, with some drivers unlocking discounts of more than $1.51 off per gallon depending on their loyalty or rewards program and retailer.
In total, drivers who redeemed discounts from rewards or loyalty programs saved nearly $5.6 million — an average of nearly $700,000 per day — simply by using rewards or loyalty programs at the pump. But with these programs, adoption at just 24% of all transactions, that figure represents only a fraction of what’s available — meaning 38.5 million transactions are leaving real money on the table. If adoption matched demand, collective daily savings for American drivers could be many multiples higher.
“With gas prices still elevated heading into the holiday weekend, rewards and loyalty programs have become a meaningful tool for budget-conscious travelers,” said James Hervey, EVP of Petroleum and Convenience at Verifone. “Our data shows that drivers who use rewards and loyalty programs are stretching every dollar at the pump — but the majority still aren’t actively redeeming available rewards. There’s a significant savings opportunity that millions of Americans are leaving behind each time they fuel up.”
Verifone’s point-of-sale systems and payment terminals tracked more than 510 million gallons of fuel pumped during the study period.
Verifone’s Commander Family powers U.S. fuel and convenience store sites making it easier for site operators to drive operational efficiency, loyalty, AI and site modernization for petro and convenience retail owners. The Verifone Commander Family — Commander C18 Point of Sale, Commander Fleet, Commander Payments, Commander Site Controller, and more — is a cohesive platform built for the full lifecycle of petro and convenience retail.
Study Methodology
Verifone’s petroleum transaction data is sourced from more than 40,000 convenience stores and fuel retail locations across the United States using Verifone payment terminals. Data referenced in this release was collected between June 18–25, 2026 and reflects aggregated and de-identified insights. While Verifone can capture point-of-sale information both at the pump and inside a convenience store associated with gas stations, this data solely focuses on payments at the pump. For more information on Verifone’s petroleum solutions, please visit https://www.verifone.com/commander/home.
About Verifone
Verifone is a leading global payments technology provider trusted by the world’s top brands. Verifone powers the boundless payments grid, enabling distinctive commerce experiences for merchants, fintech companies, and financial institutions wherever commerce happens. By combining a flexible platform, an open ecosystem of 2,500+ integrations, and four decades of payments expertise, Verifone eliminates payment complexity and expands what’s possible across every payment channel. For more information visit www.verifone.com.
Contacts:
Lisa Lanspery
Verifone
[email protected]
Emma Harris
The Harris Agency
[email protected]
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1 AAA Newsroom, “72.2 Million Americans Expected to Travel over July 4th Week,” June 17, 2026, https://newsroom.aaa.com/2026/06/72-2-million-americans-expected-to-travel-over-july-4th-week/
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/5145d812-7c7d-404f-aa79-d509974e3565
