Albertsons Launches a New Travel Portal with Expedia

A grocery store loyalty program, Albertsons For U, has launched a travel portal powered by Expedia that lets members earn grocery rewards on travel bookings. Members can earn up to 5% cash back toward grocery discounts at several Albertsons-owned supermarket chains throughout the U.S. when they book travel through the Albertsons for U Travel portal.

It’s a compelling option if you regularly grocery shop at Albertsons-owned stores and want to earn rewards to redeem for grocery savings. But booking through a travel portal can add a layer of complexity that might make it difficult for you to make changes or limit your ability to earn hotel points for your reservation.

So here are a few things you should know about this program before you book travel.

Albertsons stores are everywhere

The For U™ program is a rewards program run by Albertsons, which owns several grocery store chains nationwide, including:

• ACME.

• Albertsons. 

• Balducci’s.

• Carrs. 

• Jewel-Osco.

• Pavilions.

• Randalls. 

• Safeway. 

• Shaw’s.

• Tom Thumb.

• Vons. 

For grocery purchases at any of these stores, you can earn 1 For U™ reward point per dollar spent, then redeem the points for cash off your grocery bill or gas rewards at locations that have service stations.

Because Albertsons-owned stores are in so many places, it’s a popular option for a lot of grocery shoppers. Saving on groceries, which is a big budget item for many shoppers and families, is an interesting value proposition.

Earn grocery rewards when you book travel

When you book through the new Albertsons travel portal, you’ll earn cash back that’s deposited into your Albertsons account after travel is completed. If you’re familiar with Expedia, the travel booking interface looks much the same, with For U branding added.

For most members, rewards rates are:

• 5% cash back on hotels, car rentals, packages and activities.

• 1% cash back on flights. 

Your earnings are doubled if you’re a FreshPass annual plan subscriber, which costs $99 a year and includes several extra grocery benefits.

Things to know about the For U travel program

Before you book a trip, there are a few things you should know.

First, you cannot use your rewards to book more travel — you can only redeem them for grocery or gas discounts at an Albertsons-affiliated supermarket. You’ll receive the cash when your travel is completed. So, if you’re booking a trip that’s fairly far out, you won’t see your rewards until the trip is complete.

Rewards take about 40 days to appear in your account — except for rental car rewards, which take around 95 days. That could be a long time to wait or a nice surprise when it shows up, depending on your view.

And cash back expires at the end of the month 12 months after it’s awarded. The exception is if you have a paid FreshPass annual subscription that’s active when you complete travel. In that case, there is no expiration. A year should be plenty for most shoppers, but it’s something to note, especially if you like your rewards to pile up for a big redemption.

Finally — and this is the case with most travel portal bookings — you can’t reach out to the airline or hotel directly if you have an issue like a travel delay or cancellation. Instead, you’ll need to contact the For U Travel customer service. This can be frustrating if your trip is delayed or canceled. And while you’ll earn airline miles for flights, don’t expect to earn hotel points, or even to have your elite status recognized if you have it when you check in. Instead, you’ll trade that in for — in this case — grocery rewards.

If all that sounds good to you, this is an easy way to turn travel into cash savings in the checkout line.

Earn more rewards on your grocery shopping

Using the right credit card is another way to earn even more rewards on your travel and supermarket spending.

Any points, miles or cash back earned on the credit card are in addition to the rewards you’ll earn with the grocery store’s loyalty program, which is another easy way to get a rebate on your supermarket spending.