Drivers will be able to earn free gas just from making purchases at their favorite stores thanks to a strategic partnership between performance advertising platform Rakuten In Store Network and the leading money-saving fuel app GasBuddy.

Rakuten In Store Network will provide offers to GasBuddy’s card-linked rewards program, significantly expanding GasBuddy’s free gas offers. GasBuddy users currently earn GasBack, free money for gas, when shopping online. Through this new partnership, drivers can earn GasBack, which is redeemable for free gas at 95 percent of gas stations across the United States through the Pay with GasBuddy program, when they shop in-person at more than 30,000 retailers nationwide.

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“Our research found that 86 percent of Americans depend on gasoline for their everyday lives, categorizing it as a household expenditure that is more important than other major expenses such as healthcare and savings/emergency funds,” said Mark Coffey, EVP of Strategy Partnership, GasBuddy. “Our goal is to help alleviate this burden and give away more free gas than any other company in the U.S and Canada. By teaming with Rakuten, we’re providing enormous value to our users with new ways to earn GasBack while strengthening our retail partnerships.”

GasBuddy is the latest publisher to leverage Rakuten In Store Network’s premier card-linked offer network platform to deliver more value to consumers and partners. Merchants in the Rakuten In Store Network should see an increase in store traffic and sales from an expanded reach of 12 million drivers who rely on the GasBuddy app and website every day to choose where to fill up based on fuel prices, location, and ratings and reviews.

“We’re thrilled to partner with GasBuddy to provide their members with cash back through in-store offers,” said Erin Warren, General Manager of Rakuten In Store Network at Rakuten. “Our platform is valuable to third-party publishers like GasBuddy as it provides enormous value to their existing rewards program through just one card-linked offer system rather than tediously managing multiple systems and processes. Merchants also benefit from increased store visits and access to a new source of new customers.”

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GasBuddy helps consumers avoid paying full price at the pump. Millions of drivers every month contribute to and use its leading real-time crowdsourced database of fuel prices at more than 150,000 gas station convenience stores in the U.S., Canada and Australia.

A unit of leading Cash Back rewards company Rakuten, Rakuten In Store Network powers Rakuten’s extensive catalog of card-linked offers. By reaching millions of consumers, Rakuten In Store Network’s premium digital channels help merchants grow sales, in-store traffic and customer loyalty, while participating publishers can boost engagement with card-linked offers at more than 30,000 merchant locations.

The Rakuten and GasBuddy partnership is expected to go live in Q1 2020.

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