If you’re a frequent patron of Safeway’s Pendleton gas station, prepare to cash in:?The company’s fuel rewards discount program ends Saturday.

Station Manager Jon Bensel said the announcement came about three weeks ago. He said reaction has been mixed from customers since then – while “a lot of people are kind of upset,”?others simply shrug it off, noting the program requires shoppers to spend money in the store before they can save it at the pump.

“It kind of balances out,”?Bensel said.

The rewards program allows Safeway shoppers to use their Club Card for 3 cents per gallon off the posted price of fuel anytime. Buying groceries can earn larger discounts of 10, 20, 30 cents or more per gallon over time, tied to the shopper’s card.

But when the station closes Saturday evening, those rewards will be wiped clean, Bensel said. Shoppers will, however, continue to get the regular 3-cent discount once the program ends.

Dan Floyd, a Safeway spokesman based in Portland, said the company plans to focus more on lowering prices on items within the store. Ending the fuel rewards program is a way to cover that difference, he said.

The program won’t end at every Safeway store, but will be discontinued at all in this region, Floyd said. Pendleton’s Safeway is the only with a gas station in Umatilla County.

Floyd noted the fuel rewards didn’t benefit all Safeway customers, while lower prices will.

“One of the complaints that we got,”?Floyd said, “was that the fuel stations were not at every Safeway.”

The program first started July 1, 2008.

Pilot Rock resident Harry Christensen cashed in his 20-cent-per-gallon reward Wednesday, knowing the program wraps up this weekend. He said he appreciates being able to save once in a while.

“You save everything you can in this day and age, especially when you’re retired,”?Christensen said.

Still, he didn’t expect the change to alter his buying habits.

Bensel said store employees have tried to get the word out in recent weeks. A sticker on the pumps now reads “Use Your Gas Rewards!”

The manager said Pendleton’s station might see a jump in traffic before Saturday. But once the program ends, he expected that trend to reverse at least some – partly because of another option on the Umatilla Indian Reservation.

“I believe we’ll lose a little bit of business,”?Bensel said, “just because Arrowhead (Travel Plaza) has their rewards program.”