The fuel rewards program is already available at more than 4,000 CITGO-branded fuel retailers in 27 states.

DALLAS (October 1, 2008) – With gas prices on everyone's mind, consumers are eager for ways to lessen the blow to their wallets, and CITGO Petroleum Corporation has plans to help them. The company is offering the FuelLinks® fuel reward program to more than 4,000 CITGO-branded fuel centers in 27 eastern states with plans to make it available to more. CITGO is the first major fuel retailer to accept FuelLinks rewards with the option to issue them on purchases through the convenience stores.

"When we were looking for a loyalty program, we went out and interviewed our retailers about what they wanted," said Jonathan Watson, CITGO's general manager of business services. "They said they wanted two things: They wanted something simple, and they wanted something that offered great value to the consumer. We found precisely those things in the FuelLinks program. We see it as a critical tool in generating loyalty for our CITGO brand and our CITGO retailers," he said.

Developed by MetroSplash Systems Group, Inc, FuelLinks is a unique cross-marketing and consumer reward program that enables all types of local and online businesses to offer their customers fuel rewards based on their purchases. "What FuelLinks does is bridge between merchants and fuel retailers," said MetroSplash president and CEO Steve Babick. "When a business joins the FuelLinks program, it becomes part of a growing coalition of merchants that reward their customers for coming back again and again to buy goods and services from them."

Membership in the FuelLinks program is free to consumers. They can earn cents-off per gallon rewards from participating grocery and convenience stores, which roll back the price per gallon at the pump, as well as cash-equivalent rewards from other businesses that can be applied to the total fuel purchase price. The more FuelLinks rewards they earn, the less they pay for fuel.

Members receive a magnetically striped plastic card, which is employed at the point of sale to redeem their rewards as well as add newly earned ones to their individual FuelLinks account. The card simplifies the reward issuance-redemption process for consumers as well as merchants. While still in its early roll-out stage, the program has already issued more than $9 million in "free gas" to more than half a million members who have been earning rewards from local retailers as well as FuelLinks.com. Through the website, consumers can also sign up for the program and find participating businesses in their community.