Yesway Debuts Loyalty Program & Beverage Club

DES MOINES, Iowa — Yesway has launched its new customer loyalty program, Yesway Rewards. Developed in collaboration with Paytronix, the program rewards Yesway customers with units of currency called "Smiles" for each dollar spent on fuel or in-store merchandise.

Smiles can be redeemed for a wide variety of items, including fountain drinks, iced tea, and Yesway branded coffee, free roller grill items and candy, and free Yesway fountain travel mugs. Customers will also receive bonus Smiles throughout the year, including on special occasions such as their birthday.

The rollout of Yesway Rewards includes the launch of Yesway's Beverage Club, through which customers can buy five hot or cold beverages to receive the sixth one for free. Also as part of the launch, Yesway is partnering with Coca-Cola to offer loyalty program members the chance to purchase any six 20-ounce Coke products and receive the seventh for free.

"We're thrilled to now offer our customers even more reasons to shop at Yesway stores with our new Yesway Rewards customer loyalty program," said Darrin Samaha, vice president and brand manager for Yesway. "It is so easy to use, either with the card or our new loyalty app. We designed this program specifically to give our customers more of the items they want, when they want them, and also to give us a unique way to get to know our customers at a deeper level and most importantly, to thank them for their loyalty to our brand."

The convenience store chain began developing the rewards program in February after partnering with Paytronix, as CSNews Online reported. Customers can pick up a loyalty card at any Yesway store or by downloading the Yesway Rewards app for iPhone or Android.

In celebration of the program launch, Yesway is offering customers a limited-time discount of 10 cents per gallon of gas (with a limit of 20 gallons) on their next visit after signing up.

To support the launch, Yesway team members will spend part of the summer on a multi-city Yesway Block Party tour, visiting select Yesway locations and treating customers to fun-filled activities, giveaways, music, and food sampling. They will also be available to assist customers in signing up for the program.

The six-week Yesway Block Party Tour includes these stops:

• Harlan, Iowa:
  Friday, July 7: 2111 23rd St.; 4-7 p.m.
  Saturday, July 8: 618 Durant St.; 10 a.m.-1 p.m.
   
• Ottumwa, Iowa:
  Friday, July 14: 2508 N Court St.; 4-7 p.m.
  Saturday, July 15: 2508 N Court St.; 10 a.m.-1 p.m.
   
• Mason City, Iowa:
  Friday, July 21: 1920 S Federal Ave.; 4-7 p.m.
  Saturday, July 22: 1920 S Federal Ave.; 10 a.m.-1 p.m.
   
• Fort Dodge/Webster City, Iowa
  Friday, July 28: 115 N 22nd St, Fort Dodge; 4-7 p.m.
  Saturday, July 29: 1102 2nd St, Webster City; 10 a.m.-1 p.m.
   
• Story City/Waterloo, Iowa
  Friday, August 4: 527 Park Ave., Story City; 4-7 p.m.
  Saturday, August 5: 117 E San Marnan Dr., Waterloo; 10 a.m.-1 p.m.
   
• Hutchinson, Kansas:
  Friday, August 11: 901 E 11th Ave.; 4-7 p.m.
  Saturday, August 12: 1630 E 30th Ave.; 10 a.m.-1p.m.

Des Moines-based Yesway is the operating brand for BW Gas & Convenience. BW Gas is a division of Beverly, Mass.-based Brookwood Financial Partners LLC, a private equity investment firm that specializes in acquiring and managing value-add real estate.