Ask the Readers: How Do You Maximize Store Loyalty Cards?
Published on - September 14th, 2012 (by Ellen Cannon) Today’s “Ask the Readers” comes to Get Rich Slowly from Luke Landes, founder of Consumerism Commentary.
Retailers are eager to turn their customers into raving fans, and business owners, whether proprietors of the local delicatessen or CEOs of multinational corporations, will do whatever it takes to bring shoppers back into the store. Customer loyalty is a prized asset, and companies are finding more sophisticated methods of tailoring their specials to the needs of each shopper.
It starts simple. I’m somewhat loyal to an ice cream shop in the vicinity. While I do feel it’s the best ice cream shop in the area, the owners encourage customers to keep coming back by offering a punch card. After each purchase, the cashier punches a hole in the card, and after the tenth hole punch, I can trade the card in for a free treat. While I try not to let such manipulation affect my snacking decisions, when the free ice cream approaches, I’ll be more likely to stop by even when I should be watching my health.
Supermarkets have elevated this concept to new heights. Not only do major grocery stores provide loyalty cards as a way of offering discounts to most customers, but every purchase shoppers make while swiping or scanning your card is tracked in a massive database. The information is increasingly used to offer exclusive discounts. Based on shopping patterns, the card may offer discounts available only to a small subset of shoppers. These individualized automatic coupons make comparison shopping more difficult.
Today’s “Ask the Readers” comes from a reader of both Get Rich Slowly and Consumerism Commentary.
A store I shop in recently changed their rewards program. In the past, the program offered points for every purchase, and the points could be later traded in for a discount on a future purchase. The store now uses the loyalty program to offer discounts on items, like supermarkets do, notifying me by email when the products I typically buy are discounted in the loyalty program. This isn’t the only store where finding discounts and shopping for the best deals is harder, especially because discounted prices aren’t advertised well and aren’t available to the same people at the same time.
I want to be able to make the most of loyalty programs and get the best discounts available, especially for the products I really want and those that are the most expensive. How do use your loyalty cards to maximize your savings and take advantage of every possible, relevant discount?
I consider myself a satisficer in this area of money management, not a maximizer. If I’m getting discounts most of the time when I shop for groceries, household items, or any other product for which loyalty programs are available, I’m happy. I may not be shaving every cent possible off every purchase, but I’m doing well overall.
There are some shoppers, whoever, who have made an art of surveying the scene in every shopping opportunity and eking out the savings no matter what, without resorting to extreme couponing. This reader would appreciate any insight from expert discount-seekers. How do you take the most advantage of loyalty programs? What are some of your favorite tips and suggestions to save money on the items you buy most often?
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No comment on loyalty cards, but I want to make the point that ice cream is good for you! (In moderation, of course.)
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If it gets complicated I, I tuned it out.
They have paid professionals, and they are out to make money. That gives them two advantages over me. Therefore I assume there’s a catch somewhere, and they’re counting on catching me with it.
They say every village has an idiot. I haven’t found ours yet, and that makes me nervous.
So I simply stay away and buy what I want at the best price an idiot can figure out.
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This.
Excellent related article: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/19/magazine/shopping-habits.html?pagewanted=all&_moc.semityn.www . I highly recommend the book from which this excerpt is taken: Charles Duhigg’s “The Power of Habit”.
To answer the question, the best way to take advantage of loyalty programs is to only use them to buy something you were going to buy anyway. 50% off of something you didn’t intend to buy is no deal.
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I totally agree with the suggestion of “The Power of Habit”. (I actually wrote a review of it on our site.) But if you can’t wait for it to come to your library, then search for the title at the NYT site and you’ll find an excerpt that was a main piece for their Sunday magazine sometime this spring. You get a good idea of how much stores can know about you and it makes you NEVER want to get a Target card.
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Definitely on this! I have loyalty cards, and I do scan them when I get to the checkout. But I tune out all the alerts and “this is on sale” stuff (except for perhaps when I am actually at the shelf figuring out which peanut butter or loaf of bread I will buy). I figure I get the rewards but don’t fall too much for the big traps and loss leaders.
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Same here! One of the clothing stores where I shop has a “buy five pairs of pants at regular price, get the sixth one free” card. You save more if you wait for sales or clearance, so I really don’t see the point.
I think the expiration dates on cards makes us think that since we’ve already put so much into it, we might as well spend more to get the full deal. If you stop buying after eight ice creams, you’re saving more than if you bought all ten just to get the free one.
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“If it gets complicated I, I tuned it out.”
Safeway has this new program where you can load coupons (from them) onto your card, and then the coupon will come off when you use your card. It’s too much to keep track of, and too much work. We used to shop at Safeway for almost everything, but this new system just drove me over the edge.
We have simplified. We go to the Korean grocery store for most of our needs (produce, meat, “ethnic” foods). Every $1,000 we spend, we can ask for a $10 credit for the store. Easy.
We go to Wegman’s for everything else. We get whatever discounts are there, with no need to load anything onto our card.
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We use the Subway card to get a free one occasionally, always nice to get a free lunch once in a while. Mainly we use grocery store cards, to save on gas, but we are careful since most of the grocery stores in our area can tend to have higher prices, so the gas savings doesn’t always justify the expenses. Staples has provided the most value for us when it comes to money savings though, but this will probably only help people in business, or children in school and they are using a lot of supplies and printer cartridges.
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But would you have to spend more on gas by driving further away to stores with better prices?
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The Grocery Game is a good system for helping you maximize discounts on your grocery store and drugstore loyalty cards. I no longer use it (these days I don’t have the time to run to several stores per week, and the grocery store around here with the biggest loss leaders is the one that has the fewest items I actually use and the worst-quality produce), but it’s a reasonably priced service for what they provide; we always came out ahead using them. Someone who’s a dedicated couponer can do better, as it’s really an 80-20 solution.
Another thing to do is to look for places where you can piggyback big savings. An example: our big local grocery chain offers discounts on gas for purchases at the grocery store. They sell gift cards, so we always try to buy gift cards when we know we need to make a purchase at another store (e.g., we’ve been doing lots of painting, so we get Home Depot cards), and to give as gifts for nieces/nephews — we save a reasonable amount on gas for little or no opportunity cost.
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Just a quick note – I actually found the Grocery Game difficult to use. It didn’t have the stores I shop the most, and the prices it had for the ones I do use were almost always inaccurate.
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Both of the grocery stores where I shop let you trade in your points for money off your purchase. (i.e. $20 off when redeeming 20,000 points.)
Most of the time, I redeem points on my usual grocery bill and turn “money not spent” into “savings” by transferring the equivalent amount to my savings account. Sometimes I’ll treat myself to something fun instead.
I know people who use their loyalty rewards and discounts to buy things for toy drives, food drives, etc. It’s one way to make their donation dollars go farther.
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I have a ton of loyalty cards. I guess that means I am not that loyal! I don’t go to a particular store because of the loyalty cards but if REI and Amazon have the same item for the same price, then I go to REI because I have a loyalty card and I can get discounts on future purchases.
For those that have a lot of loyalty cards, I recommend the CardStar app. I enter all my loyalty cards, AAA, Airline and hotel cards and even my library card into the app and they are all stored in one place. Many stores can scan the card right from your smart phone.
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Re: gas savings with our grocery store. I don’t have the big card, only the key fob, so I can’t just swipe the card. I have to enter in the number. After attempting and failing to enter in the 13 digit number once, I did some quick mental calculations and decided that no, it was not worth 60 cents to me to try to enter in the number again until I got it right. I would pay someone 60 cents so as not to have to do that.
Of course, it’s worth only 60 cents because I have a small gas efficient car. That choice has saved much more than 60 cents every two weeks.
I do tend to check the two airlines that I have racked up considerable frequent flier miles on first, and all things equal I go with one of them for travel.
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I use the AMC Stubs card along with AMC corporate tickets, which may be purchased in advance from AMC’s corporate sales website. The AMC Stubs card provides free upgrades on drinks and popcorn, free advance movie screenings, and for every $100 I spend I receive $10. The $10 may be placed towards whatever I choose, including the $10 annual fee.
The AMC corporate tickets allow me to see movies for $6 a piece, which may be put toward earning the free $10 for every $100 I spend.
All in all, I find this loyalty program works well, because AMC has the best theaters in my area and movies are my guilty pleasure.
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My kids have these and when they were in high school I gave them movie gift certificates.
I didn’t have to knock myself out shopping for crazy stuff in crazy stores and they could save their money for other stuff. So win/win.
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A personalized price book is what really keeps me on track. I have a master list of the things that I buy the most often and keep track of regular price, sales price, and awesome (stock up) price. This way when I am bombarded with all of the different promotional offers I can refer to my list to see if it’s really that good of a deal. It’s not a deal if you weren’t going to buy it in the first place, so stick to your personalized list.
Another strategy is to stay out of the stores. These promotions are to lure you into the store and while you’re there make other purchases. I make one big shop per month, then 2 more quick in-and-out for fresh items. I’ve found this saves me tons of money on extras throughout the month. This far surpasses the few dollars that I would save if I ran into the store every couple of days to get items that are on promotion.
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I keep a price book too! It’s a lot easier than coupons and it saves time. I was wondering if someone was going to mention the awesome price book.
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Thanks for sharing that strategy! I find that I try to do the same thing – a big shop at one or two stores (grocery and department store) where I can get the best prices overall based on my price book and then just in and out for fill ins like milk, bread, & produce.
I do use coupons for regular things I buy but generally have no interest in serious couponing or playing the loyalty card games. I don’t have the mental energy for it when I could use that same energy for freelancing and generating more cash flow.
Go price book!
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I was thinking of doing something like this. Didn’t know it had a name. I thought maybe I was being a little too ANALytical and hadn’t started one yet. How much time does it take to keep the prices up to date, and how do you do it? I don’t have a cell phone for scanning barcodes, so my method would have to be lower tech. Does the savings justify the time spent keeping your price book up to date?
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There are lots of ways to keep a price book. You can google it and find free forms and downloads. It takes the most time to get set up (30 mins to an hour), but very little time to maintain (10-15 mins per month).
I use Excel and my store receipts. I have each item listed and then have three columns for each price range. I print it double-sided and keep it in my purse. For really low tech, I’ve seen people with small notebooks sectioned off.
For me this really helps save both time and money. When I find an awesome sale I like to stock up, which means that it’s longer in between purchases. I can’t keep all of the prices in my head for months. It also helps me when I’m in the middle of the store aisle and see a manager’s special or clearance markdown. I already have a lot of other numbers running through my head, so I love to have the concrete list to tell me right away if it’s a good deal or not.
Another way it helps save money is helping me notice when the prices have gone up on items that I regularly buy. It’s happening a lot! When that happens, I take the time to look at alternative brands and stores, check online prices and/or make it at home recipes to avoid having to increase my budget to continue buying the same things.
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I have an REI visa where you get 1% back on purchase made at other places and 5% back on REI purchases. Previous years, I’ll pick up camping supplies and wedding presents there, small purchases. But this year I invested in skis and a new bike. Definitely looking forward to next year’s dividend check!
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I’m willing to do some bulk optimizations on shopping. I shop at Costco (more for selection than price) and use the King Soopers loyalty card for example. But unless your hourly rate is very low the time you spend at the grocery store is almost as costly as what you buy there. A conveniently located store with all the things you want to buy can easily be the “cheapest” regardless of the prices on the shelves.
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Interesting. I don’t usually factor in my hourly wage when I shop because I wouldn’t be using the time to earn money. Usually it’s a matter of “I’d rather do x than shop”
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I agree. Using an hourly wage is only a factor if you are turning down work that would pay you for that hour. My weekend time isn’t as valuable as my paid work time. If you want to pay me $20 for a 1/2 hour answering a survey … sure, because I’m not making anything else during that time.
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I guess it’s all a matter of how much you value your free time. If you would rather be working 24×7 and free time is worthless to you, then you would never need to consider your time spent shopping. But if you hate to shop, or there are other things you need/want to do with the time you don’t spend working, you can’t simply disregard the time or lost opportunity involved when it requires more time to get those discount prices.
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I don’t play the store discount game. I have my regular stores I shop at, because I find they have the best price/selection without having to play any games. Strangely, the store closest to me is actually quite expensive, so I generally buy things that are only on sale. (Or if I only need one or two things.) But I try avoiding the store like the plague, it’s disastrous for my wallet.
However, I do play the airline/hotel miles/points game like it’s going out of style, and do quite well at it.
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I use the loyalty cards at the places I shop, as long as the card is free and not a credit card. I won’t shop at stores that require a store credit card to get the discounts.
As a teacher, I’m also able to get discount cards for office supply stores and arts and crafts stores. I definitely use these, for both classroom and personal purchases.
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I have no problem with a loyalty card that rewards frequent visits a la the ice cream card you mention. I do not, however, care for the grocery and drug store cards that offer personalized discounts by tracking my every purchase. The whole thing creeps me out and I think that eventually the stores are going to get in trouble for offering different prices to different customers (that are not available to other customers).
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I just want to say that I completely agree with you. I like the punch-card types of loyalty. It’s simple and transparent. I’m ambivalent on cards at places like REI (I’m a co-op member) or retail stores (where my purchases are so few and far between that it’s probably not worth much). I don’t even mind the PetSmart program. However, I hate the grocery store ones. I don’t know what they do with that information nor do I know how secure it is. I prefer to patronize grocery stores without loyalty cards.
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I agree on the creepiness factor–it seems like CVS sends me an email for another 20-25% off just hours after I shop there. Creepy corporate stalking.
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Hi,
One thing to remember is that these cards aren’t really free, you’re “paying” for them with personal information you’re giving to the company, and their ability to track you.
I generally don’t sign up for the cards as i tend to lose them or not have them with me when i need them as i can’t carry 30+ loyalty cards in my wallet at all times. If i only have a casual relationship with the store it is definitely not a good trade off to give them a lot of personal info for a one time discount.
AC
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The reason I’m willing to go to a little extra effort for loyalty savings is probably related to my competitive streak. When I get a ridiculously good deal on something I feel like I’ve won. I am champion of the deal! Bow to me!
Loyalty programs I use:
CVS – My strategy here is to pick one drugstore rewards program, learn it well, use it often. I usually stick to the freebies and 80% or greater savings.
Papa Murphy – Because it’s PIZZA.
REI – The. Best. Gear. + dividends.
Safeway Just4U – I go to the website weekly, load deals and personalized savings on my card and print a shopping list to navigate the deals while in the store. I tried the smart phone app but it was too fiddly for me. Also, the gas rewards at up to $1.00 per gallon can amount to a “gift” of $15 off a fill-up once a month.
Cost Plus World Market – Coffee. Sometimes these deals amount to a hack. Works like this. After signing up for the loyalty program, every once in a while you get an email coupon for $10 off a purchase of $30. Use that on coffee – Cost Plus has a great price of $9.99 for 24 ounces. So three 24-ounce bags for about $20. Buy it on Wednesday and you get double coffee rewards points – two points per bag instead of one. When you have six points, you get another coupon for a free 12-ounce bag. So for $20, you get the equivalent of seven 12-ounce bags of coffee. At Safeway, 12-ounce bags are $6.99 – $7.99, even the crappy store brand. So you can save thirty bucks or more, the Cost Plus coffee is good and there are free trade choices, too. I win!
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Well… I think this may be it. When I began reading this site it was thr personal finance journey of JD. He found his way and has now stepped back to the point where we’re reading about store rewards programs.
The site evolved as JD evolved which made it an intetesting read. Now I think I’ll follow his lead and exit. It was fun while it lasted.
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I’ve started thinking of this blog more like Wisebread — different voices, and no longer J.D.’s. That’s okay. Things chance. Maybe I’ll like it this way, maybe I’ll move on.
I am enjoying J.D.’s new blog though!
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I would love to check out J.D.’s new blog if someone could kindly pass along the link. Thanks!
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For now it’s at http://www.jdroth.com/
It’s not a new version of GRS — it’s got a different angle.
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Here you are:
http://www.jdroth.com/a-very-fine-place-to-start/
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Fred Meyer (Kroger owned grocery) offers a reward Visa card. Every dollar spent in the store is 2 points and every dollar spent elsewhere is 1 point. My husband and I use this card for all purchases (paying the balance off each month). Our purchases allow us to receive a gift card type of coupon each quarter that, for us, is typically more than $70 off purchases in the store.
I use that “coupon” as an opportunity to stock up on items that are non-food such as laundry detergent, hair coloring, etc.
Fred Meyer also sends other coupons along with the Rewards coupon and during the in between months they send me coupons for other items that I regularly purchase.
I always make a weekly menu before shopping and, thus, a list I take with me which helps to avoid impulse purchases.
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I know some people aren’t too keen on these sorts of topics but I would love to know GRS’ thoughts regarding hair coloring–I’m soon to be 35 and not entirely convinced I want to shell out the money or the time commitment for upkeep of hair color. My hair is maybe 20% greys. What do GRS readers do re hair care as they age?
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I’m about your age and I started highlighting my hair three times a year to help blend in the greys. I have mousy brown hair, so grey doesn’t improve it my appearance! I want to look my best for professional networking and dating so I have no qualms about working the cost into my budget.
If I inherit the colouring from my dad’s side of the family, I’ll embrace the silver and white when I get older. I suspect I’ll be in the “not enough grey to look good natural” middle ground for a while though!
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One thing I really like about this blog is the diversity of voices and topics.
As far as loyalty cards go I use them all the time at Price Chopper (groceries) & Kmart. I have never gotten any promotional materials for groceries at all. Maybe they don’t have my email since I have had it a long time. I get a discount on gas with that card at Quik Trip. I have built up to 20 cents a gallon several times. When we were on vacation in California earlier this year I used that card at a Safeway and got $8 off a box of Cuties.
Score!
All that said, I have been shopping more & more at Aldis. There is one close to me and the difference in price is shocking sometimes.
And it is FAST!
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I have a supermarket loyalty card, and I faithfully use it, but I would shop at that market anyway simply because it’s the best one within four miles of me.
I have a Bevmo card but I usually go there only when they’re doing a 5-cent sale.
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I use the loyalty cards regularly. They work best when you only buy stuff you would have bought anyways, stuff that was not cheaper elsewhere, and “work the system” in that store for your benefit. Each store has it’s own system and you have to educate yourself on how to maximize it. Once you are educated, it doesn’t take any extra time to save the money.
I use Giant Eagle to get discounts on food and free gas. If you use their system, make sure you bring your gas cans when you fill up to maximize your savings. You can also buy other retailers cards here and earn gas. I saved $2,110.72 last year on food and $962.21 in free gas.
I have a CVS card and saved $745.98 last year. Never buy anything from CVS unless it is on sale and you have a coupon or you are paying to much.
I saved $327.43 in rebates and reward money at Staples.
I got $87.11 last year at K-Mart/Sears.
Every month I get a free truffle from Godiva.
I also use my local nursery, where you can earn discounts on purchases. This saved me $30.00 last year.
So in a year I saved a total of about $4,100 buying things I would have bought anyway. And got to treat myself to some chocolate on occasion. That’s a months worth of income! I’ll take it!
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Some of you guys….seriously! Yeah JD sold the blog, however just because you don’t use reward points which are a part of pf just because you don’t use it doesn’t mean no one else does. This is one of few ways coupons and reward points I am able to buy quality goods when they are on sale and or clearance. There’s only so much about JD’s life we can read about.
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I may be pessimistic, but I don’t like clutter and I don’t like the idea of coupons dictating what I buy.
So, I just buy what I want, and fly airlines when I need to. If the cashier wants to swipe her card, great. Otherwise I just deal with it and pay “full price”.
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As far as the tracking goes, I have applied for several store cards and just put in my name, spelled wrong (typically I just drop a letter). DOn’t bother with an address or anything else. No one actually seems to look at the application, they just give me a card. Of course, I wouldn’t get coupons if they were mailing them out but most things are just at point of checkout, so it isn’t really an issue. When I have more free money than free time, I usually shop just one store, but when I have more time than money as I do right now, I shop the loss leaders at several stores to get best prices. Except for produce and dairy, I always shop for the pantry/freezer. I stock up everything at the lowest possible prices and meal plan from what needs to be used. If I go to a store for just one or two items that are steeply discounted I won’t make a special trip but just wait until I am that area. There are a lot of supermarkets around here, but I do find that one is consistently the cheapest.
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Well . . . I’ve got no loyalty. Not to retailers, I mean. This keeps my mind clear and happy.
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Loyalty cards bother me because they can only give discounts if they are gaining something from giving the discount. A loyal customer, an impulse purchase, and (the big one) – your personal data! How else does your grocery store know what coupons to print for you? My mom bought diapers for her grandson once or twice but always gets coupons for baby products despite the current purchase. We also found the locally owned grocery store without a loyalty card had significantly lower prices than the big name chains.
An insidious reward card program is run by Motherhood Maternity. They sign you up for discounts and then sell your name and address (and baby’s due date) to magazines, formula companies, etc. I bet they made more money off my information than the pair of jeans I bought when I was pregnant. I won’t ever shop there again.
I do use airline miles and when I traveled a lot I benefit with free trips and upgrades. Now that I don’t travel frequently I shop around and chose the best deal first.
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Sounds like you’re going on principal more than anything else. It shouldn’t matter to you whether or not a grocery store tracks the purchases you make. What do you have to hide exactly?
I’m not a rewards card obsessed shopper, but they do come in handy when you stick to just a few programs. My main uses:
- Stop and Shop card – if i’m doing a larger shopping, they tend to have the best prices and selection overall. the coupons they provide are for items I regularly buy.
- Subway card – every dollar gives you a point towards free food there. I eat there one or 2 times a week, so it adds up. Nice to get a free sandwich once in a while.
- Amazon.com visa card – I just wish I did this sooner! Points for every dollar you spend (you get 3x as many pts when the purchase is made on amazon). Points are converted into amazon credit, which is as good as cash to me.
- American Airlines mastercard – I don’t fly as much as I used to, so I may be getting rid of this. However, it just adds up to $ off flights, simple stuff.
Other than that, I just try to shop smartly, but again don’t obsess over rewards programs. I do like online sites like slickdeals.net, bargainist, etc., though. Lots of good deals on there.
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Alright here is a convoluted answer:
My journey to frugality has been interesting over the years. I learned it from Grandmother who went through the depression. Early in my childhood it manifested itself by being a saver as I went through college and youthful explorations, I left some of that behind, made some mistakes primarily with housing, but tried to mindful of my penny pinching ways. Now at 40 I’m probably as frugal as I have ever been and I tend to apply it to almost all my decisions. So for me frugality is a mindset now ingrained but I also find it allows me to make choices regarding quality purchases or luxury purchases where I might not otherwise have the money.
How does this apply to loyalty cards? The way I see it, at the end of the day all these discussions are focused on your relationship with money and how you see it impacting your life which can change over time. I focus on the elimination of debt and savings prior to doing any spending as well as minimizing the consumerization process, as it allows the accumulation of unneeded stuff. Frugality equals freedom for me without much sacrifice because I can be flexible how I apply it.
Loyalty cards are just another iteration of this mentality. I don’t particularly have brand loyalty as I have found through exploring various brands there isn’t that much difference, with some exceptions.
Ex: # 1- Using coupons (store, manufacture, other), discounts, sales, clearance, etc.. I don’t pay for most healthcare products including toothbrushes, bodywash, deodorant, razors, feminine products, etc.. or when I do pay its pennies on the dollar, I primarily do this at CVS but not exclusively.
Ex: #2- I use the BOA Upromise card for my daughters college fund. All my loyalty cards are tied to it. So the savings roll for specific purchases at the stores where I get additional electronic coupon funds on top of the coupons I used in the store. Plus I have a Sallie Mae High yield savings account attached to the account that gives me 10% cash on the rewards for the year into my savings. I try to use this stacking methodology for saving whenever possible.
Ex #3 -This isn’t really a specific example, applying the process I used in the previous 2 examples to almost all purchases I first eliminate any purchases that have nothing to with actual needs(which I define narrowly). Then I make a list of wants and go about researching ways to reduce costs of anything above a certain amount. If its minimal I usually do a quick search. Of course, I apply this to everything including all my bills and services (electricity, cell, entertainment, whatever)
For me its about the goals which are no mortgage, healthy college fund and retirement fund and hitting those short and long term financial goals. Doesn’t mean we can’t splurge occasionally but everyone has to pick their poisons.
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This is an interesting and timely topic for me. I have just been discussing loyalty cards with my Swiss penpal. Over there, many people still use cash for shopping and travel. The loyalty cards are usually in the form of collecting x number of points redeemable for cash. Like the Swiss, very practical! I wish we had those here.Maybe they exist, but I haven’t seen any.
I generally don’t use loyalty cards, but I do have one for Target pharmacy. I get my elderly mother’s generic meds and every 5 visits nets me a discount on a day’s worth of shopping. Since I shop frequently at Target, it gets used.
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I also use my Target pharmacy and enjoy getting the extra 5% off coupons after 5 prescriptions. I also use the card instead of cash since I get 5% off everything every day. My only problem is remembering what I’ve put on it and paying it off. Sometimes I forget those little $15 trips to Target and they add up and sneak up.
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The wife carries a full key ring of store loyalty cards. Myself? If I can punch in a phone number at the checkout, then I participate.
That being said, if a particular discount requires participation in the loyalty program, I’ll either sign up, or make a point of asking the cashier to use their “standard” swipe card. I mean, $1/lb off a meat purchase of $2 off a case of beer is well worth it, no?
Other than that, we have an REI Visa card that earns us huge rebates in-store, and 1% on other purchases towards our outdoor habits. We keep our gear in like-new rotation using this program and certainly make our gear buying decisions based on the program and the company’s reputation for supporting their sales.
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I use Hip2Save and Savinglifestyle to get the most bang for my buck. I use coupons with my loyalty card and I get lots of items for free or almost free at Kroger. I am not brand loyal and we are willing to try new products when they are free or almost free. I go to a chinese restraunant and it has one of those punch cards. I get lunch to go (stacking my box full) and usually have enough for two days of lunch and when I am ready for my free meal I go at dinner (more expensive) with a friend for a nice evening out.
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I use loyalty cards from Michaels, Hyvee(Upromise), Target,and Shopko. We get all of our eyewear from Shopko which allows us to get my hubby’s work pants for free with the rewards.
Target is good too for the 5% savings.
I have joined many coupon sites but don’t feel they are worth it since they are zip code specific and they are horrible in my city.
However, I am a huge couponer– and I buy differently in different seasons. Now that chili season is here, I buy alot of kidney beans,diced tomatoes, tomato sauce and can get for really cheap and will buy enough to get through until next chili season. Canned foods last a long time. I only buy what is on sale, what is on my list and plan the meals around what is on sale for that week. example: yesterday–Biscuits were on sale this week so I made biscuits and gravy for breakfast and then made meatloaf, mashed pot and gravy(leftover from breakfast) corn and biscuits(leftovers) for dinner. This uses the leftovers and saves money and nobody is deprived of good food.
I have so many money saving ideas that I don’t have enough room for them. Maybe I need to blog an article!! lol
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OK folks. Here’s the deal, as I see it. Whether you care or not, that’s your prerogative.
I’ve worked in retail for a number of years….Seen all of these deals come and go. YES you can get some savings on an item or three, BUT the whole purpose of loyalty cards is TO GET YOU HOOKED ON LOYALTY CARDS.
End of story.
They will, of course, give you “huge” deals on stuff that they paid pennies for (they still are making money, even when you’re saving), but what they want is you IN their store. Don’t fall for it people. It’s a game, and they’re winning.
The best solution is to buy smart. Unless you absolutely have to, don’t walk down an aisle at the supermarket. I suppose some grains and legumes are in aisles, but this mantra will hold true for the most part. Everything you need to survive (quite comfortably) is around the perimeter of the store. Stuff that comes in boxes is overpriced, and not good for you.
Someone can spend all day clipping coupons and then go and save $50 at the store, but guess what? You just worked all day for $50!
Just buy good food. It’s worth it.
good luck
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I’ve noticed that the stores with the rewards cards and coupons etc are the stores that are a tad bit more expensive then others. For example I’m obsessed with the CVS reward card and I know toothpaste will cost more at CVS then say at WalMart, but I still make purchases at CVS because I will acquire points. These rewards and cards really do work well at least on me they do!
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