I’m now a believer in points cards! I was always one of those people who would get coupons for, I dunno McDonald’s and think, great, going to get a free Sundae with my Quarter-Pounder with Cheese for lunch….one of these days. Then I would forget and the coupon would sit in my handbag well past its expiry date. So, when points cards came along, I was like “whatever”or, I’d collect points so infrequently, a lot of time I wouldn’t even have the card on me, I would rarely end up reaping any rewards.
That was until I was paying for groceries at Loblaws and I was told I had racked up $70 in PCpoints (President’s Choice Loyalty Program) that I could use toward my purchase: cue image of dancing emoji! The amount seemed to have accumulated rather quickly, probably because I’m a regular shopper and did spend a little more time paying attention to what items would provide additional points when it was time to go shopping (this effort is minimal, trust me, I quicklly scroll through the offers on the app for a few seconds and that’s all it takes for me).
Since then, I’ve come to appreciate a good points card. I recently saved enough Optimum Points from Shoppers Drug Mart to replace my bottle of J’adore by Christian Dior which is the only fragrance I wear on account of the fact that I’m a migraine suffer so I don’t mess with perfumes much. I know, that’s pretty tragic, but if you’ve ever tried J’adore, you wouldn’t feel to bad for me on the fragrance front!
Maybe it’s just me but I think retailers have gotten better with rewarding their loyal customers and I for one appreciate it. Here are a few more reasons why I love points cards and why I think you should too:
- They are often FREE
- Some of them are customized to your shopping habits so you may get points on the same items you buy regularly and not just featured items
- There’s usually an App for that – if they have an App this will allow you to leave the cards at home and lighten the bulk in your wallet
- You get rewarded for being a loyal shopper which I think we all deserve to be!
- Your entire purchase can be free sometimes, if you save up enough points (think of how you’d feel walking up to the cash and hearing these words, “you’ve got enough points to pay for everything, would you like to redeem them? HECK YEAH!)
Bonus tip: Consider using your points to save a few bucks over the holidays. We all know how expensive Christmas can be and we can all use more tips to spend less. Here’s how I used my points last year during the Christmas holidays:
- Free food – I saved up about $100 PCpoints at Loblaws and used that towards the big holiday grocery shopping list – you know when you have to buy the turkey, the pie, the flowers etc. It was great to cut that bill substantially. I even gave this tip to a couple in line one day who was debating whether to get the card. They were sold!
- Free Beauty Products – I had quiet a few points as part of Sephora’s Beauty Insider (VIB) program but again with my migraine issue I have to be careful. I saw some cute mini gift sets, you know the ones that have like 3 different lipsticks and a mini mascara, or something. I redeemed some of my points and got one for my cousin’s gift. I paired it with her main gift which was a set of makeup brushes for a more fun surprise. Lets just say, she loves me!
- Free Movies – I was able to treat my niece to a movie after an afternoon of gift buying because I had enough Cineplex Scene Card points for two movies. Yes, she loves me too, in case you were wondering.
If you’ve not really been into points cards before, maybe its time to revisit the idea and look out for ones for retailers you are constantly shopping in.
I’m now looking at figuring out how to get a free flight for 2017! #vacaygoals
What points programs are you lovin’?
Cass McD.
Swagger & Greys 