Thursday, June 7, 2012

Money Saving 101: Store Loyalty Cards


(Welcome Derron, one of our Budget Counselors, back today!)

Loyalty reward cards, you’ve heard of them right?  Heck, I have 5 of them on my key chain right now and just about every gas station, supermarket or pharmacy offers them.  But do you know all the perks that you can receive by using these little wonders?  I’ve created a list of some of the most popular cards and some of the incentives they offer that will hopefully give you some ideas.  For example, did you know that you can get 3 cents off on a gallon of gas everyday at Sheetz by using their loyalty card?  I knew Sheetz had a loyalty card but what I didn’t know is that I could save a few cents on gas daily.  Here is the list of some of the ones that I thought about and I’m sure there are so many more out there, but hopefully this helps a little.

Giant Eagle Advantage Card-This one I think everyone in the Western Pennsylvania area has heard of.  The big perk-for every $50 dollars you spend at the store, you receive 10 cents off on a gallon of gas.  On special occasions, (holidays, summer picnic time) you can get that same 10 cents off on gas when you spend $25 dollars.  There are also a few different specials throughout the store where you can earn an extra few cents off on gas for purchases.  Keep an eye open for those.  On the flip side, for every 10 gallons of gas you purchase, you receive 1% off your next grocery bill.  This can build up until you can get 20% off a trip to the store.  Be careful though, if you don’t use these perks, you can lose them.  That’s right, they go away.  So be sure that if you use a Giant Eagle Advantage Card to check your receipts to see when some of your incentives expire.  Most grocery stores offer similar cards for their customers and are linked to a particular gas station.  Check the grocery stores in your area if you haven’t already.

Big Lots -This one isn’t as popular as the grocery store loyalty card but it offers some really good incentives.  This one is called the Buzz Club Rewards.  Once you sign up for this loyalty card, you then become eligible for their incentives.  At Big Lots, after you make a certain number of purchases of $20 or more, you can then redeem 20% off of a future purchase.  The one snag, you have to redeem your 20% off within sixty days of becoming eligible.  Also, not everything you purchase qualifies for the incentive, so when you are checking out, ask the cashier to make sure everything in your shopping cart is a qualifying purchase.  If you are a Big Lots shopper like me, this is one incentive that you can definitely use.

Rite Aid Wellness Card-The pharmacy Rite Aid offers a wellness card to their customers.  It works a lot like supermarket card as you receive instant discounts for items in the store if you have a card.  Just the other day, I wanted to buy a pack of gum.  It was regularly priced at 99 cents, with the wellness card, it was 79 cents.  Now I know that doesn’t seem to be a big deal, but they do offer perks to other items in the store.  Using your Wellness card at Rite Aid earns you points.  For every dollar you spend, you earn a wellness point.  For every prescription you purchase, you earn 25 wellness points.  These points can be exchanged for perks that the store offers.  The perks range from exclusive pharmacist access 24/7 to 10% off the entire store for a year.  The more you spend, the better your perks.  If you use this program, you can manage it online or with a smart phone.  You can also load coupons onto your card while you manage your account online.  Coupons always sound good to me.  And, as always, if you have questions about getting a wellness card, next time you stop into a Rite Aid, ask a sales associate for more details.

Petsmart-Last, but not least, the one store I visit just as much as any other, the dreaded pet store.  When you use a Petperks card at Petsmart, you are entitled to instant discounts on numerous items throughout the store.  This can come in really handy if you have a lot of pets or just one.  I frequently am buying food, toys, and other pet supplies, so for me, this one has been very helpful.  After you sign up, you also receive emails for coupons and private sales online and in the store.  They have also notified me when a sale was going to happen.  You can manage this account online and as a bonus, if you are a Petperk card holder, you can sign up so your pet will receive a birthday greeting from Petsmart.   How funny is that!!!

These are just a few of the places that utilize loyalty cards.  Some of the others include Babies R Us, Toys R Us, K Mart, Shop N Save, Sunoco, Walgreens, CVS Pharmacy and Petco and many, many more.  If you are unaware if a store near you offers a Loyalty card, you can go online and search the store for their specific programs or you can ask a sales associate the next time you go shopping.

Good luck, best wishes and feel free to post replies and maybe you can give me some ideas to places I can get my next little key tag.

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