Heads up to Shopper’s Optimum points holders!
Over on Kalev’s K-log, he posted an analysis of the devaluation of Shopper’s Drug Mart Optimum points. For my non-Canadian readers, Shopper’s Drug Mart is a pharmacy and “Optimum” is their loyalty program – you get points every time you buy stuff at Shopper’s and once you get a certain amount of points, you can redeem them for a cash value to be spent at Shopper’s. I’m a fan of this program because it’s for stuff I would buy anyway and you get to spend your points on anything you want in the store which, again, is stuff I’d buy anyway ((compared to, say, Save-On More points – I collect those at Save-On-Foods grocery store, but I still have no idea what they are used for, although I think maybe you can cash in relatively large amounts of points for relatively small discounts on products in the store)). Also, about once a month or so they have a weekend where you get 20X the Optimum points on whatever you buy as long as you spent at least $50. I’ve taken to only buying stuff at Shopper’s when they have their 20X the points special on ((a trick I picked up from Sarah, the queen of savings! )) – the points add up ridiculously fast that way! I make a point of never buying anything that I wasn’t going to buy anyway, but just buying those things that I use everyday, like moisturizer or deodorant or toilet paper, it’s pretty easy to spend $50.
Anyway, I hadn’t noticed it in their email newsletter – so I’m very happy Kalev brought this to my attention! – but effective July 1, Optimum Points will be worth less. I currently have a bit more than 75,000 points, which means as long as I redeem them before July 1, I’ll get $150 of free stuff! Hello, shopping spree!
Just thought I’d let y’all know that, in case you have some Optimum points to cash in!
Comments |6|
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You forgot to rave about the fact I used your favourite tool for analysis–a spreadsheet!–to show how much the devaluation would “cost” us.
I often do big shops on the 20x or 15x days. This month I did the “7000 points for $50 or more” event because I figured they wouldn’t have another 20x event before the devaluation.
Actually, my favourite tool for analysis is the inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer. But spreadsheets are a close second.
I’m hoping they’ll have a “get $170 instead of $150 for 75,000 points weekend” before July 1. They’ve had some of those lately, so I’m holding out on my shopping spree in case they have one.
No, your favourite tool is spreadsheets. Don’t lie.
I doubt they’ll have another weekend like that… they’ve had one already in June.
Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer 😛
Save-On points are most useful if you accumulate a lot and then get a free small appliance. Since we’re a family of four, over the years we’ve redeemed points for a couple of cordless phones, a rice cooker, a waffle iron, and so on. The grocery discounts aren’t usually as good a deal, but will work if you never otherwise gather enough points for a big-ticket item.
I imagine the only people who ever get free MacBooks or flat-screen TVs are those who buy wholesale for their own corner stores and such. The Save-On customer service desk has a seasonal catalogue of available items, which includes patio furniture, travel and hotel vouchers, and so on.
Points used to accumulate faster, but I guess Save-On figured out that offering gazillions of points on, say, diapers didn’t work out so well for them. When our kids were young we were getting a new appliance every two or three months. Now it takes much longer.
I’ll have to check out their catalog and see how many points I have. Maybe I could get a free waffle iron and make those grilled cheese sandwiches I was blogging about a little while ago!