Technology > Plastic

Consumers are catching on to the most recent technological advances. From smart phones, to tablets, more and more things seem to be available at our fingertips. If you are not a smart phone owner yourself, you may consider getting one if your wallet seems like it’s going to explode of plastic cards. Not only will getting a smart phone keep you updated with the latest technological trends, but yes- you guessed right, you are able to have your loyalty cards on there as well!

Some companies have come up with apps to save you the space and struggle of having too many loyalty cards. For example, the Cineplex Movie app allows you to look up the most recent release movies, nearest theatres, show times, and also allows you to buy tickets online through your phone. On top of all that, you can store your Cineplex Scene Cards’ bar code by simply typing in the numbers, the app will configure itself a new one so the cashier can scan your bar code on the screen of your phone the next time you’re enjoying a night out!

Don’t worry, there’s plenty more to come! With more than 1000 new apps being released every day, there have been predictions we’ll soon have our credit and debit cards on our phone too!

Heres a short video example of a smart phone app called "Pointpal" that keeps all of your loyalty cards in your phone!

But Wait! There's More!

Just because I did not go into detail with the other hundreds of other Customer Loyalty Cards, does not mean they’re not out there! Just from my personal collection and knowledge, here’s a few you might want to check out !

Airmiles: 100+ partners where you can earn and redeem Airmiles for thousands of items and deals like kitchen, entertainment, leisure, personal care, travel, accessories, and more!https://www.airmiles.ca/arrow/RewardsHome

iRewards: if you love books, magazines or any unique gifts and accessories from Chapters, Indigo, and Coles, start saving with this card today for up to 40% off in-store best sellers. www.chapters.indigo.ca/irewards/

GNC: General Nutritional Center offers 20% off everything in the store , plus special promotions only to those who have this card! Save on  your health and beauty products, vitamins and minerals, and other supplements and accessories www.gnc.ca/

Best Buy, Stitches, La Senza, Bluenotes, The Bay, Sephora, M&M Meat Shops, Canadian Tire, CAA and so much more!

Gas Stations

If you drive, you know how annoying it can get when you always seem to fill up more often than you would have hoped. And with gas prices always fluctuating, its never easy on your budget. Well, if you haven’t already, you will be glad to hear that most (if not all) gas stations now have loyalty cards.

Esso: “Esso Extra”. This membership card allows you to collect 1 point for every dollar you spend, whether if it is on gas, snacks or beverages. With your points, you are able to redeem them in-store for more gas, snacks or beverages or redeem them online for gift cards to several stores such as: Tim Hortons, HBC, Shoppers Drug Mart, Cineplex, Empire, Chapters Indigo, Bon Appetit Restaurants (Swiss Chalet, Kelseys, Montanas, Milestones, or Harveys), HMV, Home Depot, Itunes, Future Shop, and Esso.
Upon signing up for “Esso Extra” you earn 200 bonus Esso Extra points!
https://www.essoextra.com/pages/Home.aspx

Pioneer: “Bonus Bucks” Whether if its fuel, a car wash, washer fluid or snacks pioneer lets you collect your Bonus Bucks no matter what it is your spending your money on. Once you have saved up enough, you are able to spend the points just as easy as you earned them.
Register now – you might be able to win $150!
http://www.bonusbucks.ca/

Petro Canada: “Petro Points”. Not only will you receive 7 Petro Points for each litre of gas, but 20 points for every dollar when you buy convenience store items, car washes, as well as Certiguard Services. Petro Canada has also partnered with CAA, iTravel 2000, Sears, Canadian Cancer Society, and the Auto Club.
Register now and get 2,500 points!
http://retail.petro-canada.ca/default.aspx

All three of these gas stations’ loyalty cards are free to join, can have their points and purchases tracked online, and that their points can be spent like cash also on different items-not just gas. Therefore, when it comes to choosing a gas station to be loyal to, I would say it would be personal preference. Perhaps you have one close to your home, or on the way to work. Perhaps you feel one of the stations always seem to have lower prices on gas anyway. Whichever the reason may be, I don’t see the harm in getting a gas loyalty card –it’s something we buy frequently, and it’s not cheap!

The Student Price Card

Many of you know it as the SPC card. Every year, a new one is released - this year, its white, with bold “SPC” written on the front as shown to the left. I must admit I do not have one, but there is no doubt that I will soon! Especially knowing that they are sold at several different locations as well as on-line, for only $9.00 and no filling out forms required! All I need to do is pay, and prove that I am indeed, a student.  However, they do suggest you register your card on-line to get the latest deals and updates on specials and promotions.

There are plenty of reasons why I will not hesitate gettingthis card. Here is the long list of reasons!

1850 Addition Elle* aerie Aéropostale Aldo Aldo Accessories Aldo Outlet American Eagle Outfitters Ardène Armani Exchange Athletes World Banana Republic* Bench Bentley Blenz Coffee Bluenotes Buffalo David Bitton Burger King Call It Spring / Spring Campus Crew Champs Sports Change Lingerie Choice Hotels Church's Chicken Claire's Coffee Culture Café     & Eatery* Crabby Joe's D-Tox Danier Domino’s Pizza* Eclipse Extreme Pita Family Pizza FedEx Office

First Choice Haircutters Flight Centre Foot Locker French Connection Gap* GNC Harvey's Hockey Experts Jack Astor's Jacob* Jacob Lingerie* Jean Machine Joneve JYSK* Kernels Popcorn Levi's Store Lick's Restaurants Little Burgundy Lucky Brand Jeans Manchu WOK Mexx Motel 6* Mrs. Field's Nando's Flame-Grilled     Chicken National Sports Nickels Nike Factory Store* Old Navy* Orange Julius Pantorama Parasuco Payless ShoeSource Pizza Hut

Pizza Nova Pizza Pizza PJ's Pet Centre Point Zero Puma Putting Edge Randy River Rexall/Pharma     Plus Second Cup Shoe Warehouse Siblings Sirens Sport Chek Sport Mart Sterling Stitches Stoneridge Sunrise Records Suzy Shier Swiss Chalet Teriyaki     Experience Topper’s Pizza* The Body Shop The Source Unic Union Burger* Urban Behavior Urban Planet Yellow (QC only) Yogen Früz Yves Rocher Zellers

Yes, this long list of over 100 stores are my reasons. At each store, the showing of my SPC card will allow me to save 10-15% off my purchases. On top of that, the SPC card offers “Weekly Perks” for even more fantastic deals and offers! For every student, i highly recommend this card. Think about it: $9.00 for one year of savings at just about everywhere you shop!

Get the card today! You can find out more about it on this website, as well order it online for a FREE $10 shopping card to a store of your choice !

http://www.spccard.ca/default.aspx

PC Financial Vs. Sobeys Club Card

Loblaws grocers (Real Canadian Super Store, Zehrs and Fortinos to be exact) and Sobeys are my two favourite supermarkets.

I am a loyal customer to both, however I only have a loyalty card to one- Sobeys. To be honest, if I did not have the Sobeys Club Card, Loblaws groceries stores would not be at a tie with Sobeys. Here are some comparisons as to reason why I appreciate both.

Qualifications and Sign-up
PC financial : have too many complicated options: credit, debit, mortgages, investments and insurance. And because they have such categories, signing up is not quick and efficient, or free! Not everyone’s qualified to obtain a PC Financial card mainly because of their income level. This was the reason for me. As a student did not have sufficient income which they decided after I had filled out a form and mailed it through a representative.
Sobeys Club Card: Free to sign up, had only taken me 5 minutes to fill out my name and address! I received points the same day and had also received a box of cookies just for signing up.

Locations and Convenience

PC Financial: One thing I really appreciate about this card is that i can be used at any Loblaws stores such as: No Frills, Extra Foods, Real Canadian Superstore, Loblaws, Fortinos, Valu-Mart, Zehrs, Independant, Provigo, Maxi, Save Easy, and Super Value.
Sobeys Club Card: although Sobeys does not have the sub-category of supermarkets like Loblaws does, it still remains a tie for me because their locations are open 24/7. This allows me to shop at my convenient time and satisfy my midnight cravings while stocking up my points !

Personally, I can defiantly say I prefer the quality, location and service of Loblaws stores over Sobeys. However, because Sobeys had issued a Club Card to me with ease, the two will remain a tie. This goes to show that a Customer Loyalty Card really does have an impact, even on the average female student!

Check out these links to find out more on both cards! Who knows, maybe you will qualify for both!

http://www.pcfinancial.ca/

https://www.clubsobeys.com/default.aspx

Cineplex Scene Points Card

Taking the night off to have a good, relaxing time can already be guilty enough. The Cineplex Scene Card is another one of my most-used loyalty cards because it eases off the guilt with points. If you enjoy going to the movie theatres often enough, this is the card to get. For every adult movie ticket you purchase, you will receive 100 Scene Points, and 20 Bonus Points if you purchase them on-line. With being a Scene member, you also save 10% off Concession Foods (Soft Drinks, Popcorn, Candies etc).

Cineplex has partnered with Scotiabank. This leaves options of getting a Scotia Bank Scene Debit or Credit card, which leads to more savings! With the debit card, every $5 you spend, you receive 1 Scene Point. With the credit card, every $1 you spend, you receive a Scene Point!

 Cineplex has also partnered with several restaurants like Milestones, Kelseys, Harveys, as well as Swiss Chalet. This gives you the option to use your Scene Points at these restaurants instead of at the Theatres for a free movie or snacks.

After seeing how easy it is to earn points, you might just HAVE to have a night out, and trust me, you’ll love it that much more knowing that your paying for it with points!

Sign up for a Scene Card or read more about it : note: you automatically receive 250 points just for signing up!

https://www.scene.ca/home.aspx

Shoppers Drug Mart Optimum Points Card

In my personal collection of loyalty cards, the Shoppers Optimum Card is the oldest, and most frequently used of them all. If you are not a proud owner of an Optimum Card, I strongly suggest you become one, and others who have them will tell you the same. This points card will not only have you collecting points, but quickly too! Because Shoppers Drug Mart stores sell every-day items from food and groceries, cosmetics, cards, bath and body supplies, to medications, vitamins and supplements, you have more than one reason to be swiping away!

You won’t be charged a penny to sign up for this card! And once you do, you will be able to collect points from practically anything you purchase in the store. For every one dollar you spend, you will receive 10 points!

Here is a  link to show how many points you will need for instant savings: http://www1.shoppersdrugmart.ca/en/Shoppers-Optimum/About_the_Program/collecting_points.aspx

Another great factor that keeps me loyal to spending at Shoppers Drug Mart are their promotional events like the “20x The Points Event”, where if you spend $50 or more, your points that you would’ve originally received that day multiplies by 20!

To share my personal experience, I am happy to let you know that I have saved over $200 in store, and still have enough points to save around $100. However, since Shoppers Drug Mart offers other options like donating points to several different charities, is defiantly something to consider!

Addressing the Disadvantages

Here are some easy-fix tips if you find that you can’t seem to find a way to cope with the disadvantages:

If you have too many to fit in your wallet, a simple elastic band or a small change purse to carry all your extra loyalty cards will come in handy. Be sure to keep your most used and most valuable in your wallet.

If you want to avoid receiving junk mail and useless coupons, call the company and simply tell them you do not wish to have them sent to you. Or avoid filling in the blank space for “email” when you are registering.

If you lose your card, be sure to call the company right away to have them cancel your card and secure your information. Many places will provide you a new card sent through the mail within a couple business days.

If you are experiencing spending temptations because you feel like you will be doing nothing but saving, give it one more thought before you make your way to your store. Most likely, the deal or sale you wish to catch will come around again and when it does, you’ll purchase something you need rather than want.  

If you want to be loyal to only those who let you spend as easy as you can earn, be sure to ask or read thoroughly about the card before you register.

Advantages and Disadvantages to Being Loyal

Here’s a simple break down of the main advantages and disadvantages to having loyalty cards.

Advantages

Discounts and savings

For most, signing up for a card is a easy and quick process.

All collecting, saving and spending information can be found online or in stores

Develop a special connection to the store/brand

Simply makes you feel good!

Disadvantages

Stretches wallet and clutters the space!

May receive continuous junk mail or coupons

Could be a hassle to replace if lost

Personal information is at stake if lost

Spending temptations

Some cards do not let you “spend points like cash”- it is a more difficult process to redeem points or receive rewards

It's as Easy as 1, 2, 3!

Whether they call it a “loyalty card”, “points card”, “rewards card”, “advantage card” or “club card”, they usually all come as a generic plastic card with a barcode, a mag strip and these days, even with a chip! To obtain a card to a specific retail store, supermarket or gas station, you have 2 basic options.

First option is to simply walk into one of the store locations and simply tell one of the representatives that you are interested in signing up for their loyalty card. From there, you will receive a form that you will have to fill with information about yourself. Don’t worry, in most cases it’s just simple demographic data like your name and address, and be sure to read agreements, customer privacy policies and other small fine prints. After that step, you will be handed your card and have the freedom to start saving instantly!

Second option:  though not all companies have this option, many companies allow you to sign up online. Much like signing up for it in person, you will have to provide general demographic, as well as geographic data about yourself (also, so they can mail the card to you).

Personally, I prefer to sign up by filling out a form in-person for several reasons such as; being able to ask any questions on the spot rather than having to do some extra reading and online research. Another reason is that I don’t like having to wait to go shopping because my savings card is being mailed to me! Not to mention I won’t know how long it is going to take! Signing up in-store allows me to immediately use my card and start being loyal all in the same day!

Introduction to Loyalty Cards

If you’re someone like myself whose wallet is now twice the size than it was when it was new (not because of the amount of cash of receipts), you may already be familiar with customer loyalty cards. To those who are not, allow me to give a brief description.

Customer loyalty cards are an approach to marketing based on strategic management. Most of the cards are issued by 3 main consumer categories: retail stores, supermarkets, as well as gas stations. However, recent innovations in loyalty cards are allowing manufacturers to issue them as well. Although each card from different companies offer different advantages, they all share a common goal: to gain and retain customers.

Though some may think that they’re card is just a piece of plastic, it’s much more than meets the eye. Customer loyalty cards have changed the lives of everyday consumers. How they shop, where they shop, and how much they spend are heavily impacted.

Are you a part of the 86% of the Canadian population who have a loyalty card?