Despite what you may think, I’m not a huge fan of loyalty programs. Not because they don’t help me save money but because I hate carrying all kinds of extra cards in my wallet. With most programs, it takes forever to get the even smallest reward.Shoppers Optimum card is one exception. Shoppers’ Drug Mart is my neighbourhood drugstore. Here’s how it works: For every $1 you spend, you earn 1o Shoppers Optimum rewards point. Once you earn at least 3,500 points you can cash them in for store credit. [Update, I accidentally transposed the amount spent with the number of points earned. It has been corrected. Thanks Chris for alerting me to the error.]
There are also all kinds of products with extra bonus points and other special offers when you can earn all kinds of bonus points. I make a habit of stocking up on days when they offer 10x or 20x the points on purchases. For example, starting today if you spend $50 or more at the cosmetics counter, you’ll get 20x the points.
I’ve also learned a big secret. Twice a year Shoppers’ offers extra credit when you cash in your Optimum points (July and November). At 75,000 points (the max.), instead of getting the usual $150 credit I’ve been getting $200 to use towards a shopping spree (I have to pay the tax.) It’s also the time when I pamper myself and try out a new high-priced goodie from the cosmetics counter.
Recently, they’ve introduced a program where you can donate your Optimum points to a registered charity – I just found out while researching for this post. What a great idea!
OMG i love SHOPPERS POINTS!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteI agree with you. Some Shoppers’ Drug Mart sell my favorite beauty products, Clarins. I now shop at the pharmacy instead of The Bay. In Quebec, I also shop at Uniprix where I get a $10 rebate for every $100 I spent on cosmetics.
ReplyDeleteHoly cow, Eden, it's not $10/point, it's ten cents/point. You get 10 points for every dollar you spend...at least that's how it used to be when Optimum rolled out when I worked at SDM in high school.
ReplyDeleteAt $10/point you'd have to spend $35,000 to get the smallest reward!
Hi Eden:
ReplyDeleteWe love Shopper's points! We shop there pretty much every day, so it really adds up for us. We also signed up for the program to get extra points for baby stuff.
You mentioned their special - and seemingly secret - redemption days. We stumbled upon one of these days once and they make a big difference. But I've never been able to find out when they are? Do you know the schedule of these?
Cheers,
Glen
Chris, thanks for pointing out the error. You're absolutely right. And by the way, I usually earn far more than 10 points per dollar because I try and shop stock up on higher-priced items when they have special promotions.
ReplyDeleteAhhh this is one of my favourite programs. Did you know that they have the second most loyal customers for a point-based program? SEcond only to Air Miles!
ReplyDelete