I never used to be a fan of loyalty card programs. I felt like I was paying too high a price for enrolment. When you enrol in a loyalty program you basically give the company permission to use your data. (Which is why reading the privacy policy is always a good idea.) This may not seem like a big deal, but it did to me. Companies can make money off of the information they collect about us. Any why would I want to give Shopper’s Drug Mart/Esso/Chapters/Cineplex any more money than I already do?
I had a change of heart when I started to think about the stores we were supporting on a regular basis already. I also saw the benefits when we booked our trip to Canada’s Wonderland this summer. The points we had accumulated on our RBC card allowed us to book a pretty nice hotel for only $17/night. (That is not a typo!)
Call it a sign of the times, but I decided I could trade off some personal info in exchange for some great deals.
PC Plus is not a credit card (although Loblaw’s has one of those too), it’s a loyalty program. And this, my friends, IS COUPON CLIPPING OF THE FUTURE.
You need an email address to sign up (which may be a barrier for some people). I signed up at my local Loblaws and I received a set of cards right away: a business-card size card and a smaller one I attached to my key fob. I recommend downloading the PC Plus app too, which has been a great way of keeping track of new point offers that come along every week. It’s linked to my account and I can also ask the cashier to scan it if I’ve forgotten my card.
Unlike other loyalty programs, you do not earn points on every purchase.
There are essentially two ways of accumulating PC Plus points:
- In-store points. These are printed near the price of each item. I actually find them hard to see sometimes, so it’s smart to pay attention. Everyone who is enrolled in the program can get these points.
- Digital points. These are points that are tailored to your past purchases and don’t apply to everyone. You’re notified by email which products can earn points for that week.
The program is pretty simple really: 1,000 points is worth $1 and you can redeem them as soon as you hit 20,000 (or more, but in increments of 10K only).
What I appreciate is that I can earn points on whole foods (like chicken, vegetables, fruit etc) that I buy anyway and aren’t traditionally subject to coupons. And I’m often surprised at the extra offers that I find in my Inbox. For example, a couple weeks ago they gave me 20,000 points ($20!) for spending over $85, which is very easy for a family of four to spend in one visit.
The points can accumulate fairly quickly, especially if Loblaws is your regular grocery store. Since we’ve enrolled in PC Plus in July I’ve redeemed $120 worth of PC points. And there’s twenty bucks sitting there waiting to be redeemed next time I shop. Not bad eh?
There are 16 items on my personal points list this week (remember, they’re tailored to my past purchases). These include:
- PC Free Run eggs (900 points)
- No Name honey (1,000 points)
- 1,000 points for every $5 spent on PC yogurt
- 1,000 points for every $5 spent on fresh fruit
- Tropicana juice blends (800 points)
- And if I spend $125 in the store this week they’ll give me 12,000 bonus points.
Save money with these tips
I have a few tips for you if you’re using PC Plus and want to save some money on your grocery bill:
If your spouse ever does the shopping, make sure they are carrying a card that is linked to the family account. In our house, I have the mini fob card which is attached to my car keys, and Mark carries the regular sized card in his wallet. There’s also a copy of the card on the app.
Download the app to your mobile phone. I find this a very easy way to keep track of new deals and it’s a handy reference for if you find yourself at the store.
Plan your menus around the biggest point earners that week. And don’t forget about school lunches too. For example, if fresh nectarines are on the points list, buy these for lunches instead of apples or oranges. If bananas have good point value, buy extra and bake a loaf of banana bread.
Related to this, pay close attention to the fact that these are single use offers. I had an offer for 200 points for every $1.00 spent on pork in the meat department. I did a small shop early in the week and bought a package of ground pork for a recipe I was making that night. Later in the week I went back to get ribs for a weekend BBQ, but I didn’t get the points because I already used my one time offer on that small package of pork earlier in the week! Had I really taken the time to think about it I should have bought it all in one shot in order to get all the points.
But don’t be so focused on point accumulation that you ignore actual prices. There’s no point overpaying for something just because you’re being offered a few points in exchange. This is especially true if you’re comparison shopping between brands. For example, there were two different brand names of coconut popscicles. One had a great point value and the other one didn’t, BUT the one with the points cost almost twice as much and the points didn’t make up for the difference. So I left it there.
Stock up. Every once in awhile PC Points will be applied to non-perishable goods we use regularly, such as detergent, canned fruit, or dry cereal. Buy multiples and you’ll save in the long run.
The best PC Plus deals and point earners are the ones that apply to sale merchandise, so if this is the case, stock up, because you’re getting the best deal possible.
Pay attention to that weekly email and always make sure your offers are “loaded” before you head out to the store. If your offers aren’t loaded you won’t get any of the points. If you’re using the PC Plus iPhone app, update your offers before you hit the store. Internet access from the depths of the store can be iffy.
Extra special deals come around every once in awhile, which makes it even more important to stay on top of that weekly email and make sure the deals are loaded. For example, a recent PC Plus deal awarded 10,000 points if you spent $50 on Joe Fresh clothing (which adds up quickly if you stocking up on socks and underwear for the kids). It’s worth noting that points are awarded on Joe Fresh items that are on sale too, which makes this special kind of deal EXTRA good.
Related: Have you ever had an offer that requires you to spend $XXX in order to get X points? And you find yourself short a dollar or two at the register? This is the time to buy a few packs of gum to tip you over the edge!
Check your receipts and cross reference to your point offers. This is crucial. If you have an offer for an item, it’s always a good idea to check and make sure you got the points. It happens! If you’re missing points, it’s an easy enough fix, especially if you use the app. (Go to Transactions. Click on the date of your grocery trip. Then choose “points inquiry.”) You can also report the error on the PC Plus website but you’ll need to type in your receipt number. Your points inquiry will be reviewed and you should hear back from someone within a few business days. I’ve had success reporting missing points this way.
Don’t forget that you can earn and redeem PC Plus Points at a number of different stores. The PC Plus program is available at the following stores across Canada: Atlantic Superstore, Dominion (Newfoundland and Labrador), Bloor Street Market, Extra Foods, Fortinos, Loblaws, Loblaws City Market, Loblaws Great Food, Maxi, Maxi & Cie, No Frills, Provigo, Provigo Le Marché, Real Canadian Superstore, Save Easy, Valu-mart, Your Independent Grocer, and Zehrs. You can also use their online store locator tool to find a participating store near you.
It’s worth noting that you can’t earn points if you go through the self-checkout. Apparently it works at the self-checkout now. Yay!
Are you collecting PC Plus Points? I’d love to hear about any other tips or tricks you may have!
Update November 17, 2013: The PC Plus points program finally rolled out at the Great Canadian Superstore. This makes points collection a lot more convenient for me. And I’m up to 99,200 points! That means that I’m well on my way to my goal of earning a totally free grocery shop at Christmas. If I have leftover points I’ll spend them on gift cards as stocking stuffers. (YES. You can do that!)
Update December 23, 2013: I did it! I saved enough to cover the bulk of our holiday groceries. If I hadn’t bought a prime rib roast on sale I would have made it. (Oh well, that roast netted me 3800 points!) Here’s my receipt:
Update December 31, 2013 – Lesson learned: always check the receipt! I did a medium-sized grocery shop at Valu-Mart (where PC Plus points are in play) and the cashier didn’t really know what she was doing. She scanned my card (or seemed to scan it), I paid for my groceries, and looked at the bill. There were no points listed at the bottom even though I knew a handful of products had points attached to them. I asked her if she scanned the card, she said she did. There happened to be another cashier standing there and she also told me the card had been scanned (basically making me feel like I was wasting their time). It was clear to me that it didn’t scan so I went to customer service and showed them the bill. She agreed there were points missing. She was able to add the missing points on the spot, which was great.
Update October 4, 2014 – I have $330 available dollars to redeem. Yay! I’m well on my way to paying for Christmas. I’d like to point out that it pays to be vigilant. Check those receipts! I am missing points almost every time. Especially as it pertains to digital offers.
Update December 28, 2014 – Mission accomplished! I collected enough points to take a huge chunk out of the cost of Christmas this year. I used my PC Plus Points to buy Christmas dinner (see receipt below), LCBO gift cards to cover the cost of wine and beer, a gift card to H&M as a stocking stuffer for one of the girls, and a gift card to the Cineplex so we can treat ourselves to a family movie over the holidays. As you can see, I was still able to earn a lot of points even though I was redeeming. Also worth noting, PC Points can only be redeemed in increments of $10. This is why I was only able to cash in $170 worth of points.
Update: December 21, 2015 – Once again I’m using my PC Points to buy our entire Christmas dinner, along with some stocking stuffers for the family. Yay! After a solid year of collecting points, as of today I am eligible to redeem $370 worth of points. As per last year, I’m also buying a gift card for us to use at the Cineplex. There have been a couple of noteworthy app updates this year as well. The app tracks how much money I’ve saved to date ($750!) which is good to know. You can also “hold” regular digital deals for a week if you can’t use it right away. If you’re using your PC Plus app, just swipe left while looking at your list of offers.
