I am curious as to the value of rewards programs for grocery stores. I live in an area with a Harris Teeter, Bi-Lo, Food Lion, Publix, Piggly Wiggly, Whole Foods, WalMart, and Costco. Out of all of them, I believe that only two have a rewards program:
I guess the point of this thread can be two fold. Share any supermarket rewards programs that you know of and also explain your shopping habits (i.e. I shop at Sam's Club for these kind of items, but find that by going to store X most of the time and using Cash Back CC combined with the supermarket rewards card gives a better return). I am not really interested in hearing to take advantage of coupons. For this thread pretend that no items are on sale and based on your assumption regular prices at each stores, explain how would you shop to stretch your wallet the farthest. Also no building in Costco AMEX or other stored specific credit cards in comparisons. Just a general Cash Back card should work at the store or your forced to pay cash.
I will update the summary with a list of rewards programs and brief details as they are posted.
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The shoppers cards are to receive sale prices and to take advantage of promotions where you can earn free gifts or food by collecting points. To me it is a waste of money to buy things at club stores, when you can do much better at supermarkets. I realize that you said that coupons are not to play a role, but you are leaving out very significant savings by not using coupons. You match these with sales/rebates/store promotions etc. There are ways to get hundreds of dollars of groceries for next to nothing. This is the way to "stretch your wallet the farthest" Are you also wanting to know which CC give a good Cash Back rate? Are you wanting to know which stores have the best prices/deals/promotions? I guess I am not entirely clear on what you are trying to accomplish in the end or asking here? To me the credit card that you use or a rewards card are only just a few pieces of many parts belonging to the big picture as far as what you can do to stretch your dollar.
Message edited by: rcbrad on 2009-09-18 19:51:48 CDT
General thoughts (these might be a little more than you wanted, but we FWers can't help but pass on good info!): Kroger.com also has a frequest shopper program (for those who live near one). AMEX Blue Cash gives you 5% CB on groceries, drugstores and gas charges and 1.25% on all other purchases once your yearly charges exceed $6500 (12 months from opening acct, not calendar year); 1% on 'everyday purchaes' and 0.05% on other purchases till you reach $6500. Easy way to earn lots of $. If you simply want to show up and buy, I find WalMart has the lowest everyday prices (hence their ad) though clubs and coupon deals will beat that most days.
Bob Sullivan, in his great book "Gotcha Capitalism," notes their risk:
"Some other fees are obfuscated so cleverly that consumers don’t even think of them as fees. Supermarket loyalty card programs, for example, seem like discount programs. Of course, if you don’t join, you pay pretty steep surcharges. But even if you do join, thee are plenty of hidden costs. What if one day your health insurance company buys your grocery records are finds out you are a serial potato chip eater? Maybe they’ll pile on some potato chip-eater premiums. There’s a whopper of a hidden fee. Is your grocery store ready to promise that will never happen? I would take that promise with a grain of salt and some vinegar."
scottybweyy said:For this thread pretend that no items are on sale and based on your assumption regular prices at each stores, explain how would you shop to stretch your wallet the farthest.
If no items are on sale, then Costco/Sam's Club is usually cheaper.
I also looked at the two stores you mentioned having rewards cards and I'm not sure if those are what most of us think of as store cards. You might have to find some posters who specifically shop those stores and know more about them.
blueoregon said:Bob Sullivan, in his great book "Gotcha Capitalism," notes their risk:
"What if one day your health insurance company buys your grocery records are finds out you are a serial potato chip eater? Maybe they’ll pile on some potato chip-eater premiums. There’s a whopper of a hidden fee. Is your grocery store ready to promise that will never happen? I would take that promise with a grain of salt and some vinegar."
There's no need to register your discount card under anything resembling your real name. Indeed, for limited-quantities-per-card offers, it might be good to have an alias or two.
Message edited by: mfrs on 2009-10-06 15:22:27 CDT
mfrs said:blueoregon said:Bob Sullivan, in his great book "Gotcha Capitalism," notes their risk:
"What if one day your health insurance company buys your grocery records are finds out you are a serial potato chip eater? Maybe they’ll pile on some potato chip-eater premiums. There’s a whopper of a hidden fee. Is your grocery store ready to promise that will never happen? I would take that promise with a grain of salt and some vinegar."
There's no need to register your discount card under anything resembling your real name. Indeed, for limited-quantities-per-card offers, it might be good to have an alias or two.
I always wondered about using a fake name if you won some sort of big prize or sweepstakes on the card. Would you have any trouble claiming it? If it's a $1000 gift card or shopping spree they would probably want your tax info but you didn't win exactly.
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