Grocery Store & Drug Store Club Cards

If there is one word of wisdom I can impart to new frugalistas it is get a grocery store Club Card for each supermarket you shop, and pick up a CVS Extra Care Card. The cards entitle you to discounts on merchandise or an accumulation or points or special rewards for buying specific merchandise. Club cards are also referred to as a loyalty card, a rewards card, a points card, or an advantage card.  Most stores have a Club Card, check with your local supermarket.  These cards are free to apply for and use.

Club Cards typically have a barcode or magnetic stripe (like a credit card) that can be easily scanned.  Cards are issued after you fill out the application.  Many times the card is linked to your phone number.  If you forget you card at home, give the cashier you phone number, and you are still entitled to the same discounts and card advantages as if you had presented your card.

Stores utilize the information they gather when consumers scan their cards to look at shopping trends. Grocery companies look at sales trends to help them decide what items should be sold, put on sale or completely discontinued. Cards also offer information about what each consumer purchases, and coupons tailored to the individual cardholder can be mailed or emailed to each card holder.

If you do not present the card or your phone number, you will not receive a discount, which is usually advertised at the sale price.  Grocery stores with Club cards do not offer sale prices without the presentation of the card at checkout.

In addition to discounted merchandise, some stores allow accumulation of fuel discounts for specific fuel stations. Usually stations the grocer has affiliations with or is co-branded with. If this is not the case, this promotion may be only for a limited time offer, for example in summer 2009 Ralphs/Kroger offered .03 discount for every $100 worth of groceries purchased at Shell gasoline stations for a limited time. Some have tie-ins with airline frequent-flyer programs, such as the now defunct United Airlines/Safeway promotion, wherein the cardholder earned 125 United Airline miles for every $250 in groceries that was purchased.

Most office supply stores have a Club Card.  They offer discounts on merchandise, and track purchases.  If purchases reach a specific amount within a time frame (usually once a quarter), a gift card is mailed to the club cardholder for the amount of a percentage of the cardholder’s purchases.  In the case of Office Depot, club cardholders can turn in computer ink cartridges to earn an extra $3.00 reward per ink cartridge. The  reward is then mailed to you at the end of each quarter in the form of an Office Depot gift card.

Other stores offer cards, such as book or music stores.  These cards usually have a cost associated with them and are good for a finite amount of time, usually a year, and offer a very high discount and extended benefits.  Barnes and Noble offers a discount card that costs about $25 and offers 20% off purchases and other special discounts throughout the year.