Where Do You Grocery Shop?

A comprehensive look at rewards programs offered by several major chain grocery stores in Ontario.

Where do you do your grocery shopping? Do they have a rewards program? Are you signed up for it?

Most chain grocery stores offer rewards programs to encourage customer loyalty. Generally people shop at the same grocery store, so why not take advantage of the rewards program they have in place?

If You Shop At Zehrs, Loblaws, No Frills, Superstore, Fortinos, Extra Foods, Valu-Mart, Independent, Provigo, Maxi, SaveEasy or SuperValu 

If you shop at any of the above listed stores you should be collecting PC points. In order to get PC points you need to get a PC Mastercard or bank card. It is free to do so and for the most part they don't charge any fees (except interest of course). For every dollar you spend with your PC Mastercard you earn 10 PC points. For every dollar you spend with your PC bank card you earn 5 PC points. 20 000 points equals $20  in free groceries. To redeem them you simply ask your cashier at the checkout to use your points.

You can earn bonus points by bringing your own reusable grocery bags when shopping. For every bag you bring and use, you get 10 PC points. Just make sure that you inform the cashier of how many bags you have, most won't ask if you are collecting PC points in my experience.

You might not think you would earn that much doing this, but trust me its worth it. Last year I got over $100 in free groceries and I'm living with just one other person so we don't spend that much on our credit cards. Feed a family of 5 and you'll definitely earn a lot more. This is basically free money, why say no to that?

Pros: It's easy to collect and redeem PC points. They are accepted at a large variety of stores. You can redeem them for fun items like clothing and cosmetics at Joe Fresh. Lots of opportunities to earn extra PC points.

Cons: You commit yourself financially through either a credit card or bank account to PC. If you're comfortable doing this then it's great, but not for everyone. 

If You Shop at Sobeys, Foodland, IGA, Fresch Co., Price Chopper, or Thrifty Foods

If you shop at any of the above mentioned stores you should be collecting Club Sobeys points. At participating stores you earn 1 point per dollar spent. 725 points gives you $5 off your next grocery bill. Like PC points you can redeem them at point of purchase. 

You can also convert your Club Sobeys points into Esso Extra points, 2 Club Sobeys points for 1 Esso Extra point. Esso Extra points can be redeemed for free gas and car washes for example. You can also convert them to Aeroplan points, again 2 Club Sobeys points for 1 Aeroplan point. Aeroplan points can be redeemed for travel rewards like discounted flights and hotels. 

If you have a BMO Club Sobeys Master Card you'll earn twice the number of points than with a regular Club Sobeys card. If you don't want a credit card, you can sign up for a BMO Club Sobeys banking account. You won't get bonus points for every dollar you spend, but you can get bonus points if you set up automatic deposits on those accounts. Again, like the PC Master Card and bank account it can be a bit of a financial commitment, but if you do most of your grocery shopping at Sobeys, you could end up with some great rewards.

Pros: The points can be redeemed for a variety of things not just groceries. I like that they can be combined with Esso Extra or Aeroplan points. I also really like that just enrolling in the Club Sobeys program does not involve any financial commitment to the program, unlike PC.

Cons: It takes a long time to accumulate points. Without bonus points, you have to spend $725 to save $5. That's like an interest rate of 0.007%, if you want to look at it another way. Not all stores owned by this company accept Club Sobeys cards, generally only Sobey's does.

If You Shop At Metro

You should be collecting Air Miles. For every $20 you spend at Metro you'll get 1 Air Mile. They offer 3 options: Air Miles Cash, Air Miles Cash and Dreams, or Air Miles Dreams. Air Miles Cash can be redeemed for instant savings in-store. When you have 95 points in your cash balance you can redeem them in-store for instant $10 savings. Air Miles Dreams are accumulated and redeemed online or by mail. 

When you purchase certain products in-store you can earn bonus Air Miles.

Pros: Air Miles can be earned at more stores than just Metro so you can accumulate points faster. It doesn't cost anything to get an Air Miles card, so there is no obligation in joining. There are opportunities to earn bonus air miles.

Cons: It takes a long time to accumulate enough points to get good rewards. 

Conclusion

I've chosen to look at the reward programs for the grocery stores near me, but there are lots more grocery stores and rewards programs out there. So do some research, you have to buy groceries so why not get some rewards for doing it.