Rip Off `loyalty card` schemes for major stores!

Okay guys, you know what i mean costa coffe, subway, starbucks, boots all the big stores have loyalty card schemes its the same in the U.S

However, have you stopped and realised how ridiculous and pitful they are?

For example subway........

subcard.subway.co.uk...

--- for every transaction in the UK or Northern Ireland you will receive 1 point for every 10p spent
--- 500 points can be redeemed for a regular 6" Sub, flatbread or salad and with 1000 points you can redeem for a regular 12" Sub or flatbread.

Hmm, so that means 1 pound is 10 points


So 50 pounds to `earn` back a small 3 pound sub?
And 100 pounds to get a foot long baguetee sized sub?

Seriously?

And the funny thing is, this scheme is actually generous,


www.liberty.co.uk...

£5 voucher when you spend £150
£10 voucher when you spend £250
£25 voucher when you spend £500

I hate how these companies advertise their loyalty schemes as being these awesome value amazing fun things to do, when they are actually stingy, miserly and pretty pitful really.

Anyone name some other culprits?

a reply to: uninfluenced

Are they really scamming you?

Do you visit the store only because they have a loyalty card? It's an incentive to be a return customer but I don't see how they're being dishonest or ripping you off.

Nobody is forcing you to visit the store or sign up for the program.

Sounds like a bitch fest.

You know what is even more ridiculous ? those loyalty card so called benefits are paid by ALL customers in product prices.

originally posted by: dollukka
You know what is even more ridiculous ? those loyalty card so called benefits are paid by ALL customers in product prices.

?

You pay for the products taken by shoplifters.

What's your point?

Why did you put this in survival section???
Pure rant

a reply to: minusinfinity

Those are pretty useless and are made only to build up company imago as a "fair customer friendly place" . Yes we pay that imago boost in prices as we do pay of the waste they produce also lost what comes from shoplifting is in the prices . Only one who really benefits from this is the company itself.

Got nothing to do with loyalty, got everything to do with knowing where you spend your money. I refuse all such schemes, I'd rather have my privacy than a free coffee.

a reply to: uninfluenced

They also make money from the data they collect from your shopping habits. Which is why I don't use any type of loyalty card and pay by cash whenever possible.

You should buy the loss leading products so they don't make a profit from you.

I have 1 loyalty card, it's a paper one and they stamp it everytime I buy a coffee, after 10 stamps I get a free coffee.
I didn't have to divulge any information and I love the coffee from this chain than their larger neighbours so was going to purchase them anyway, I just get a free 1 after 10 purchases.

I don't feel ripped off and am happy they reward a customer who prefers their brand anyway.
The company is called Caffe Nero, much better than starbucks and costa by a mile.

originally posted by: minusinfinity
a reply to: uninfluenced

Are they really scamming you?

Do you visit the store only because they have a loyalty card? It's an incentive to be a return customer but I don't see how they're being dishonest or ripping you off.

Nobody is forcing you to visit the store or sign up for the program.

Sounds like a bitch fest.

I realise it is something for nothing

But they glamourise it and sensationalise it as if its fantastic value (like buy 5 drinks get a 6th free) kinda thing
when its nothing like that

its deceitful

All stores, banks, you name it, have genius marketing schemes .
It's your fault for falling for it.
Read the fine print next time.

If a free sub has no value to you then why bother collecting points?


I like my Visa card points because I trade it in for merchandise that has value to me. I don't have any use for air miles. I never use my card for the sole purpose of accumulating points though. I would have used it anyways.

Some loyalty cards are good. The Body Shop boutique for example. You have to figure out if it has value to you personally, not just shop there to get points.


It's the same with gift cards. They often aren't used and it's a billion dollar industry.

originally posted by: uninfluenced

originally posted by: minusinfinity
a reply to: uninfluenced

Are they really scamming you?

Do you visit the store only because they have a loyalty card? It's an incentive to be a return customer but I don't see how they're being dishonest or ripping you off.

Nobody is forcing you to visit the store or sign up for the program.

Sounds like a bitch fest.

I realise it is something for nothing

But they glamourise it and sensationalise it as if its fantastic value (like buy 5 drinks get a 6th free) kinda thing
when its nothing like that

its deceitful

It's only deceitful to you because you aren't reading what it truly entails. It's right there if you look, you know. It's worded very carefully to look great ( big letters) but it also states what it entails. That's where you need to do the math to find out it really isn't.

I have a thought to consider about the free stuff and free nature of the loyalty cards....

When next you're in an interrogation setting or being questioned by federal agents...and they inquire about your shopping habits with intimate knowledge of what you buy, where you buy it, how often and how much you consume of any given thing as well as how they think all that might be relevant?

You'll know what the cost was for the "Loyalty" Cards. They used to spend MILLIONS to get that consumer data built up.

Nothing is ever free...and those are some of the most expensive scams I've ever seen. Needless to say, I'm civil but not even friendly about declining the "free card" when offered. If I wanted to be tracked like a rat in a lab, I'd wear a GPS and give them the codes to it.

a reply to: uninfluenced

Someone above called this a rant. I agree with them but I also agree with you. These companies all have well paid merchandisers who in many cases have taken training in psychology and believe they know how to manipulate consumers. The key world here is consumer.

These sales promotions are not aimed at a thinking populace. They are aimed at the mindless consumer. These mindless consumers are a large enough segment of the population that they can be guided by statistical computing. What is being sold is not so much the product, but rather the sense of belonging and familiarity. Trust. Being part of the family. Its all part of the buy buy buy and consume consume and consume mentality which is the bedrock of western economics.

a reply to: uninfluenced

It is not deceitful. You are told what you get and when you get it. Up front. If it is deceitful it is due to a lack of desire to perform very simple math.

Really. They tell you everything up front, and are still giving you a "freebie". How does this bother you so much?

a reply to: mclarenmp4
I have some later cards that get stamped for items I was buying anyways. If I buy my favourite beauty product at London Drugs , after 10 items purchased, I get one free. Was buying it anyways and the free item can be any dollar amount. This stuff is expensive, so I can get the super expensive item free. It's worthwhile to me. If I was just buying this stuff to get the free item, it would be stupid

a reply to: violet

Exactly. And I normally buy a medium coffee but for my free 1 I always take a large, may as well it's free.

originally posted by: mclarenmp4
I have 1 loyalty card, it's a paper one and they stamp it everytime I buy a coffee, after 10 stamps I get a free coffee.
I didn't have to divulge any information
The company is called Caffe Nero.

Now thats how it should be!

I use loyalty cards for the benefit that is offered from said card. It is not a scam, and you can also with most cards use them without divulging any information, and you can even take it one step further by paying cash. This is a rant and has nothing to do with survival as other posters have pointed out.

Lol, Subway "scammed" you by offering you a 6% return on your usual purchases? OMG THE HUMANITY! THiNK OF THE CHILDREN!

Dramatic eh.

Reminds of me coupons that entice you with something FREE*, free of course being only if you buy something else that basically negates the savings of the free thing in the first place.

"Woo-hoo, I got a free soda, even though I payed more to get it than I would have if I'd just bought it in the first place!"