rewards program

Gift Giving Guidance That Won’t Turn You Into A Grinch

November 23, 2015 By Lena 25 Comments

I can’t believe I’m admitting this… but I’ve already succumbed to Black Friday sales.

Now, before you “tsk tsk” or otherwise tell me I’m a weak individual, you should know that I thought long and hard before I made the purchase. (Just kidding. I literally jumped online, bought the boots and then sent out a link to my friends so they too could score a great deal.)
shoes And while it was completely convenient for me to shop online on a Saturday morning in my pajamas, therein lies the dangers of online shopping: it’s simply too easy to spend money. If, for example, my girlfriend had told me about this sale in-store, I would have had to (1) decide if it was worth the trip, (2) get ready to face the cold, (3) find parking at the mall… okay, you get my drift. …

AIR MILES Onyx: Meet Your Personal Shopper

September 16, 2014 By Lena 46 Comments

From time to time, I get ridiculously excited and just have to share some shopaholic intel.

This is just like the time I uncovered those UGGs at 50% off. And almost better than that unadvertised Black Friday sale at Tory Burch. And it’s definitely as good as the Urban Barn Outlet in Scarborough. Now ladies and gentlemen… I’d like to introduce the Personal Shopper Service, available only to AIR MILES Onyx members.

But first, a refresher. The AIR MILES Onyx program is a way to thank their best Collectors with exclusive benefits. There’s no application process, or hoops you have to jump through, because you will automatically qualify for the AIR MILES Onyx program by earning at least 6,000 AIR MILES reward miles during one calendar year. Onyx members enjoy a variety of perks and special services, including greater access to airline seats, 20% fewer reward miles needed to redeem for seasonal activities, free movie passes to select films, special monthly giveaways, and more. And, in my humble opinion, the best benefit of all? Access to the personal shopper service.

(Let us all pause for a moment to pay homage to this shoppertunistic service.)

To fully understand the awesomeness, I’ll need to break it down for you. Now pay attention, because once you achieve Onyx status, you’ll want to take advantage of this tout de suite. Trust me.

First, the scenarios. Let’s just say you’re an AIR MILES Onyx Collector and have a bunch of reward miles in your Dream balance, but aren’t really sure how you should redeem them. You’ve perused the AIR MILES online catalogue, but you just can’t decide what to choose. You want to treat yourself, but aren’t sure if you want to part with your miles unless something really rocks your world.

In the second scenario, you are lusting after a pair of designer shoes. You are desperate to have them, but always talk yourself out of the purchase, because it seems like a lot of money, and you rationalize that it could be better put to use. You are an AIR MILES Onyx Collector, but strappy Sam Edelman sandals are not in the reward catalogue.

kate-upton for Sam Edelmen But what if you could use AIR MILES reward miles to “buy” merchandise that is NOT in the catalogue?

Welcome to The World of Onyx; specifically, the Personal Shopper Service.

Says AIR MILES: “We have a team dedicated to finding and getting you a variety of rewards outside of the online catalogue using reward miles from your Dream balance. Whether it’s the latest tablet for your daughter’s birthday or that designer watch you’ve had your eye on, we dare you to dream of new ways to be rewarded.” YES!!

…

AIR MILES Cash = Instant Gratification

June 16, 2014 By Lena 204 Comments

NOTE: The following giveaway is open to Canadians only.

Chances are, you participate in at least one rewards program you don’t quite understand.

How many reward miles equal a dollar? How are rewards applied? How do I earn reward miles? And most importantly… how the heck can I redeem them?

It can be *slightly* tricky, especially when you have to convert reward miles into dollars. Now for those saving up for a dream vacation, I suppose the learning curve is well worth it. But what if you’re an “in-the-moment” kind of person who wants instant gratification? That is, what if you want to simply earn, spend, and repeat? If this sounds like you – rejoice! AIR MILES Cash is right up your alley.

AIR MILES Cash

And now, there’s a NEW way to redeem with AIR MILES Cash! Not only can you redeem instantly in-store at participating Sponsors, but you can also redeem online, giving you even more flexibility and the chance to choose how your AIR MILES reward miles are redeemed.

(I’m an online shopaholic and I approve this redemption feature.)

The new AIR MILES Cash eVoucher feature makes it easy to take cash off everyday purchases like movie tickets, groceries, apps and music, cab rides or even your daily latte fix, thanks to a variety of popular participating partners. Here’s what you need to know:

1) First, sign up for AIR MILES Cash at www.airmiles.ca/cash and set a balance preference. Any reward miles earned going forward will be deposited in your AIR MILES Cash and/or Dream balances related to the preference you have set. For example, 100% Cash, 100% Dream, or a preference in between!

2) You must have at least 95 reward miles in your AIR MILES Cash balance in order to redeem. Ninety-five (95) reward miles from an AIR MILES Cash balance can be redeemed online for $10 or more worth of value at participating Reward Partners, or you can redeem right in-store at participating partners for cash off your bill. For example, if you have 960 miles in your AIR MILES Cash balance, you can redeem for eVouchers up to $100 in value (950 reward miles = $100 in eVoucher value). What did I tell you? Instant gratification.

3) You can redeem up to a maximum $750 value in eVouchers per day, across all eVoucher partners. …

Paper or Plastic? RBC & Shoppers Optimum Unite!

May 6, 2012 By Lena

I’m one of those gals who never carries more than $8 in cash at any given time. So used to whipping out my debit and Visa card, I rarely remember to carry “emergency money” (as my husband calls it) and often find myself struggling to find an RBC ATM, because I flatly refuse to pay avoidable banking fees. However, I always remember to tote along my loyalty cards (like Shoppers Drug Mart Optimum Points) because I fully believe in the shop-and-reward-yourself system. In fact, I’m not averse to doing a little more shopping to reap a few more rewards. It’s a win-win, no?

And so the NEW RBC Shoppers Optimum Banking Account suits me to a tee!

RBC and Shoppers Drug Mart have partnered to launch a Canada-wide program that makes it more convenient for Canadians to bank and earn rewards at Shoppers Drug Mart/Pharmaprix locations across the country. The program features a co-branded RBC Shoppers Optimum banking account and debit card with enhanced Shoppers Optimum rewards.

This news rocks! If you’re a frequent customer of SDM, you benefit in so many ways:

I love that you can exchange RBC Rewards points for Optimum points, making redemption for SDM goodies so much easier! And since many Canadian families depend on Shoppers Drug Mart for all their health and beauty, baby and household needs, it’s a match made in heaven.

So, you know that I rarely carry cash and protect my loyalty cards like they’re my offspring. Where do you fit in? RBC and Shoppers recently conducted a poll examining how Canadian men and women are using cash versus debit. Here are some of the key findings:

– Three-quarters of Canadian women (76%) typically carry $50 or less in their wallet compared to 66% of men.
– To keep cash in their wallets, men tend to use a bank machine up to twice a week (41%), compared to 33% of women (I cringe when I my husband uses a non-RBC ATM. Seriously, I scream at him).
– Almost three-in-ten women (28%) say they rarely or never withdraw cash, compared to 22% of men.
– Nine-in-ten women (89%) are part of a rewards program, slightly more than men (80%).

I can’t say I’m surprised at the findings – even though my husband holds two loyalty cards, I rarely see him whip them out, whereas I often hand over my loyalty card with my payment so I don’t forget to grab my points. With the new RBC Shoppers Optimum Banking Account, life just got a little more rewarding!

Disclosure: I was sent a gift card as a thank you for sharing details about the program. Any opinions expressed in this post are my own.