Take advantage of free programs

Marketing these days can be annoying - especially SPAM and telemarketing. However, there are some legitimate programs that you can take advantage of. Most of these are of the loyalty variety such as American's Advantage or Tom Thumb's Rewards Card. These typically cost you nothing, and they reward you for doing what you already do. So what's the catch?

While we do receive benefit from these programs, companies don't do it out of the goodness of their heart either. Every program that has a card has some sort of unique number associated with it, and the company has your personal information tied to that number - typically name, address, e-mail address, and maybe phone number. In order to earn program points, you have to present your card or give your number at purchase time. This allows the company to track your purchase behavior. Typically what you will see as a result is marketing that is targeted to you based on your purchase behavior, and you can usually control the frequency and delivery channel by which you receive it. With major, reputable companies it is usually a symbiotic relationship.

One of my favorite loyalty programs is Borders Rewards. If you know me very well, you know that reading is my major hobby. You essentially bingo every for every $150 you spend, and your prize is $5 in Borders Bucks. In addition, you can sign up for a weekly e-mail with discount coupons for sometimes up to 30% off a single item.

I think that this was really a survival strategy for Borders. Why would people stop by and pay full price for books when they can order them online from the convenience of their own home at a steep discount? I like to thumb through books before I buy them, but I would sometimes skip this to save money. Or other times I would look at the book at Borders and then go home to see how much it was online. Borders and other "brick and mortar" stores were in some ways becoming fancy libraries. However when I can slap down a 30% off coupon at the checkout, I am much less likely to shop at Borders and buy elsewhere.

Don't get me wrong. I still buy a fair amount of my books online at a greater discount. On most sites like Amazon, you still don't have to pay taxes so that is still an advantage. What Borders has done, though, is manage to take back about half of my spending on books. I would say that their program has been a success on me at least.

So look around, and make sure that you are not missing out on loyalty program benefits. For the major companies, all you are doing is helping them do a better job of giving you what you want.

Until next time...
PH