I'm a pretty big sucker for these loyalty rewards programs. Recently I've been trying to grind out Gold Star elite at Starbucks. To get a 'Starbucks Loyalty Card', just get a gift card and register it at Starbucks.com. Once you make 5 purchases you become "green level". The perks are actually quite good at green level. You can get syrups added to your coffee for free, and free refills on brewed coffees and teas. I'll usually bring my laptop and grind Starbucks for a while so I can get at least two refills on my visit. My usual is a tall medium-brewed coffee with caramel syrup added. [pro-tip: By default they give you '3 pumps' of syrup, but you can ask for more]. Without your card, the extra syrup would run you an extra 50 or 60 cents. And you get free refills on same store visits, which would normally be 54cents. So with my card, instead of spending $4+, my visit only costs $1.65+tax (at 55cents/cup of coffee, it's cheaper than McDonalds).
But here's where you can really get Jewy with your Starbucks card. You get a 'star' for every purchase you make, but it's not based on how much you spend or how many items you get. So sometimes I'll order a coffee and get a parfait. Well, if you just put it on your card and don't say anything you'll only get 1 star since it's only 1 purchase. In order to maximize your stars, just tell the barrista to separate it in to two purchases. And no, the barrista won't give you any attitude for doing this. It's an accepted practice, and if they say anything make sure you call corporate and complain. They'll likely give you a free drink for your trouble. There are other ways to get added Stars (some of which I'm pretty sure are frowned upon), but in the interest of not droning on and looking like a complete cheap Jew, I'll pass on talking about these more seedy practices that I may or may not engage in from time to time. Once you get to 30 stars you become "Gold Level" or as I call it "Gold Star Elite", in homage to the PokerStars loyalty program. Once you reach gold star you'll get a free drink of your choice (yes, go ahead and get one of their $8 drinks). And for every 15 stars you get after that you get a free drink. You'll also get a free drink coupon on your birthday (regardless of your star level). Once you reach Gold Star you'll get a personalized gold card mailed to you. I haven't confirmed this personally, but I heard a rumor that gold card members can slap the barristas in the face with their gold card without any type of negative repercussions.
Another loyalty card I recently discovered is the MyPanera card. Just ask a Panera associate for a card when you order and then you can register it online. As soon as you first register you'll get a 'free surprise'. For me it was a free pastry (I'm sure it's the same for everyone). Here's the aforementioned free treat I got:
(caption: They let me use my 'free pastry' towards a mufffin. In the background is my water cup filled with soda)
With a MyPanera card, instead of earning 'points' or anything like that, they simply give you free surprises every so often (based on how many times you've swiped your card). I've only used it twice so far but I already have a free drink on the card. From what I've read, they're actually pretty generous with giving out free rewards, and it's actually rare to not get a treat after swiping your card. They'll also give you offers like $1 off any drink, or something like that. I think free food (such as their delicious bread bowl soups) would be rare, but free coffee's, pastries, etc are the norm. And if you go to Panera, but forget your Panera card, you can enter the code on your receipt and get credit for that visit.
What loyalty programs are you a part of? Which give the best rewards? On a scale of 1 to 10, how cheap of a Jew am I?
PLOL, BRINGING THE HITS to the PFA forums.