Do you have a favorite rewards program? My favorite rewards program is Starbucks Rewards. I initially joined because you needed to spend at least $5 per couple of months to use the wifi. Now, the wifi is free, but I still keep up my membership. When you join, you get a free reward as a birthday gift. Each year you will receive a free birthday reward good for any drink or food purchases. I also get great coupons and other perks throughout the year. My favorite part of the program is that I get a reward after I earn 12 stars. You get a star with each purchase.
My favorite rewards program is Shoppers Optimum. I've been a member of this program for over several years to date now. The main aspect I like about it is that you get points for almost everything that you buy in the store and they can accumulate quite well and go towards nice discounts for when you could really use one. The only thing that's a bit of a pet peeve is that over the years, they've heightened the amount of points you have to possess to redeem a discount. But they do have big points promotions, so I'm not too fussy about it.
I'm not part of any rewards programs like that because I don't spend enough anywhere. I have a punch card for a local coffee shop, but I've chickened out of going the last 3 weeks in a row. I just can't stomach spending as much on a cup of coffee as I would 2 pounds of dry beans, even though I love to sit there and enjoy the atmosphere.
Kmart used to have this rewards programs for gamers that was amazing. By the time, you optimized the different discounts and coupons, you were sometimes able to take three games out of the store for the price of one. It was amazing. Kmart in general, used to have a much better Shop Your Way program. They would have these double points days and you could come back the next week or whenever and practically have them buy all of your subsequent purchases. Right now, the best one is Walgreens', but the earning power isn't as universal or consistent as Kmart's was. However, when you do get to $5 or more in your rewards, it does help being able to knock that off your bill as Walgreens isn't exactly the most reasonably priced store.
