Just got back from grocery shopping, total bill before rewards card $79.70. Total actually paid after card usage, $56.29. Of course a good chunk of that was the $15 roast I got for 5 bucks. 
Mmmm…FlavorAid.
yes I know, but it feels good.
So if the market could make a profit off of you, think of how much they have boosted the prices for the other dudes. They’ve gotta make it up somewhere; they ain’t no charity.
So? Screw the other dudes. I got a reward card too! 
The market makes a profit off of the guy who buys 1 single rolls of paper towels, a 4 pack of toilet paper, and a single can of full priced shaving cream.
Also makes a profit off of the 10-15% of bozos who don’t get a card. Seriously, if you’re worried about your spending habits being tracked, make shit up. I know I have before on my rewards cards.
ETA: Antinor01, I forgot to mention…that’s impressive. I bow before you.
Everyone has a rewards card. When I go to a different store and say I “forgot” my card, the cashier just pulls one out and swipes it. The only reason I ever use my own card is because Safeway used to give me airline miles and still gives me 10 cents a gallon off gas.
I got a coupon for $3 off my next purchase thanks to a reward card. (It was left behind by the previous customer. )
I was raised by a coupon shopper long before the rewards card days. Thrift stores, bargain shopping, Aldi and all that good stuff. I’m turning into my mother I tell ya, I even called her tonight to tell her about the $5 roast.
I do, I do. Nothing on my card data is accurate, including the name and address. They fuck with my prices; I can fuck with their demographics.
I effing hate those stupid reward cards, but I will exercise superhuman restraint and not go off about them here. I used to make it a point to avoid any store that had them, but where I live now there are no cardless options around.
So I make my wife do the shopping. 
When I worked at Safeway we would always know what products were going to be on sale because the prices of those items would go up the week before. Their profit margin remains the same.
Under 30% savings? I’m not impressed…
Now when I managed to hit them up with buy one, get one free babybacks and buy 2 cases of Diet Dew, get 3 free, as well as all the standard offers, THAT was a day worth bragging about.
My loal grocery had a four day savings of Weight Watchers frozen meals–$1.69 each with PricePlus, plus you got a coupon for %5 off your next order if you bought five.
I now have 35 WW meals in my freezer, 30 of whixh I paid 69 cents for, and the last coupon for $5 off in my wallet. I’d bought more, but the freezer and my stomach were both full.
Please address me as Beverly Cleary. I live at 517 Tumbling Tall Trees Lane in Pixietown, Rhode Island.
I really don’t understand the urge that some people have to mess with the demographic info that the store collects or whatever. I mean, it doesn’t bother me; screw with them all you want, if that’s your gig. I just don’t understand it. I use my shopper’s card and usually along with my receipt, the machine spits out a few coupons for stuff that I typically buy. Oh noes? I’m not sure why I am supposed to be upset or fearful about this.
We have a Lucky’s near us with no rewards cards. Also, no service, no checkers who they trust to do anything but scan, and most of the time no products supposedly on sale. I’ll take Safeway with the card any day.
We have 19 bags of coffee stored away from when it was $2 off the normal club price. And no, it did not go up before - we monitor these things. We average 25 - 35% savings, but we build menus around the sales and buy in bulk.
My shopping rewards card gives me 10 cents off per gallon of gas (at a specific chain) for every $50 spent on groceries.
My parents and I share a card, and none of us drive all that much, so we end up getting 40 cents to a dollar off per gallon every time we fill up. Our last receipt noted that we saved $255 off gas in the past 12 months.
Now you somehow get “points” the other way - percentages off grocery bills based on how much gas you buy. I’m not sure how it works but I get a few bucks off every time I shop.
Whoever came up with this whole scheme is a genius. I am very consciously a loyal customer. I will shop at this store every time for gas points instead of going to a cheaper place.
I hate all the games Safeway plays with marketing, too, but it’s the way the world works these days. I know Safeway is one of the most expensive grocery stores around, but since I have room in my house, I can take advantage of the two for one sales, buy two get more off, clearance stuff, price reduced for immediate sale, etc., and with careful shopping, I don’t think (in the long run) I’m paying more than if I shopped at a bargain centre with no service. I’m not a fool, either - I don’t buy things that we will never use - two for one widgets when we don’t use widgets does me no good. I’m a long-view shopper - I have a good idea of the inventory in my house, how often we need things, what we use, and I take advantage of every relevant sale.
Also, I’m not sure about all products, but I’m fairly sure that some products at Safeway are slightly more expensive, but much better quality than bargain centre products.
Because I know exactly how insecure the system is. You can simply type in a person’s name and come up with their whole spending history and address and telephone number. I don’t want people to know where I live. I’ve been followed home from the grocery store before - what’s to stop the guy from getting a job and tracking me down at my home address? My stupid (thankfully now old) boss over the summer came to my damn house. Luckily, I use a mailbox address instead of my real one for all mail, so there he was at a Mailboxes Etc.
Loyalty card usage and privacy. Third party usage low, but other uses exist.
Excerpt:
"The federal Financial Services Modernization Act, also known as the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLB), enables financial institutions to affiliate with insurance companies and brokerage firms. (15 U.S.C. sections 6801-6810) The law requires financial institutions to provide their customers the ability to opt-out of the disclosure of customer data to third parties. But the law does not require that an opt-out opportunity be provided for affiliate sharing of customer data.
Therefore, financial “supermarkets” have the potential to compile customer profiles comprised of the records of all their affiliate companies. Consider the comprehensiveness and sensitivity of the data that can be compiled on customers when they transact business with their banks, credit card companies, stock brokers and insurance companies. The customer profiles that potentially can be created by these institutions are extraordinarily robust."