Shoppers Drugmart – A how to for maximizing your Optimum points!

If you’re new to the Shopper’s Optimum program or want to really benefit from the program, here are some of my top tips. Over the years we have cashed in our points for many free grocery trips, as well as entire xmas shops, most of the electronics we own etc.  It can really pay out if you pay attention and just follow a few simple steps.

1 – Sign up for an Optimum card if you haven’t – easy way to start. But if you already have a card make sure your info is up to date and you are registered by email and mailing address properly. They send out a lot of emails for bonus points, bonus points days and coupons in the mail too for extra points, special product points etc.  Just this one step can earn you a ton of points.

2 – Every few weeks they have 20x days, shop on these when you need groceries and household items. Check their flyers too if you’re buying something big, they often have good sale prices and you can earn a lot. The stores all carry different stock so get to know your store – our store has had mini fridges, printers, fire pits…lots of things you wouldn’t expect. You usually earn back 1/4 to 1/3 of what you spend on these days in Optimum points, so it adds up very quickly.

3 – Anytime you shop keep an eye out for bonus points on certain items – might be a buy 2 get 1000 points, or a coupon with a buy this get these many points. This can add up quickly, and if it’s something you use a lot of time to stock up. I’ve found points on items they’re clearing out and really scored big. And find out where the clearance area is in your store – most have one or bring out racks. At my store it’s at the back near the post office, sometimes there’s not much but sometimes you find some amazing deals. Every once in a while they bring out the racks at the front too with amazing deals.

4 – Whether you’re shopping or redeeming, buy a Shopper’s Drugmart gift card to pay for your purchases. You earn a bit of points buying the giftcards for their store, every little bit helps.

5 – When it’s time to redeem, plan it out. Wait for a bonus reward weekend – which means they’re offering more $$$ for your points. They have these quite often so I find it well worth it to wait and get the extra. If there’s something you really want on sale, you can just cash in your points whenever you want. The levels are right on their site, and also on the back of your receipt.

6 – When you’re redeeming it’s a great time to use coupons and shop for clearance and sale stuff too. It’s all free anyway, you can stretch it out a lot further that way. Remember that when you redeem you will still have to pay the taxes on top, and that your total needs to be above what you want to redeem before the taxes.  And if there’s a big redemption weekend and you don’t have quite enough points, you can transfer points from card to card so you can ask a friend or family member to bump you up and just repay them – it’s super easy to do and it’s automatic on the site.

I’ve found this to be one of the best points programs out there. They have really great prices on a lot of stuff, and earning the shopping sprees is great too! I usually save mine for xmas time, but last weekend they had a mega points redemption so I cashed in 25,000 points which was worth $50 ($16 extra). I went in with my regular grocery list, got most things on it (saving me $$ on my regular shop) and a bunch of extra stuff to stock up on and clearance, filled my shopping cart and after coupons and sales I only had to pay $3.07 out of pocket! It doesn’t take long to accumulate the points either – and if it’s slow team up with a friend or family member and save up for xmas time!

What are your best tips for Shoppers Optimum shopping? What are the best deals you’ve found or your best redemptions?