The best loyalty/VIP/membership programs/cards in Australia?

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  retiredfeline on 11/01/2013 - 10:30

  Simple ones like coffee cards from the local barista work best for me. Most of the rest I don't buy enough of.

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  neil on 11/01/2013 - 12:06

  They are all worth it if you are not required to do anything additional to reep the rewards.
  Woolworths, I accrue points but have yet to get anything. Coles on the other hand, I get a Flybuys credit every few months. You don't accrue anything with the IKEA family card. Pretty useless.

  Some other that you missed.
  Myer One - Adds up for the big purchases. I believe they also send you a gift card on your birthday.
  Mad Mex - Well since you mentioned Mexican. I currently have a full card in my wallet, just need to collect my burrito.
  MyPoints - Been with them since '99. US based online rewards company where you get rewards by shopping, clicking emails.

  I've always been skeptical about the Entertainment book but it didn't take me long to profit from getting a membership. Once the ING thingo expires in June, I'll have to start buying discount supermarket cards again.

  • 

    [Deactivated] on 11/01/2013 - 19:40

    +1

    We'll be stocking up on gift cards with our ING card during June.
    especially coles-myer (as they're hard to get a good discount on).

  • 

    endotherm on 11/01/2013 - 20:52

    +1

    You're being pretty hard on Ikea. I find it's pretty good, with free drinks every time I go. And there are better prices on various items you buy instore, e.g. $1-$2 off a pack of alkaline batteries. http://www.ikea.com/au/en/search/?query=alkaline%20battery

    According to their website it gets you:

    Great IKEA FAMILY offers at the IKEA Restaurant including 50% off a selected main meal
    Exclusive savings on lots of products
    Free hot drinks Monday to Friday
    An entry into our weekly $250 IKEA gift card draw every time you swipe
    Exclusive seminars and events
    10c donated† to charity every time you swipe your card
    IKEA FAMILY discounts in the IKEA Swedish Food Market
    Free store to home insurance
    Extended 12 month return policy
    live magazine from IKEA FAMILY online
    Exclusive access to our online gift card store
    Create and decorate your own homepage
    Ask any questions you like and have experts answer them
    Read advice on anything you like

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  sparkles on 11/01/2013 - 13:35

  Coles has been worthwhile - recently received coupons in the mail for $10 off a weekly shop of $50 for about 6 weeks. Other people who spend more apparently got $20 off a $50 shop.

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  endotherm on 11/01/2013 - 14:12

  +1

  Super Cheap Auto Club Plus - I've already saved over $30 from just a couple of purchases in the last month.
  CGU Privilege Card/Presidential Card - for having insurance with CGU, savings on hotels, theme parks and attractions, cruises, movies etc. 5% - 10% off gift cards (e.g. Coles, Woolworths, Rivers, Just Jeans…)
  RACV - I use it for discounts at Repco, discounts on IMAX movies etc.

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  holdenmg on 11/01/2013 - 22:01

  http://www.hudsonscoffee.com.au/rewards

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  whitearray on 13/01/2013 - 22:57

  Myer One is good,
  Coles is good, especially as you get discounts for petrol and they send you discount vouchers for grocery shopping as well.
  RACV is useful for getting member discounts
  IKEA gets you some savings but considering we don't buy much furniture, and the smaller cheap stuff is usually crap, it's not worthwhile either.
  Another good one is Priceline. You accummulate discounts every time you spend. Even if you're not a chick you can buy toiletries from there and it'll get you points and save you money.
  Jeanswest is good as well - you get 5-15% off full priced items depending on how much you spend each year. Even if you spend a little (less than $150) you get at least 5% off your next purchase, but on full priced items only. http://jeanswest.com.au/rewards-card
  ChemistWarehouse is good. It doesn't let you accumulate points but if you sign up, they'll donate a percentage from your bill to charity. Plus, the stuff they sell is usually cheaper than other pharmacies. https://www.chemistwarehouse.com.au/Friends/WhyUs.aspx

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  zzyss on 15/01/2013 - 09:27

  I have a wallet dedicated entirely to these! Most have been mentioned already, some less obvious ones:

  Howards Inspirations (Howards Storage World) - $10 on sign-up, pretty dismal after that (5% after $200 spend, IIRC)
  Nespresso Club - nothing, but some members claim to have been sent complimentary capsules
  EB World - for gamers that shop at EB Games. Only good if you waste a lot of money to achieve the higher tiers
  Easyway/Chatime/etc. (like coffee shop rewards) usually works to be < 10% value (e.g. buy 10 get 1 free)

  Surprised no-one has mentioned the cinema ones:
  Cinebuzz
  Reading Reel Club
  Hoyts Rewards

  Other programs that function similar to Entertainment Book
  Ambassador Card (and 3rd party derivatives like Rewards Central)
  Presidential Card

  Lastly, if Qantas is in there, then maybe also consider credit card reward schemes?
  Amex Ascent & others
  Westpac Altitude
  Citibank Rewards
  etc.

  … but that's a whole other kettle of fish!

  • 

    phamid on 24/01/2013 - 08:37

    Amex Ascent (Membership Rewards) is pretty good. I would recommend the Platinum Edge card for the 3-2-1 point structure, otherwise the Gold Ascent for the no annual fee.

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  rekabkram on 26/01/2013 - 03:40

  +2

  The Entertainment Book - Literally pays for itself so long as you shop at a place that accepts Coles or Wish gift cards. Saving 5% per $100 on groceries, petrol and so on.
  Helpful tip, keep check of what gift cards are sold at Coles and Safeway, I regularly purchase gift cards with my Coles branded gift cards. This can get me 5% off at Bunnings Warehouse, Coles Express (petrol) and many others.

  The $11-some movie vouchers are also a good pickup.

  Woolworths everyday - The only useful thing is that it stores your petrol dockets for you so your wallet doesn't overflow with a thousand out of date receipts. Their rewards program is useless.

  Flybuys - So long as you never ever go out of your way to buy things just for flybuys this is a great rewards system. They also send out coupons for 500 bonus if you spend x amount which can help your points total grow quickly if your spending there anyway.
  I have a Mix clothing at my local store which helps me save as well because I use my flybuys points to buy a bunch of my wife's and daughters clothing. They always have items on sale so for example just today I purchased 3 x girls t-shirts (my 3 year old) a jacket for my wife and a pair of pj pants for my wife - Sale price was $24 for the lot but I had a $20 off mix coupon (2000 flybuys, double the standard offer) so it only cost me $4. From a regular price of $47.

  Wrapp - Not so much a rewards program as a free gift card program (available on Facebook, iOS and android). Styletread $15, Surfstitch $10, Mossimo $10, themensshop $5 and more (that I don't really use) and they are free.
  They update every few weeks so I keep a habit of checking once a week to see if I can send any more gift cards, I send them to my parents, wife, family members and friends. Any that they don't use they redeem and give them to me to use.
  When coupled with sale items I've been able to seriously cut down on my wife's shoes cost (scouring styletreads sales) and get dozens of items for little or no cost.

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  whitearray on 26/04/2013 - 13:25

  Also just got a coffee club membership… buy one get one free hot drinks!

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  2ndeffort on 26/04/2013 - 15:44

  I travel a fair bit with work and reward programs are essential:

  Velocity (virgin) is great if you can get to Gold level at least. You get free entry to the lounges and you get priority boarding onto the plane. Pri boarding is great if you travel light and avoid checking your bags as being one of the 1st onto the plane you get plenty of access to overhead bins for storing your bags. I have a stack of points that I save up and use for family holdays.

  Qantas works well for me as I try to get as many things giving me QFF points as I can, hire cars hotels etc. I normally get enough in a year for me to get an overseas flight every Feb for a ski holiday with a couple of my mates. Gold membership gets you Qantas Club, Platinum gets you the Business lounge and pri boarding. All 1st world stuff but very handy if you travel a lot.

  Marriott Rewards and HHonours gold memberships get you free internet in your hotel room plus normally they get you entry to the exec floor of the hotel. The exec lounge is basically a free lounge room with free internet food and drink. Exec lounge is great for kicking back when you are away on a business trip.

  I also have a range of other hotel, hire car etc programs. What i have found is that it is best to consolidate your points into 1 if you can. For example I am a member of Avis, Hertz programs but rather than saving up for a free rental I have all their points go towards QFF points, same with Marriott, Novotel, Hilton etc.

  I get QFF points from the Everyday Rewards scheme as well. I never use these points for anything other than tipping them into the kitty for my next Ski Trip.

  I never buy anything for the points alone. Almost all of my points from the programs above ome from work related travel almost always paid for by work.