How I Saved $37.20 On My $150 Grocery Bill

I signed up for PC Plus program in 2013 when the point-based loyalty card was launched by Presidents Choice. The PC Plus card has been my best tool at saving money on groceries that I buy on a weekly basis. Offers are tailored to your past purchases, and when combined with sale items, this provides huge savings.

Every Thursday at 12:01 am, new offers are loaded to PC Plus cards showing weekly offers for certain products. Every 10 PC Plus points is worth 1 cent, so 20,000 points is worth $20 cash back (which can be redeemed on a subsequent purchase). Points can be redeemed at participating stores including Superstore (where I shop frequently), Extra Foods, Independent, Loblaws, and other participating stores. You can also earn PC Plus points at participating Gas Bars (this would essentially replace Superbucks).

How I saved $37.20

In early August, Superstore offered PC Plus points for purchase of Pampers diapers. For every $25 I spent on Pampers, I received 5,000 PC Plus points (worth $5 in future purchase). In addition, I received a bonus offer which gave me 5,000 points for every $50 I spent.

I combined the two PC Plus offers with a sale on Pampers at $30.19/box and rounded out my purchase with some groceries. In total, I was able to receive 37,200 points (worth $37.20 in future purchase) on top of already on sale items.

Here's how I got my 37,200 points:

4 boxes of Pampers (Size 4 - 156 count) - 20,000 points (5,000 points for every $20 spent)
Zucchini - 2000 points (400 points for every $1 spent)
Cucumber (3 pack) - 200 points (200 points for every purchase)
Bonus offer - 15,000 points (5,000 points for every $50 spent, not shown)

Scan your PC Plus card when you are at the till. You should see "Welcome Card #" at the top.

If you are interested in signing up to start saving, go to PC Plus.

NOTE

• Once you have signed up, you need to make sure you click on a button that says "Load All Offers To My Card". You need to load the offers each week before you go shopping. Otherwise, your purchases will not earn you any PC Plus points.

TIP: Make sure to load your offers every Thursday!

• Click on each offer to read the fine print on the details of each offer (size, count or purchase required and the offer expiry). Make sure you buy the right product as the points are awarded automatically based on the specific product code.

600 PC Plus points ($0.60 off) for purchase towards Palmolive dish soap (Size restriction: offer only for 1.1 litres)

• Check your points on your receipt before you leave the store. If you are missing any PC Plus points, and you have purchased the correct item, call PC Plus at 1-855-6PC-PLUS (672-7587) or use the points inquiry on the PC Plus page. (I was missing my 15,000 bonus points which was added on afterwards by PC Plus customer service. More on this in my next post).

Here is what the weekly offers look like (these offers are only valid for your card):

Once you load your offers, it will have a check mark next to the word "Loaded". Click on the offer to see specific details.

I may have a caffeine problem with all these offers on coffee.

TIP

• Download the PC Plus app to your smartphone (not required but nice to have when you go shopping)
• Load your offers each Thursday morning. PC Plus sends out an email every Thursday to remind you to load your offers.
• Check your local flyers and combine PC Plus offers with sale items (when possible)
• Most PC Plus offers do not have a quantity restrictions. However, at the store level, there may be quantity restrictions on certain sale items
• Shop frequently at participating stores to get the best selection of offers
• Shop earlier in the day to get the best selection of sale items
• Look for in-store point offers (which are available to all PC Plus card holders)
• Use the offers frequently as it becomes more tailored to your purchases (I get PC Plus offers on bananas every week)
• The best is to combine PC Plus points with other coupons (in-store, manufacturer, Checkout 51, SnapSave, coupons from Websaver and Save.ca - more on this on a subsequent post)
• PC Financial customers can link their PC Plus card to their PC credit card to earn even more points. Did you know you get 50 points (5 cents back) for every reusable bag you bring in?

For more information about the PC Plus program, visit the PC Plus FAQ page.

Disclosure: I was not compensated or asked by Presidents Choice or its affiliates to write this post. All opinions are my own.