While reviewing my finances today, I decided to take a closer look at my PC Points account – in a random discussion last night, Tom was interested to know when my Mastercard PC points get applied, at purchase or at statement date. The answer to that question is “around statement date, in this case the Friday before my statement was sent”.
But I discovered two rather interesting facts:
- I’m given a LOT of bonus points, in intervals of 50 or 100. I don’t really know WHAT these bonus points are, or what they’re for, but I’m pretty sure it’s not caused by using my PC Green Bags, those get rolled up into the total points per transaction.
- I’ve been able to cash my points once per month for $20 of free groceries.
A free $20 per month of food! I knew I was getting a good deal with the points, but I didn’t think it was THAT great of a deal! And it’s all thanks to my PC Mastercard. By using that card for regular purchases as well as non-Loblaws grocery store purchases, I’m raking in thousands of points. In fact, my recent Mastercard points addition was a shocking 15,000 points, which is pretty darn close to the 20,000 required for the $20 redemption. Of course, this is with me paying off the card in full every month (or so), so those who don’t have a stellar spending habit might have varied results.
I used to be a credit card poo-pooer, but in light of this analysis, I’ve realized that it’s a much better strategy to charge everything to my card, and pay it off immediately. That way I get points for EVERY purchase, everywhere!
Money doesn’t grow on trees, but it seems I’ve found a nice and tidy way to get the most bang for my buck.