February 1st marked the official launch date of the new PC Optimum loyalty reward program. I was one of the lucky few in attendance at the launch party last week to celebrate this momentous occasion.
This is the reward program merger cardholders have been anticipating for years. Loblaw and Shoppers Drug Mart made the announcement late last year that PC Plus and Shoppers Optimum were coming together as one loyalty reward program.
As a loyal PC Mastercard credit card holder for many years, at first I was worried when I heard the big announcement. What would this mean for the reward program that I know and love? Whenever there’s a big change in the reward program space, it seems to be for the worse rather than the better. I’m happy to say that my concerns were unfounded.
The new PC Optimum Program looks a lot like the PC Plus and Shoppers Optimum programs of old, but better. Instead of only being able to earn PC Plus rewards at Loblaw banner stores and Shoppers Optimum points at Shoppers Drug Mart banner stores, you’re now able to earn and redeem points at almost 2,500 different stores and shopping websites across Canada.
A Much-Anticipated Merger
At the PC Optimum launch party in Forest Hill, Toronto.
The merger of PC Plus and Shoppers Optimum has been speculated about ever since Loblaw bought Shoppers Drug Mart in 2014.
Both programs were a hit with cardholders in their own right. The PC points program had an impressive 11 million members, while the Shoppers Optimum program had 8 million members. (And about half of the combined 19 million members were enrolled in both programs.)
PC Plus and Shoppers Optimum were so popular largely due to the simplicity in earnings and redeeming points. Under the new PC Optimum program, that same simplicity remains intact. 20,000 points is still equal to $20.
Registering for the New Program
The new PC Optimum program is “sweet” – just like this cookie I got at the launch party!
If you’re a cardholder of the PC Plus or Shoppers Optimum programs, switching over to the new PC Optimum program is easy. Your points should be automatically transferred over. All you’ll need to do is visit the new PC Optimum website to set up a PC ID. Alternatively, you can do the switchover in person by visiting a Loblaw or Shoppers Drug Mart banner store and exchanging your old card(s) for a new PC Optimum card.
Registering for the new program online is simple. I did it myself last week. You can link up your old PC Plus, Optimum or PC Financial card by entering your old card number. Once your new PC Optimum account has been created, you’ll see a breakdown of the conversion of your old points to the new program, along with the dollar value.
Although there were complaints last week that the mobile app and website were running into issues (this is likely due to the server crashing from high demand), I registered for the new program online Friday night and ran into no such issues.
Earnings Points Under the New Program
While your points will retain their value under the new program, it’s still slightly easier to earn reward points at Shoppers Drug Mart than it is at Loblaw. At Shoppers, you’ll still earn points based on almost every dollar you spend, but the base earn goes up by 50% from 10 points per dollar to 15 points per dollar. (That means that if you spent more than $50 at Saturday’s 20x event at Shoppers, it translates into 30% back in points. Very exciting!)
At Loblaw and participating stores, you’ll get personalized offers you can earn points from based on your shopping habits. For example, if you buy bananas and granola bars almost every week, you’re more likely to see point offers for these.
If there’s one downside to the merger, it’s that if you’re a Simplii Financial cardholder (formerly PC Financial), you’ll no longer be able to earns points on your debit card for purchases made at Loblaw and Shopper Drug Mart banner stores. But besides that, the new program is absolutely superb!
Sean Cooper is the bestselling author of the book, Burn Your Mortgage: The Simple, Powerful Path to Financial Freedom for Canadians, available now on Amazon and at Chapters, Indigo and major bookstores, and as an Audiobook on Amazon, Audible and iTunes.
Hi Sean,
Thanks for all your very helpful information on such a wide variety of topics. I subscribe to your emails and read each one.
Just to share with you my recent experience with the new PCOPTIMUM Program. I have merged my cards . My offered that I loaded today are significantly reduced in terms of value an example is : previously I would earn 1000 points for every bag of PC Organic frozen fruit. Today the offer is , 800 points for every $4 spent . Mary’s Crackers previously were 1000 points per purchase. Now the offer is 800 points for every $4 spent. Hmmm. Sneaky . I am not impressed. Happy to hear your thoughts.
Best regards ,
Cynthia
Thanks for sharing your experience, Cynthia. That’s too bad to hear about the points offer being less generous. Supposedly the point offers are supposed to be based on your shopping habits. Maybe once you use the card for a full month, the offers will get better. One can only hope!
Hi Sean:
You mention that you have been a loyal PC Mastercard credit card holder for many years so I thought that I would ask your thoughts on the credit card. I, too, have had a PC Mastercard for many years and wonder if there are better cards out there for rewards, especially the many cash back cards that give you back a percentage of what you spend every year. What are your thoughts on this?
Thanks,
Julie
Thanks for your comment, Julie. If you’re a regular shopping at Loblaws banner stores, then it’s hard to find a better cash back credit card. 3% for every dollar spent is hard to beat. However, you’ll only get 1% cash back on everything else. For spending in other categories, I’d recommend Tangerine money-back credit card. You can choose the spending categories that you earn more cash-back based on your spending habits. I have both credit cards in my wallet and I’m very happy.
Thanks for your reply Sean. Hopefully, with further use the points value will be increased.
Further changes I noticed this weekend while using my card do not seem to be an improvement.
On the store receipt in the past earned points were clearly indicated so that it was obvious that points matched the product purchased. Today on my receipt the points earned are indicated only on the bottom of the receipt in this manner which do not indicate which offers were awarded:
1 spent on 800 points
4 spent on 4000 points
When I went back to check my loaded offers , the ones earned had disappeared. Therefore , there is no way to verify if the offered points were actually awarded.
In the past , there were numerous occasions when offered points were not awarded warranting a correction. It seems that this program redesign has reduced/eliminated the likelihood of a customer inquiry to missing points.
I welcome and am curious to compare the experience of yourself and others as based on my recent experience I am becoming (increasingly) disappointed with this new program. I was a huge fan and promoter but I will not be doing so for the time being.
Best regards.
Cynthia
Hmmm… I noticed that, too. Hopefully if enough people complain, they’ll improve the program. Thanks for sharing your experience!
Used to be able to earn PC Plus points on every dollar spent at No Frills or Loblaws using any debit card, now limited to just a handful of offers. It seems that in order to continue to earn on entire purchase amunt, you are forced to pay using a PC Financial MasterCard. Increase in points from SDM does not offset the loss from grocery stores – BIG FAIL!!