Personal Finance

How does Loblaw's PC Plus work?

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  • Dec 17th, 2014 9:45 pm
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Jun 29, 2012
662 posts
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Vancouver
Gingercookie wrote: Not worked up at all. Just curious. And the program is clearly not meant for people who eat healthy.

I actually did buy some junk food at Loblaw in anticipation of a christmas get together, in addition to common items like coffee cream, salmon, cranberries etc... but no points for me.

I guess I don't buy enough processed food to build up a normal profile, but kitkats popsicles and cake mix are just not my thing. They need to pay me to try such new items.
This week my offers are points for fresh beef, pork, cheese, dill, onions, veggies, water, spices, broth, butter and paper towels. The only junk food is for wafers which I will not be purchasing. I feed my dog raw meat exclusively and the points I get for buying her food is awesome! I love this program.
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Jun 29, 2012
662 posts
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Vancouver
mikeymike1 wrote: What I want to know is what's up with those Butter tarts. They're almost always a feature every week.
I love butter tarts! I don't recall ever getting them as an offer. And thank goodness for that!
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Apr 20, 2011
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For the record, all my offer this week are for things I have bought in the past, with the exception of grapes. Can't say I've bought any since using PC plus. Cheese, broccoli, grapes, bananas, buns, fresh beef, fresh turkey, bevel, frozen fruit, frozen juice, etc.
Almost all healthy and all things I have bought at some point

Only junk food is Pepsi (which I do buy regularly) and frozen yogurt (which I do buy occasionally)
Though the Pepsi one is per $10 increment of 2L bottles. At the current price of .97, that's a lot of pop, lol.

The butter tart offer would be dangerous. And if I used it, it would likely come back. Even more dangerous. But delicious.
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Jan 23, 2011
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aqnd wrote: For the record, all my offer this week are for things I have bought in the past, with the exception of grapes. Can't say I've bought any since using PC plus. Cheese, broccoli, grapes, bananas, buns, fresh beef, fresh turkey, bevel, frozen fruit, frozen juice, etc.
Almost all healthy and all things I have bought at some point

Only junk food is Pepsi (which I do buy regularly) and frozen yogurt (which I do buy occasionally)
Though the Pepsi one is per $10 increment of 2L bottles. At the current price of .97, that's a lot of pop, lol.

The butter tart offer would be dangerous. And if I used it, it would likely come back. Even more dangerous. But delicious.
I don't eat cheese, grapes, bananas, buns, beef, turkey, (what is bevel?). I don't buy frozen stuff except frozen peas. The Loblaw near my house doesn't stock broccoli and cauliflower, just a lot of slush and ice.

I want offers for salmon, chicken, pork, oranges, apples, pears, lemons, pineapple, grapefruit, avocados, cucumber, nuts and seeds, wild rice, in season berries, kale, spinach, celery, milk, eggs.
Deal Addict
Aug 30, 2011
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Ottawa
PC Plus offers never include milk... I buy about 8 litres/week and milk never shows up in my special offers. Frozen blueberries do, 3000 points, about twice/month (we go through a lot of blueberries!) Best offer we ever got - a mistake I'm quite sure - was frozen turkey @ 800 points per $1 spent. That's 80% off! We bought about $60 worth and did get the points :)
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Jan 23, 2011
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OttawaGardener wrote: PC Plus offers never include milk... I buy about 8 litres/week and milk never shows up in my special offers. Frozen blueberries do, 3000 points, about twice/month (we go through a lot of blueberries!) Best offer we ever got - a mistake I'm quite sure - was frozen turkey @ 800 points per $1 spent. That's 80% off! We bought about $60 worth and did get the points :)
Staples like milk earn no profits. Loblaw wants you to try processed foods which earn higher margins.
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Apr 20, 2011
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So to summarize

- PC plus only gives offers to pump you full of processed foods and junk food
- I post a long list of offers I actually currently have for non-processed foods and staple items
- you reply with, "but I don't want THOSE fresh foods"
- next post again reaffirms that one will only get offers for processed foods.

Tldr; this whole thread is just for you to complain for the sake of complaining. They're free points, you can't expect the moon here.
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Jan 23, 2011
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You are missing the point. I don't care about accumulating their points. This was just an experiment. And in conclusion, PC Plus is not meant for prolific shoppers of a wide array and assortment of healthy groceries like myself. And a little healthy advice, don't eat too much cheese (salt and yeast), bananas, grapes (relatively high sugar content fruits), buns (empty carbs and yeast), frozen juice (empty sugars)
aqnd wrote: So to summarize

- PC plus only gives offers to pump you full of processed foods and junk food
- I post a long list of offers I actually currently have for non-processed foods and staple items
- you reply with, "but I don't want THOSE fresh foods"
- next post again reaffirms that one will only get offers for processed foods.

Tldr; this whole thread is just for you to complain for the sake of complaining. They're free points, you can't expect the moon here.
Deal Addict
Jan 28, 2014
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Gingercookie wrote: You are missing the point. I don't care about accumulating their points. This was just an experiment. And in conclusion, PC Plus is not meant for prolific shoppers of a wide array and assortment of healthy groceries like myself. And a little healthy advice, don't eat too much cheese (salt and yeast), bananas, grapes (relatively high sugar content fruits), buns (empty carbs and yeast), frozen juice (empty sugars)
Gingercookie - I received offers for Cucumbers and Apples (be still my heart). Of course I had to spend considerable time finding apples that were not bruised or had worm holes. I do understand your point - the program is not really as marketed. If it were I would not be receiving offers that in no way, shape or form conform to my shopping habits.

I was laughing at the Pepsi offer - I have had 12 offers for Pepsi. I am a Coca-Cola person - preferably in the small bottles. Didn't drink Pepsi during the debacle in the 1980s and won't touch it now. You would think Loblaws would have given up offering Pepsi by now - but I expect it is driven by Pepsi. Of course I have never had an offer for Coke.

I have also found that many of the offers I receive also correspond to products that have just had their prices increased. One of the cashiers at Loblaws wants to see my offer list every week so that she too can laugh. That is all you can do. My weekly chuckle.

I knew that as soon as Steve posted that he received an offer for PC Baking Mix - whatever that is - that it would appear on mine - and it did.

I also am not worked up about it. Sobey's does a bit better job of matching up my purchases though. And Sobey's takes Amex which is a big deal to me at this particular time. Unfortunately neither the butcher or store that carries the milk I buy takes Amex so the debit card must be used.
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Feb 10, 2013
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aqnd wrote: So to summarize

- PC plus only gives offers to pump you full of processed foods and junk food
- I post a long list of offers I actually currently have for non-processed foods and staple items
- you reply with, "but I don't want THOSE fresh foods"
- next post again reaffirms that one will only get offers for processed foods.

Tldr; this whole thread is just for you to complain for the sake of complaining. They're free points, you can't expect the moon here.
+1, i get plenty of offers for oranges which are good for you.
Gingercookie wrote: Staples like milk earn no profits. Loblaw wants you to try processed foods which earn higher margins.
Some stuff they can't offer pc plus "discounts" on, go blast the government for that please.
OttawaGardener wrote: PC Plus offers never include milk... I buy about 8 litres/week and milk never shows up in my special offers. Frozen blueberries do, 3000 points, about twice/month (we go through a lot of blueberries!) Best offer we ever got - a mistake I'm quite sure - was frozen turkey @ 800 points per $1 spent. That's 80% off! We bought about $60 worth and did get the points :)
There will never be offers on milk. Rarely will there be any. Do you know why? Ask your provincial government. Some provinces do not allow discounts on milk, pc plus is marketed as a digital coupon so it would be a digital discount on milk, so instead of bitching at loblaws for this, complain to your government for disallowing loblaws to offer discount on milk.
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Aug 1, 2007
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I get offers on diapers, baby food, various veggies, general deli (ie. 1000 points per $5), general seafood, dog food, percent of total bill, etc. There are a ton of deals I never use but every now and then a few good deals come up. I'd say 80% are on stuff purchased before/recently and the others are usually related.

Of course it's also good for a load of stuff marked in store rather than personal deals.

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