Yesterday, I featured a tip I came across that was written by my wife’s good friend Helen. She had a lot of great travel tips in her post but one that I really love and have also written about a decade ago is this: Sign up for your nearest grocery store’s loyalty card.
Helen Racanelli lives in Canada and says that if you’re traveling to the Great White North, it’s not really necessary to do this since it won’t save you any money. But if you’re traveling within the United States, signing up for grocery store loyalty cards is a great money-saving tip.
That’s because the sale price at many grocery stores highlight what is usually only for their rewards members or for people who download the store’s app and “clip” the coupon. When my Canadian wife first moved to the U.S., she thought (and still thinks) it’s a deceptive marketing practice but I’ve gotten used to it.
In fact, I’m the coupon clipper in the family since I often check out grocery store flyers in the mail or on the store’s app before I go shopping. I just recently used the Ralph’s app (a local grocery store chain) to scan and clip a coupon to save almost 50% on a pint of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream.
The rewards programs are free to sign up for and it usually takes just a couple of minutes. And depending on what you buy, the savings can be significant and well worth it, even if you’re only shopping there once to stock up at your vacation rental.
Here are links to grocery store rewards programs for some of the major chains:
Albertsons
Giant Eagle
Kroger
Piggly Wiggly Pig Points
Publix
Ralphs
Stop & Shop, GO Rewards
Shoprite Price Club
Vons
Wegmans
WholeFoods
Again, this is only a partial list so be sure to Google grocery stores in the destination you’re heading to and see if they have a rewards program.
If you don’t sign up for their rewards program or it’s been a long time since you last visited, you can always ask the cashier (nicely) if they can use their code for your groceries.
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As to the grocery stores ——-Yes, the chains mostly like you to belong to their card holders. I have had a Safeway card for probably half my life. I do not clip coupons as they are usually for things I never buy. I do go to Grocery Outlet, a small discount franchise mostly in the West, I think. I am in California.
For grocery shopping in Europe, we spent 8 mos there staying in my timeshare and rental apartments and VRBO etc. We were in every Western European country for from 1 week to 1 month at a time.
The best place to shop, no matter where in Europe you are, is the local Farmers market. It is all local, fresh and the experience is a real joy and you meet the nicest people.
I discovered my first authentic Paella in a huge pan, 4 or 5 feet across, in the Arles, France Farmers market. Wonderful!!! There is nothing comparable to eating your Paella next to an ancient Roman column, or going to the local market in the shadow of the Pope’s palace in Avignon.
Each country and town has their own specialty. You need to try it.
Go early as most of them fold their tents and slip away shortly after noon. Besides the Paella is all gone by then. Smile, lick lips in memory.
Lenore
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I live in Toronto. There is at least one grocery chain the gives “better” prices to their “members.”