PC Optimal Points Chart

To help you get the most out of the program, I've put together this comprehensive guide to PC Optimum points. First off, When it comes to Canadian loyalty programs, PC Optimum is a clear frontrunner. If you aren't already a part of it, you should join this retail loyalty program immediately because it's likely the best one in the country. The programs PC Plus and Shoppers Optimum have been combined into one called PC Optimum.

Regular customers of Loblaw-owned supermarkets, drugstores, and gas stations like Esso and Mobil will get the most out of the PC Optimum loyalty program. PC Optimum is an enhanced version of traditional store loyalty programs that gives you more flexibility in how and where you spend your points. For more information about PC Optimum points, read this article.

Best possible score in PC

Knowing your Personal Computer's Optimum Points value is the first step. Ten thousand PC Optimum points can be redeemed for ten dollars' worth of prizes. As a result, the value of your points is $0.01 each And that's not bad for a program that costs nothing to join.

However, Shoppers Drug Mart frequently holds bonus redemption events, during which they award bonuses for redeeming points at a certain number of points. Common methods of cashing in bonuses include:

• With the PC Optimum bonus of $30, your total of $100 will be $110.
• With the bonus points offer, your total will be $200 for 130,000 PC Optimum points.
• For a total of $400, you'll need 250,000 PC Optimum points ($250) plus the $150 bonus points offer.

Spending your points at Shoppers Drug Mart's bonus redemption events is the best way to get the most out of them. Prices at Shoppers Drug Mart are higher than those at, say, Walmart; however, stockpiling points for a high-value item that is the same price everywhere makes shopping there worthwhile. For instance, I have exchanged points for a Dyson hairdryer and a Nintendo Switch. Video games, which can cost nearly $100 after taxes, are another item I've redeemed at the lower level.

During these special redemption periods, many members do not realize that they can cash in their points by going online. You can find more options at Shoppers Drug Mart online than in-store.

You can also cash in your points at any participating Esso gas station. For every 40 liters you fill up, you'll save 10 cents with 4,000 PC Optimum points. That adds up to $4, which is equivalent to the original value. However, you can get a free car wash package if you have 10,000 points. You're getting a good deal if you spend it on the maximum value package, which typically costs more than $10.

Places I can rack up PC Optimum points

Loblaws' ownership of the PC Optimum rewards program means that you can collect points at nearly all of their retail and gas station partners.

• Pharmacy Shoppe
• Pharmaprix
• Loblaw stores
• No Frills
• True Canadian Megastore
• Fortino’s
• Totally Free CityMarket
• Valu-mart
• Zehrs
• Mall of the Atlantic
• Maxi
• Dominion
• Joe Fresh
• Esso stations
• Mobil stations
• PC Travel

PC Optimum is marketed toward customers who frequent Esso and Mobil gas stations, Shoppers Drug Mart, and grocery stores owned by Loblaws. Some people are unhappy about the limited number of redemption locations, but this is not always the case. In short, Canada's largest supermarket and pharmacy chain both participate in the PC Optimum program. Many gas stations are available to you as well.

Gaining Optimum Performance (PC) Points

PC Optimum is unique among programs in that there are only three ways to gain experience points. Joining PC Optimum and making purchases at partner retailers does not immediately award you with points. You can increase your PC Optimum score in three distinct ways.

Retail promotions

When there is an offer, only PC Optimum points will be awarded if you only use the PC Optimum card. One possible promotion could give you one thousand PC Optimum points for every five dollars spent on baked goods. That's a pretty sweet deal, as it works out to 25% back in points. However, only in-store offers count toward point accumulation, so it will take a long time to reach a significant point total.

Specific advertising

Each week, you'll receive an email with exclusive deals, but you won't be able to use these load offers until you log in to your account or launch the app. PC Optimum's goal here is to get you to check out the deals, but doing so is mandatory. As an incentive to return to the store, the app typically grants bonus points on items you regularly buy. Fruits and vegetables, which I've been purchasing frequently, have been the focus of some of my recent discounts.

Furthermore, Loblaws has recently launched member promotions that are only available to PC Optimum members. IOGO yogurt, for instance, was once on sale for 6,000 points for every $12 spent. That's the equivalent of halving your points back in currency.

Use a Mastercard from PC Financial.

If you use a PC Financial Mastercard, you will accumulate points with every purchase you make. Here are some of PC Financial's Mastercard options:

• The Mastercard from PC Financial
• The World Mastercard from PC Financial
• PC World Elite Mastercard from PC Financial

The Mastercard from PC Financial rewards you with 25 PC Optimum Points for every $1 you spend at Shoppers Drug Mart and 10 PC Optimum Points for every $1 you spend anywhere else without requiring a minimum income. The card's lack of an annual fee is great in and of itself, but things really start paying off once your annual income surpasses ,000 or your household income surpasses $150,000.

If you earn that much, you'll be eligible for the Bank of China World Elite Mastercard Spending a dollar at Shoppers Drug Mart earns you 45 PC Optimum Points, spending a dollar on PC Products or PC Travel earns you 30 PC Optimum Points, and spending a dollar anywhere else earns you 10 PC Optimum Points. The Bank of China Mastercard International has a median household income of ,000 and a median personal income of ,000

The best travel rewards credit cards in Canada are used by some, but the best return is typically seen when using a PC Financial Mastercard at places where PC Optimum points can be earned. A PC Money Account is a good alternative to credit cards for people who prefer to use debit cards but still want to earn PC Optimum points.

Maximizing your Personal Computer's Optimum Points

If you know how PC Optimum works, you can earn the most points possible, just like with any other loyalty program. In other words, there are many opportunities to increase your PC Optimum point total, and there are also times when it makes the most sense to redeem those points.

Plunge into a Facebook community.

There is a sizable population of PC Optimum devotees who are more than happy to trade advice in closed Facebook groups. One such group with an active membership is PC Optimum Points & Deals Canada. They always have a list of ways to maximize the current flyer and tips for maximizing your savings (see below).

Be sure to file away any potential deals

As previously mentioned, you will receive weekly offers for PC Optimum points. These deals are fantastic, but you might not need them until next week. PC Optimum is convenient because it lets you postpone your offer until the following week. The deal can be saved for next week with just one tap in the app. The discount will be waiting for you at your regular store the following week.

Get in the habit of stocking up when it makes sense

Amazing deals on PC Optimum are occasionally available. like obtaining Free General Mills cereal worth $10 and 5 reward points If you have 5,000 points, you can buy $5 worth of cereal for half price. You might as well buy a bunch of cereal and rack up some PC Optimum points if this is the case.

Remember that you can usually find these deals at all the co-branded stores, so it pays to look around. For the sake of illustration, let's say No Frills is having a sale on General Mills cereal. There is a better deal and more rewards points to be had if you load up there. From time to time, you can save an additional 50-70 percent when you buy on sale and redeem PC points for discounts.

PC Optimum points are always available, and you can earn more through in-store promotions. Recent promotions include 7,500 PC Optimum points for every spent on almost anything at Loblaws supermarkets, 15,000 points for spending $50 or more at Shoppers Drug Mart, and 70,000 points for spending $200 or more on beauty products on the PC Optimum website. You can get 10%, 30%, or 35% of your money back in PC Optimum points with those deals.

In addition, you can frequently get 20 times the PC Optimum points for purchases over at Shoppers Drug Mart. That's equivalent to bringing 30% of your lost points back Shoppers' prices are higher than those of some competitors, it's true, but the 30% point rebate is ridiculous.

A while back, on a single day, I was able to spend $30 at Shoppers Drug Mart and receive 8,000 PC Optimum points. When you buy Head & Shoulders shampoo from the weekly flyer at the time, you can earn 2,000 PC Optimum points. Using our hypothetical $5 shampoo price, I would earn a total of 20,000 PC Optimum points ( + $12) if I spent $30. I could have earned 1,350 more PC Optimum points with the use of my PC Financial World Elite Mastercard. Twenty-one dollars and three hundred and fifty PC Optimum points is equivalent to $21. 35 dollars off a $30 purchase If you're keeping score at home, that's a 71% increase in PC Optimum points.

The recent Black Friday and 20X the points event prompted me to make a $499 purchase: a Dyson supersonic hair dryer. The following sales events were very helpful to me.

• Instead of the usual $250 credit for redeeming 250,000 PC Optimum points, you will receive $400.
• With the 200% bonus on points for purchases over , I was able to rack up 104,485 PC Optimum points. and extra advertising
• My purchase with the PC Financial World Elite Mastercard earned me 4,500 PC Optimum points.
• By using the Aeroplan estore to reach Shoppers Drug Mart, and then taking advantage of the Aeroplan Black Friday sale, I was able to earn 500 Aeroplan points.

The hair dryer set me back $164, but I paid $.99 for the overdue amount, earned about $110 in PC Optimum points, and then used those points to get a credit of $150 during a bonus event.

PC Insiders is a membership program that provides subscribers with bonus PC Optimum points. Paying to join a grocery store or retail store's loyalty program might seem ridiculous at first, but the perks may be worth it.

• Costs $119 per year
• Get 10% of your purchase price back in PC Optimum points on every PC product you buy.
• Shoppers Drug Mart and Joe Fresh offer free shipping.
• At PC Express, we don't charge you to pick up your order.
• Joe Fresh offers a ten percent point rebate on all purchases.
• PC Travel bookings are eligible for a 5% point rebate.
• Joining Gift Upon Acceptance

You can see that every PC product you buy will award you with 10% back in PC Optimum points. For the most part, PC Products cost less expensive than generic alternatives, but cheaper than name brands. However, the $119 annual fee (plus tax) for PC Insiders is only worthwhile if you actually use the service.

The annual fee might be justified by the unlimited free PC express pickups, but only if you actually take advantage of the service. To determine if the annual fee is worthwhile, you'll need to do some quick math. Read my Analyzed by PC Insider Now, let's dive deeper into the program's specifics.  

One neat feature of PC Optimum points is that multiple accounts can be combined into a single family account. The PC OPtimum accounts of my wife and I have been combined. While your accounts will be linked, the offers you receive will be unique to each app. Get additional PC Financial Mastercards for your family and friends so that they can all participate in the PC Optimum rewards program if you already have one.

Stop by Esso or Mobil to fill up.

If you fill up at Esso or Mobil, you'll get at least 30 PC Optimum points per liter of gas, according to the PC Optimum website. When you use your President's Choice Financial Mastercard to buy gas, diesel, or premium gas (Octane 89, 91, or 93), you'll get 10 PC Optimum points per liter. You'll also get 10 PC Optimum points per dollar spent on the card.  

What makes PC Optimum different from the rest?

PC Optimum is unlike any other grocery store loyalty program. Stores like Longo's and Food Basics also have rewards programs, but they are much more simplistic and center on in-store offers and coupons. If you shop there frequently, those programs are fine, but the rewards aren't nearly as good as PC Optimum points.

The Rexall Be Well loyalty program is another option. As rivals, Rexall and Shoppers Drug Mart's programs warrant scrutiny. To be frank, Rexall's offering is a terrible program. Your profit margin is below PC Optimum. Furthermore, your redemption value has decreased. If you must choose between the two, PC Optimum is the better option. However, if a Rexall is the only local pharmacy, you might as well sign up for Be Well rewards.

In addition, PC Optimum points are only useful if you use a PC World Elite Mastercard frequently at stores where you can earn PC Optimum points. With that card, you can earn 3 percent back in points whenever you shop at a grocery store. But some credit cards give you a better rate of return on food purchases than others. The American Express Cobalt Card, for instance, awards 5 points for every $1 spent at supermarkets. That's a ridiculously good deal, and it's one of the reasons I've switched to favoring Food Basics as a retail outlet.

Cobalt Card from American Express

To give some perspective, one American Express Membership Rewards point is equivalent to 1 cent. That works out to a 5% rebate on food shopping. Alternatively, you can exchange your points for Aeroplan miles at a 1:1 ratio. When I use my Aeroplan points for groceries, I feel like I'm getting a 10% return because each point is worth 2 cents to me.

Concluding Ideas

This PC Optimum points guide should have made it clear to you by now that there are numerous methods by which you can accumulate and spend your points. Using your points at Shoppers Drug Mart during bonus point events can significantly increase their value beyond their base value. Get a PC Financial Mastercard if you'd like to rack up more PC Optiumum points.