Type 1 Diabetes - Mega Points

Hey everyone,

Basically, I love Shoppers Optimum points and anyone who has ADP, or insurance coverage for their supplies can also benefit from the way I do things. I easily end up earning over 1,000,000 points per year, and this Christmas I am going to be redeeming my points at bonus redemption day for $730 at Shoppers to buy Christmas gifts and staples for next year. Here's how I do it.



Now, how do you get all these points?
First, I sign up for Optimum emails, I know I know, who wants more junk mail. But these aren't junk, SDM will email you special offers such as 20x the points when you spend $50, or 22,000 bonus points when you spend over $100 along with other 'personal coupons', which vary depending on what you buy at SDM.

I also have an RBC Optimum credit card, because of how often I need prescriptions there. This card means that for every $1 I spend at SDM I get 15 points from the credit card. Every $1 I spend at any other store I get 5 points. So when I go to Shoppers I use my credit card (15 points), with my optimum card (10 points) and I am always getting 25 points for every dollar.

hey, I don't want to spend that much money at SDM
That's okay, because you aren't really spending your own money.
ADP provides $600 every 3 months for those who are approved and using an insulin pump.
So what I do, I go to my SDM ask the pharmacy to order my pump supplies in (usually 2 boxes of infusion sets, 2 boxes of cartridges) I wait for a 20x the points day and purchase them on this day.
Sometimes I will wait for SDM to have a 20x promotion or sometimes they will email me a coupon for 20x if you spend x amount.

When I go to purchase these I will buy gift cards with my RBC credit card. Shoppers gift cards are the only ones that allow you to earn optimum points. So I buy $600 in gift cards, this means 25 points per dollar (15,000 points = ~$20). I then walk myself over to the pharmacy, and use those gift cards to purchase my pump supplies on 20x points day (6,000 base points, 120,000 bonus points).

So in one trip to SDM I have managed to earn 132,000 points which is 1 max redemption ($170) and almost one $50 redemption.

But how do I earn points on prescriptions? Isn't that impossible?
No, nothing's impossible.
My insurance covers 90% of my diabetes supplies, and because I live in Canada, all of my diabetes supplies are available without a prescription which means I can just ask the pharmacist for some insulin and they will sell it to me even without a doctors prescription.

So I wait for a bonus offer 22,000 points when you spend $100 or a 20x the points offer.
Go to SDM, buy gift cards for however much the prescription will be, pay with RBC credit card, go to pharmacy, scan optimum card (coupons are loaded to your card) and pay with gift cards. Have pharmacist write you a receipt for the insurance company. Personally, I have online benefits submission, so I can just write in the DIN number on the website and they will directly reimburse me 90% of the cost I paid. Not all insurance companies are like this, so you may end up having to mail your receipt to the insurance company (either way, the point is you are being reimbursed for almost 100% of what you are spending).

I do this process with my insulin and my test strips. When I buy these they are always ~$100 which means they qualify for almost all coupons at SDM. My insurance has a waiting period of 34 days. So every 34 days I will repeat this with both the strips and insulin. This earns me...

$100 for strips = 1,000 points for gift cards, 1,000 points base for buying strips, 22,000 points bonus offer = 24,000 points every 34 days.

$140 for insulin (I buy 2 novorapid cartridges) = 1,400 points for gift cards, 1,400 points base for buying novorapid, 28,000 points 20x points offer = 30,800 points every 34 days.

What a year looks like:

Strips - every 34 days = 24,000 x 10 = 240,000 points per year
Novorapid - every 34 days = 30,800 x 10 = 308,000 points per year
Pump supplies - every 3 months = 528,000 points per year

Total = 1,076,000 points per year


Another great thing is that you can take these 1,000,000 points and throw them right back into buying test strips, insulin and pump supplies.

:top:Thanks for posting this information! I couldn't figure out how people could accumulate so many points for diabetic supplies when they are not included in the 20x events etc. for "prescriptions." I am type 2 and use insulin, strips etc. on a daily basis and do get the base points on my prescription total. I am going to check with my insurance company to see if I can pay out of pocket and submit my receipts online this way to take advantage of the extra points.

Thank you my mom is diabetic and finally starting to take it seriously testing daily and eating healthier her benefirs have also been cut so im nit sure what is covered anymore this information will definitely come in handy

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Thanks for this. I have just found out that I am Type 2 so the dietician wants me to start checking my sugar level a few times a week. I too have health insurance ... in fact two of them (hubby and mine) and I never pay anything at Shoppers for my prescriptions. I am thinking in doing the purchase of strips and lancets this way. How does the pharmacist writes you a receipt? By hand or through some online system? I would hate to cause them extra work.

This is a great post. We will benefit from it.

Nice if it works for you but no way my benefit plan would allow any of this.

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Originally Posted by Bargain Seeker

Thanks for this. I have just found out that I am Type 2 so the dietician wants me to start checking my sugar level a few times a week. I too have health insurance ... in fact two of them (hubby and mine) and I never pay anything at Shoppers for my prescriptions. I am thinking in doing the purchase of strips and lancets this way. How does the pharmacist writes you a receipt? By hand or through some online system? I would hate to cause them extra work.

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Check with your benefit plans first to see if they will allow you to send things in this way. Mine will pay the pharmacy but won't pay me if I send in receipt. So if you can make it work that's awesome, but make sure they will do it this way before you do it otherwise you could be out $$$.

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Originally Posted by scouponer

Check with your benefit plans first to see if they will allow you to send things in this way. Mine will pay the pharmacy but won't pay me if I send in receipt. So if you can make it work that's awesome, but make sure they will do it this way before you do it otherwise you could be out $$$.

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I already did and yes they will reimburse if I send the request for payment by mail. The only problem is that they want a receipt with my name on it. This is why I was asking how the receipt was provided by the pharmacist.

When I buy anything from the pharmacy I just ask for a written receipt for my insurance, then the actual pharmacist signs it. They've never made a fuss about it. :)

Can you buy other prescriptions with full amounts and asks for a receipt with your name from the pharmacy?

Yeah, anything you buy from the pharmacy you can ask for a written receipt in addition to the printed one. Sometimes even things not from the pharmacy, I once asked for a receipt for some Dex4's, but my insurance wouldn't cover them in the end.

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Originally Posted by emdoug

Yeah, anything you buy from the pharmacy you can ask for a written receipt in addition to the printed one. Sometimes even things not from the pharmacy, I once asked for a receipt for some Dex4's, but my insurance wouldn't cover them in the end.

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Good to know. Thanks. Never thought it before. BTW, do I need to ask a pharmacist to write on the receipt? (I assume that would be prescriptions)

Atleast a silver lining to the cloud created by such a serious condition. I wish you well.