SDM ON Flyers Nov 10 - 16 -2012, Bonus Redemption and GC Promotion

[littlebean]

if someone did 12 transactions = $1800 % .14 = $252 (approx how much they would get at mega redemption). so they are getting back 14%. The percentage is smaller if they do less transactions. But it's free money back in their pocket. Hope my math is correct.

[sulley_baby]

where in the flyer does it state the gc promo?! I have mine here and I must be blind! Thx!
nervermind! see it now

[dahliagrower]

Page 3 on the on-line flyer .... kind of middle of the page.

[littlebean]

I have this sneaky suspision that Shopper's will turn around tomorrow or the day of and say, "we forgot to add to this promotion that it is limited to 1 transaction of 8000 points per Optimum account. Sorry for the inconvenience...have a nice day!"

[Anna Michele]

I have this sneaky suspision that Shopper's will turn around tomorrow or the day of and say, "we forgot to add to this promotion that it is limited to 1 transaction of 8000 points per Optimum account. Sorry for the inconvenience...have a nice day!"

i plan on doing it once $50 sdm and $100 gAS just in case its too close to mega to risk it

[debragirl31]

Yes but not many people I know have that kind of disposable income to pay back the $1500.00 you charge. Then you owe interest of at least that amount on your purchase if you don't pay it off, cumulative that $250 redemption could cost you a lot of money... IMO.

If you spend $1500 in SDM GCs you earn enough (95K points) for $250 on mega redemption day - that is almost 17% return on investment.

[screamy]

Yes but not many people I know have that kind of disposable income to pay back the $1500.00 you charge. Then you owe interest of at least that amount on your purchase if you don't pay it off, cumulative that $250 redemption could cost you a lot of money... IMO.

Anyone who is paying more than about 15% in interest on ANY kind of debt probably should pay off that debt first and only do the promo after all the high-interest debt is gone. But sometimes it's a cash flow thing - points now vs. small interest payments over time - it depends on the individual's financial situation.

Luckily for me, I'm receiving a bonus payout right around when my MC bill will be due, so I'm planning to grab a whole whack of the SDM cards. But for that kind of ROI, I would definitely "pre-purchase" my cards anyway since I am in a position to be able to pay off the balance on my card in full every month.

I spend about $1,600 on just my transit passes annually, and, by buying the SDM GCs I need to use to pay for those during this promo, I will earn 11,750 points per $150 purchased, or a total of 129,250 (8,000 BP + 2,250 SDM MC points + 1,500 SDM base points = 11,750 x $0.0026 on mega-redemption day = $30.55 x 11 = $336.05, if I've done my math properly). I can't get a 21% ROI anywhere on anything (unless I become a loan shark, heh).

Then I have the usual Christmas GCs, the ones I buy for emergencies (I am like a squirrel, I cache money here and there...it's almost OCD-like), and the ones I'll buy for stuff I'll pay for OOP anyway (gas, Chapters, Tim's, etc.); might as well earn points on them since I can pay them off right away.

And then I'll use the BPs to get all the stuff I don't want to spend money on. Mega-redemption day is going to be insane.

[Miss Molly]

Yes but not many people I know have that kind of disposable income to pay back the $1500.00 you charge. Then you owe interest of at least that amount on your purchase if you don't pay it off, cumulative that $250 redemption could cost you a lot of money... IMO.

Everyone who wants to take part in this promo needs to look at their own financial situation. Two weeks ago I planned to buy $600 worth of cards but in that time I lost 2 clients so I am either buying $150 in SDM cards or nothing at all. I also pay off my credit cards every month so I don't deal with interest charges at all.

Bottom line, if you can't afford it, don't buy it.

[kidsteph]

Yes but not many people I know have that kind of disposable income to pay back the $1500.00 you charge. Then you owe interest of at least that amount on your purchase if you don't pay it off, cumulative that $250 redemption could cost you a lot of money... IMO.

Credit card debt is a killer. That is what 3.5% HELOCs are for. As a 49 year old, I remember those years when things were so tight and there wasn't much $ left over every month....they DO get better and there will be a time when you have the flexibility.

[dahliagrower]

Thanks guys for bringing clarity to the deal. It's a great deal for the points but its a fair chunk of financial outlay. If it's going to cost you lots of interest to purchase then it's just not worth it. Each person's financial situation is different so follow what's right for you.

[050937k2]

Man - did anyone have major issues with this promo? I went today and wanted to do 4 transactions - I think that is half reasonable. First she messed up my four piles, then she asked for my license, then she took my American Express card out back for 10 minutes , then called American Express and I had to verify who I was. I am at that store all the time, and my Id matched the card. Then the first one she wouldn't scan my card, and after she went back into the recipt and said she scanned the card but I am pretty sure she didn't - I'm saving the recipts and i will have to go back when the points are not issued I guess. I was made feel like a criminal!

[Decaf]

Man - did anyone have major issues with this promo? I went today and wanted to do 4 transactions - I think that is half reasonable. First she messed up my four piles, then she asked for my license, then she took my American Express card out back for 10 minutes , then called American Express and I had to verify who I was. I am at that store all the time, and my Id matched the card. Then the first one she wouldn't scan my card, and after she went back into the recipt and said she scanned the card but I am pretty sure she didn't - I'm saving the recipts and i will have to go back when the points are not issued I guess. I was made feel like a criminal!

Did she say why she is doing all that? Is your card chip and pin? If the is PIN is valid or signature matched or the transaction approved why is she checking everything? I would not show her my driver license in the first place and would NEVER let my CC and driver license out of sight. With your personal info like address, date of birth, license #, the security # in the back of your CC, you at risk that somesone may steal your info to make unauthorized purchases on your card.

[thien_nga]

at the sdm iwent to this morning they said thry only let you buy 2 set s of 150 with visa cc, so ...sigh

[rachel1496]

What if you lose them, misplace them etc? I get the idea of spending a few hundred bucks to buy gift cards but definitely don't understand the need/drive to buy as many as some people are discussing. What am I missing?

I'll be doing 7 transactions. 5 of those are for gift cards for Christmas gifts so they'll either be used to buy/order the gifts the day I buy them or if they're being given as gifts they'll go right in the gift box in my closet so no worry about losing them. The other 2 transactions will be for a $100 Shoppers card and a $50 Tim Card, one set for my wallet and one set for my husband's. In our case this is money we already budgeted and put away for Christmas gifts or money we would already be spending at Shoppers and Tim Hortons so why not get points on it?

I don't get the reasoning behind using credit to do it though unless you can pay the card back immediately.

[sma75]

I did 2 Gift card promo purchases. Both multiples of Lowe's cards.

We are doing renos and are going to pick up our tiles at Lowe's tomorrow. The cost of the tiles is $269+tax. This was a "no brainer" for us. Our credit card balances are paid off at the end of each month. We only use credit cards for the purpose of collecting points and airmiles.

I also know better than to get tons of these gift card promos thus taking us over our average disposable income threshold. I had hoped that they would have grocery store GC, I would easily have been able to justify doing a couple more of the GC promos for on cards that will get used up in the next few weeks.

I think this is a brilliant promo, I just fear that SDM will alter the conditions on this deal...after the fact again.

To each his own I guess?