Thursday, October 18, 2007

Thursday Tips: Discount Cards for Full Timers

Thursday is tip day.

We have dozens of discount cards: grocery store cards, camping club cards, fuel discount cards, casino club cards, etc. Almost all of them are free, and none of them send us junk mail as part of their program. As we travel around the country, we add more all the time.

In order to keep track of the cards, I store them in inexpensive wallets sorted by type. The wallets are stored in the console between our seats in the cockpit.

All the grocery store cards are in the green wallet. The fuel discount and camping cards are a light blue one. The casino cards are in the largest wallet, since we have the most of those. It is a lovely dark blue. The casinos issue us each a card and we take both on the chance that the card offers a per person meal discount. Actually, the casino cards are in a small cosmetic bag with a zippered top.

This system makes it easier to actually use the cards. When we pull into a grocery store parking lot, I put the green wallet into my purse. Many of the smaller grocery chains are affiliated with larger ones, so it is possible that Johns Market will accept the Safeway card. We never know until we get inside and ask, so it is helpful to have the entire wallet with us. As anyone with a large RV knows, you often have to park way out on the edges of the lot, so walking back to the bus to get the correct card is a pain.

The same thing is true for the large casino chains, such as Hilton properties. They may accept the card we signed up for in Las Vegas. And RV parking at casinos is usually the lot furthest away.

I've combined fuel and camping cards into one wallet simply because we have fewer of those.

While all these wallets may seem like a lot to keep track of, it turns out to be a pretty simple system. The best part is that it keeps all of these cards out of our regular wallets. We only shop at an Albertsons grocery store about five times a year; why carry their card around every day? And don't get me started about the small versions of cards that you're supposed to attach to your keyring. Imagine 20 of those rattling around your purse all the time! No thanks.

4 comments:

  1. Great idea, hope you don't mind but I think we'll start doing that also.

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  2. Spyderman, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. I'm glad this helped you!

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  3. Patty has about 30 of the market cards on one keychain. Seems almost all of the stores now provide small ones also; those that don't we cut to size. Also a number of the stores like FRYS, SMITHS, KING SOOPER, etc are all owned by KROGER and the cards all seem to be interchangeable, but we hate to discard any.

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  4. Here is a great card to have that can be used at home or when you travel. SuperRxcard.com lets you print in about 10 seconds a free prescription drug discount card that is accepted nationwide at over 60,000 national pharmacy chains and local independent drug stores. Savings are substantial for many medicines if you do not have prescription insurance or have a deductible. Everyone is eligible, no questions asked either.

    ReplyDelete

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