Airmiles Goodness...

This past Sunday Rob and I treated ourselves to a night out at the Keg. Rob has been wanting a steak and a beer for quite some time now. Something that generally doesn't end up on our dinner table very often. So Abbi spent the evening at Gammy and Uncle Dave's, and Gabe came along for his first fancy dinner out. And he was a doll. Just chilled on the seat beside Rob for most of the meal. It was so nice to get out and have a chance to splurge a bit.

That's where Airmiles comes in. Now if you know me, and know me well, you know I love my Airmiles. Some people get excited to talk about the economy or politics or shoes, but me, I love to talk about Airmiles! I think I'm slowly becoming an Airmiles genius (I'm humble, except when I talk about Airmiles!). We used 580 Airmiles to get ourselves a $75 dinner at the Keg. The grand total was $79, plus a tip. Not bad, not bad at all! And it was a lot of food. Mmm, delish.

So my Airmiles strategy? Grocery shopping at Safeway. I know that not everyone has this option, but I think, if you do, its worth it. Time and time again I hear people say how expensive Safeway is. In some ways it is, but again, you just have to know how to shop it. I'm signed up for their weekly e-mail that normally has money saving, or Airmiles coupons. Every Sunday I scan the flyer and make my grocery list. I also check out Best Airmiles Deals website, where they tell you some good Airmiles deals. I stock up on BOGO (buy one get one free) weeks. I also buy gas at Safeway gas stations. When I buy $100 in groceries I get 3.5 cents off per litre of gas. So lets say I have $300 in accumulated purchases, that means I'm going to get 10.5 cents off on my next fill up. Not bad.

On average I would say that I earn 200 Airmiles per grocery shop (spending about $100 to $150). Wow! Wow is right! If you just bring out your Airmiles card every now and then, you are likely earning 1 Airmile for every $20 you spend. So it would take $4000 in purchases to get 200 Airmiles. Ouch! But at Safeway, week after week they have incredible specials. Spend $100 get 100 Airmiles. 5 x the Airmiles. Buy 5 boxes of Vector cereal and get 100 Airmiles (we live off Vector, so I stock up when this promotion comes around every 4-6 weeks).

So what can you use your Airmiles for? Well, for us, its flying our family to and fro. Since we have lived in Edmonton (December 2005), we have not paid for one flight back to BC. Nor has my family paid ticket prices to come here. Now, you still have to pay fees when redeeming Airmiles for flights. This normally works out to $150. But even with WestJet's current seat sale of $49 one way to Victoria from Edmonton, totaling $179 with taxes and fees (return), its still cheaper to use Airmiles! It's between 800 - 900 Airmiles for a round trip flight.

Lately we have started to use our Airmiles in other ways. We have no upcoming travel plans (not until the summer), so we are using them on things like a $75 meal at the Keg (580 Airmiles). $100 gift card to spend at Rona (750 Airmiles). 2 free car washes at Shell (75 Airmiles). We have also used them in the past for car rentals at National. 750 Airmiles got us $200 off a weekly car rental in Victoria. It only cost $130 to rent a car for a week. Nice! We also used them for Rob and his Dad's birthday one year. 4 adults and a child all rode the Jasper tramway for 200 Airmiles (pennies in the world of Airmiles).

So in our world, it pays to cater our shopping habits towards their reward program. We are looking into buying a furnace in the next month or so. Where will we buy? Rona. Because we will earn Airmiles on our purchase. So for me, for us, Safeway works. I suppose I really don't know any different, and I guess I kind of like it that way. Ignorance is bliss?

So perhaps after my giant Airmiles/Safeway rant, maybe next time you are at an Airmiles sponsor, you might think twice about taking out "old blue" and givin' 'er a swipe or two :)