Just realized my coffee shop loyalty card was actually costing me money

I did the math after talking to the barista at my local shop in Portland last Friday. She pointed out that the 'buy 10 get 1 free' deal means I'm paying full price for 10 drinks at $5.50 each, but if I just brought my own thermos they'd give me a $0.75 discount every time. That's $7.50 saved after 10 visits vs a single $5.50 free drink. Been using that card for over a year without checking the numbers. Anyone else find out their 'deal' wasn't really a deal?

3 comments

3 Comments

angela432d ago

Same thing happened to me with my gym membership last year. I was paying $50 a month for a gym I barely used because I thought the "monthly unlimited" deal was a good value. Then a friend pointed out that the local rec center had a $30 punch card that never expired. So I switched and now I only pay for what I actually use. The gym kept emailing me about their "exclusive member offers" for months after I canceled. Felt pretty dumb that it took someone else to point out the obvious.

karen_nelson402d ago

Guess it depends on how you look at it though. I mean, $50 a month is steep if you're not going, but for some people that unlimited deal is a steal if they actually use it. Your rec center sounds like a better fit, but not everyone has that option or cares enough to hunt for it.

uma_baker992d ago

Gym subscriptions are just one more thing tricking us into paying for stuff we don't need.