Thanks, But I’m All Set – Why I Skip These Loyalty Programs

I Skip These Loyalty Programs

I recently described methods I use to save beyond loyalty programs while traveling.  I’m changing the discussion a bit today.  I’m pivoting to loyalty programs I skip to save what is increasingly my most valuable asset – time.  It’s comical, but also unsurprising, how much loyalty programs have permeated most every aspect of everyday life.  Overall, I’m a fan of the trend, as I like to focus more on saving every day rather than limiting it to travel endeavors which are a very small portion of my existence.  Still, I abstain from certain loyalty program schemes.  Here are just a few and why I avoid them.

Why I Skip These Loyalty Programs

Movie Theaters

I was a loyal member of the Regal Crown Club many years ago.  But our relocation and the subsequent closure of multiple convenient Regal locations hastened my departure from the program.  I end up at our sole regional AMC theater every few years, but I don’t bother with the chain’s Stubs program.  Besides, it seems to get noticeably more expensive with every iteration.

Perhaps I’m burying the lead, though.  I have one regional dine-in theatre location a few miles away, and it’s pretty much the only theatre I go to these days.  It doesn’t offer a loyalty program.  Wednesday tickets are $5 each, and it’s a double-win when I’m at screenings often by myself in the middle of the week.  Even better, the Valpak junk mailers we receive frequently include a free movie ticket to my theater, no tricks at all.  So in order to support my local theater in these instances, I have a beverage or two along with the film.  I’m just trying to help where I can.  Yeah, that’s it.

Mall Stores

I grew up going to malls, and I still enjoy them here and there.  Sometimes, though, I end up visiting just once annually – predominantly on our traditional summer mall trip with the little ones.  I’m along for the ride on this – I enjoy watching them, the random stores we enter, the smell of the Barnes & Noble, rationalizing a ridiculous food item, all of it.  But I generally don’t join mall store loyalty programs since we so rarely patronize certain stores.  I could live multiple lifetimes and never accumulate enough points to redeem.

Actually, the bigger highlight here is that the mall is probably the one life aspect where my wife and/or little ones join loyalty programs while I do not.  My decision is validated each time they enlighten me on the version from Bath & Body Works.  The BBW minutiae hits me as hard as the aromas do upon entry.  I’m punch-drunk in all cases.  So I guess this is how my wife feels when I talk to her about my Air France Flying Blue escapades.

Gas Stations

I skip loyalty programs from traditional gas stations.  It’s a simple choice, primarily due to my clear focus on one grocery store fuel points program – Kroger.  It’s changed a bit over time, for better and worse, but it’s alive and well for us.  Opportunities are still seemingly endless.  So many years later, I’m still that dork with gas cans on each fill-up, ensuring I squeeze every last penny of value out of the pump for that full $35 in savings.  Okay, maybe not quite that when incorporating the competition’s rates.  But Kroger’s fuel prices are still close enough where I should focus gas savings there.

When I’m on a road trip and there’s not a Kroger nearby, I don’t scurry to figure out another program.  I choose the simplicity of competitive gas pricing from chains which don’t offer rewards on fuel purchases, such as Sheetz and Buc-ee’s.

Southwest Rapid Rewards*

Okay, I don’t technically skip this one – yet.  Rather, I’m in the midst of phasing out my involvement with the loyalty program from Southwest Airlines.

I’m a nobody in Southwest’s program.  I haven’t flown the airline in a couple years, don’t have any status there, and have less use for it by the day.  Southwest has decimated the program, killed key benefits (read: no more free checked bags), and substantially devalued redemptions.  The only incentive I have to fly Southwest are non-stop flights for city pairs unique to the airline, something scarce at my regional airport.  And even then, I’d be tempted to add a connection with an alternative airline I’d rather fly.  That’s how bad it’s gotten for me with Southwest.  I’ll use up the remainder of my points, remnants from Chase cards I held 15 or so years ago, and be indefinitely done with the airline and program.

Bilt Rewards

Up to this point, I haven’t spent a single moment writing about Bilt Rewards.  That’s been an intentional decision.  Simply put, I’m not in the target audience for Bilt Rewards.  Incidentally, I have many other reasons I don’t participate in anything Bilt-related.  But I won’t share any of them here today.  Other people have written plenty about Bilt more eloquently than I ever could, and I agree with much of it.  Besides, I don’t want to waste any more time with the company, here or elsewhere.  I endeavor for this to be the first and last time I ever write about it.

Conclusion

I won’t go for the Nancy Reagan line here.  Rather, I’ll just say it’s okay to say no.  Skipping these loyalty programs has removed the clutter, mind-related and otherwise, from my life.  It’s also worth remembering that many businesses still incorporate everyday value into the simple savings from basic transactions, rather than resorting to loyalty programs which come with a cost.  It’s increasingly challenging, but I’m still able to surprise myself here and there.

Now that I’ve shared why I skip these loyalty programs, which ones do you ignore and why?