Esso Extra: Extra Privileges Card

If you’re a basic couponer, “Load to card” offers aren’t new. These are seen most through the PC Plus (Zehrs) grocery card and the Optimum (Shoppers Drug Mart) cards which either give you special pricing/coupons or bonus points for buying a certain item. A few other cards I’ve seen lately have added this feature too… Including Esso!

 

If you buy gas, chances are you have a points card to go along with it, as I think nearly all of them have some sort of incentive for you to keep filling up with them. Since we’ve moved a few years ago, I switch between Canadian Tire Gas bar and Esso which are right across the street from one another, depending on whether there is a 10x Canadian Tire Money coupon available. Esso is my normal go-to as they sell Slurpees! So, I have an Esso Extra card with them, which gets me points on gas and convenience purchases that I can then turn around and use to buy said gas or purchases, or redeem online for some other fun things. Esso also allows me to switch from time to time to my Aeroplan card in order to keep those points active.

 

 

At Christmas, they offered a deal of buy a gift card and get a free Price Privileges card.. which gives you cents off for a certain amount of litres. These aren’t new to me as I’ve had a few before to save around .50 a fill up. But when I called to talk to someone at Esso because my card wasn’t working at first, a whole new world of load to card offers was opened! She told me that I could get cents off each gas purchase for 100L, but then I could “top up” that litre allowance by completing offers like.. Buying gas and convenience store items.

 

Basically, you activate the card and sync it to your existing Esso card. Then hop online and log into your Price Privileges page to see available offers. Offers load for one month, and you click on the button to load an offer you think you would use in that month. Even if you’re not sure.. I would load it! After a month of use, you’ll have a few different headers show up.. Like “Available offers” that you haven’t loaded yet, “Added Offers” which show you the % of completion and “Achieved Offers” where you can see how many litres allowance you successfully topped up.

 

 

 

Now, this month Esso has the deal on of buy a gift card and get a card with double the cents off I’m currently getting (I have 2.5 cents off and its 5 cents). There is a button on the header that says replace your card, so once I use up my last 35L on my existing card I’ll replace it with this new one and continue loading the same offers to the card to get a little bit more money off per fill up (maybe a whole dollar!).

 

You can also buy high value Price Privileges cards like 10c and 25c off with your Esso points if you’ve got them to burn, but I’m a long ways off affording one of them!

 

 

It’s a few minutes a month to log in and load offers but I think it’s worth it for saving a little bit of pocket money.

Cash-strapped for Xmas?

Couple people have asked me for some help and suggestions for Christmas shopping this year

I think everyone is feeling a little cash-strapped, so here are my suggestions for last minute shopping without breaking the bank

•  NEVER LEAVE A COUPON CODE BLANK. Google “coupon code/promo code” for that company website before buying. Look for “sign up and save” messages on the site to get % off your first purchase. If in doubt, try the “chat now” or call their customer service and just ask if they have a coupon code they can extend to you as a first time customer. Almost everyone will say yes to something.
• Look for a “buy this and get a free..” deals. This usually allows you to get two gifts for the price of one. Or.. in some cases, a gift for them and a gift for you. Even deals like “buy a gift card and get a free $10 gift card” are great, as you can save that $10 card as one of the “oh I forgot about Susie!” gifts
  
• Daily Deals are awesome.. I bought earrings that were normally $80 down to $14.99. Look for places advertising their “12 days of deals” and such and subscribe to those eblasts. I would check back every day for what they have on the go that day
• One favourite deal I do is Texture.. This is the magazine subscription for tablets/iphones. You pay monthly, but you can add the app to up to 5 devices.. So this I gift each year to everyone in my family (with the login details) but I only pay one price.
• There are free magazine subscriptions you can get besides these. Normally they are run through “samplesource.ca (make sure to register!)” or similar places, but you can start here https://www.thebalance.com/free-magazine-subscriptions-1356536 if wanted
• “Super Savers” sales at Value Village, couple times a year and a few times before Christmas. If you subscribe to their eblasts they will often have some good clothes and shoes sales coming up before Christmas too. I check back often at their art, as they are usually cheap and can find some great gifts for under $15
•  Liquidation stores can have good deals. Theres a couple places near me, and theyre the kind of place you have to check back on often, but can usually find something cool at each one when I go. If your people aren’t picky, sometimes a massive $2 jug of vinegar could be a great gift!
• Spend your loyalty points! Air miles, esso, petrocanda, scene movies, optimum etc.. all of these allow for free purchases. I spent 400 points yesterday with Air miles and got 4 $10 starbucks voucher cards. Shoppers with optimum points can make great mini gift baskets of stuff like a pampering kit, nail polish kit, etc.. all using points for free
  
• Jump on the free stuff… Because free doesn’t last long! Last year I did a lot of the “sign up and get $ to spend”, like on Julep and Shopping Channel. I was able to buy free gifts and just pay some shipping. Then I got an email in an eblast today for totally free earrings.. Yes please!
  
• When in doubt, join the “free” blogs.. These people do all the work for you.  http://www.freemania.net/ , freestufffinder.ca, redflagdeals.com/go/freebies,  canadianfreestuff.com are places to start with that I like

An overarching note – try to keep doing all the saving things you would normally do when your brain isn’t going a mile an hour… Like logging into that shopping website through your Airmilesshops.ca portal (often all Dec long there are double the points deals and such) or showing your SPC discount card when buying dinner. Start at your favourite deal places (Groupon, WagJag, Perkopolis, Venngo, etc) and then go from there

Then, my last suggestion?  START NOW! Think at every sale you go to throughout the year about other people, and if there is something there you could buy for them for Christmas, you are ahead of the game! The main reason we are cash-strapped is because we spend so much all at once, usually all in one month. I go back to a song I sang as a kid.. "Christmas Bills, Christmas Bills, Piled on the Floor..."  All you need is a place to store all these "gifts" and "re-gifts" for the year.. For me it's in this trunk where I also have the wrapping paper and gift bags!