PC Optimum points can help you shop like the leader of the free world, but is the program optimum for you? There are many rewards programs in Canada. It’s pretty hard to take full advantage of all of them at the same time. It’s important to evaluate the benefits of each and choose the one that best suits your goals and shopping habits.
The PC Optimum points program is one of the best-known loyalty programs in Canada. With over 19 million members, we can say that it has proven itself to Canadians. As one of the most beloved programs in the country, let’s talk about how to get more PC Optimum points for even better savings.
- About PC Optimum points
- Where to use your PC Optimum card
- How to earn points
- Earning PC Optimum points when you shop
- Special PC Optimum offers
- Shoppers Drugmart
- Esso and Mobil
- Maximize your points
- The particularities of the program
- The PC Financial World Elite Mastercard
- PC Money Bank account
- PC Optimum program summary
About PC Optimum points
PC Optimum was founded in 2018, following the merger of the Shoppers Drugmart Optimum program and the PC Plus program.
After the acquisition of Shoppers Drug Mart (Pharmaprix in Quebec) by Loblaw, the two loyalty programs merged together in order to offer the best of both worlds on one card. Now, Canadian shoppers can earn points on groceries and drugstore purchases, helping them accumulate even more points.
Among others, Loblaws owns the President's Choice brand. Hence the choice of the name PC Optimum.
As a member, you earn points by making purchases at participating merchants. To everyone's delight, it is also possible to maximize your rewards through various opportunities offered by the program.
You can take advantage of personalized offers, participate in point redemption events, use the PC Financial World Elite Mastercard and even open a PC Money Bank account.
Read More: PC Financial Review: Groceries, Banking, Rewards and More
Where to use your PC Optimum card
Your PC Optimum card, which is free to use for members, can be used in more than 4,500 stores across Canada. If you’re in Quebec, you can earn points at Pharmaprix pharmacies, Loblaw, Provigo, Maxi and Maxi & Cie. You can also take advantage of the program at Joe Fresh clothing stores and at Esso and Mobil gas stations.
If you live anywhere else in Canada, you can earn points at all Loblaws-owned grocery stores like Shoppers Drugmart, Real Canadian Superstore, No Frills, Zehrs, Loblaws, and many more. You can also earn points on Joe Fresh clothing, as well as at Esso and Mobil gas stations.
As far as loyalty programs go, the PC Optimum program is particularly well designed. In fact, the choice of shops covers the vast majority of your essential needs. That is, your food, personal care and gas for your car. You can also earn points on both in-store and online purchases.
How to earn points
In addition to being able to use your card in many stores, you also have several ways to earn points. You have access to personalized offers that give you bonus points on certain purchases, as well as more traditional ways to accumulate points which is proportional to the amount of your purchase.
Your points accumulation is different depending on the store you are in. Your points are redeemable from the moment you have accumulated 10,000 points, which is equivalent to $10. Here is the value of the points:
| Points | Value |
| 100 | 10 cents |
| 1,000 | 1 dollar |
| 10,000 | 10 dollars |
Read More: Reward Points Value in Canada: How Much Are They Worth
Earning PC Optimum points when you shop
If you just have the PC Optimum member card, you will only earn points on certain products purchased at partner stores. Your points are, therefore not, accumulated according to your total bill, but rather according to specific items that have a special PC Optimum offer.
First, there are personal offers that are mostly based on your buying habits. This is because the program generates offers based on your purchase history. So you don't have to buy products that are less suited to your needs just to earn more points.
Make your purchases according to your needs and your next personalized offers will align with your needs and habits. In addition, there are offers that are advertised by the merchant and are available to all members.
Read More: The Best Rewards Credit Cards in Canada
Special PC Optimum offers
With the purchase of a targeted product, you will get points. These offers are usually very beneficial. In the example below, when you spend $20 a certain beverage products, you earn 8,000 points which are worth $8.
In addition to bonus points, there are discounts displayed in flyers that are reserved for members of the PC Optimum program. In the example below, a PC Optimum member can get these sausages for $8.99 rather than $10.99 at a Real Canadian Superstore in Manitoba.
Even if you don’t earn any points on this purchase, the applicable discount is approximately 22%. This is a significant offer and even better than many point accumulation offers.
Read More: Best Credit Cards for Groceries
Shoppers Drugmart
At Shoppers Drugmart, accumulating points can be easier since you get 15 points for every dollar spent, regardless of your purchases. Also, just like at the grocery store, you receive personal offers on targeted products every week.
In addition, there are particularly interesting events where you can earn bonus points when you purchase certain products. In the example above, if you buy $11.99 worth of the featured beauty product, you accumulate 3,000 points in addition to the 165 points you would normally earn, for a total of 3,165.
A single point is typically worth $0.001. This bonus point offer equates to a value of $3.165 instead of just $0.165.
Finally, there are also times when you can redeem your points in order to get a higher monetary value than expected. PC Optimum runs “redemption days” every few months, giving you lots of opportunities to cash in on the boosted value of your points. During those events, it becomes very beneficial to redeem your already accumulated points to stretch them even further.
Esso and Mobil
At Esso and Mobil, the accumulation is very simple, you accumulate 10 points per liter of gasoline purchased. Sometimes, there are offers that allow you to double your points, but they are quite rare.
Read More: The Best Gas Credit Cards in Canada
Maximize your points
As you can see, this is a pretty generous rewards program. There are even more special offers and ways to earn points! Indeed, you can also join the PC Optimum Insiders program which allows you to earn points faster.
PC Optimum Insiders get an additional 10% discount on all PC products. That's over 12,000 products! There are also other benefits to the Insiders program such as free shipping and bonus points if you purchase a trip through PC Travel.
Read More: The 10 Best Travel Credit Cards for 2022
Finally, unless otherwise specified, it is possible to combine several offers simultaneously. You could, therefore, buy a targeted product with one of your personalized offers and enjoy a “Multiply your points” event on this same purchase.
The particularities of the program
In order to enjoy all the benefits of the program, there are a few things to know. First, your personal offers change weekly and can only be used once. So, you can't return to the store to use the same offer again.
Second, if you redeem your points at Shoppers Drug Mart / Pharmaprix, you cannot earn points on your immediate purchases. It is, therefore, more beneficial to redeem your points at another participating merchant. With the obvious exception of a Shoppers Drug Mart redemption event.
Finally, the majority of offers change every Thursday. The timeframes are sometimes even shorter. For example, point events at Shoppers Drugmart are usually two or three days long. So stay tuned for these opportunities!
The PC Financial World Elite Mastercard
To go even further, you can get the PC Financial World Elite Mastercard to accumulate even more points. The benefits are numerous!
- You earn 45 PC Optimum points for every dollar spent at Shoppers Drugmart (instead of 15 points)
- You earn 30 PC Optimum points per liter of gas at Esso (instead of 10 points)
- You earn 30 PC Optimum points for every dollar spent at partner grocery stores and pc travel, regardless of your purchases.
- You earn 10 PC Optimum points for every dollar spent anywhere else.
With this credit card, you also have other advantages for your leisure, entertainment, show reservations, festivals, car rentals and more.
You also have medical assistance available 24/7 that can make it easier for you to access an appointment, arrangements for emergency medical transportation, and even prescription refills.
While this card has no annual fee, to qualify, it requires a minimum annual income of $80,000 per person or $150,000 per household.
In order to find the credit card that best suits your spending habits and needs, we invite you to use the Hardbacon Credit Card Comparison Tool. This is a completely free tool that allows you to find the credit card that is most beneficial for you.
PC Money Bank account
In addition to having the PC Financial World Elite Mastercard, you can have a PC Money Bank account . Not only is it possible to use this card anywhere in the world, but the account also has no monthly fees. With the use of the Interac debit card, you earn 10 PC Optimum points for every dollar spent.
Read More: PC Financial Review: Groceries, Banking, Rewards and More
PC Optimum program summary
| Where to use PC Optimum | Loblaws-owned grocery stores Pharmacy: Shoppers Drugmart & Pharmaprix Gas station: Esso and Mobil |
| PC Optimum point value | 100 points = 10 cents 1,000 points = $1 10,000 points = $10 |
| How to earn points at partner stores | Personalized offers Weekly offers |
| How to earn points at Shoppers Drug Mart / Pharmaprix | $1 spent = 15 points Personalized offers Weekly offers Multiply your points events Redeem your points events |
| How to earn points at Esso and Mobil | 1 litre of gas = 10 points |
| PC Financial World Elite Mastercard | $1 spent at Pharmaprix = 45 points 1 litre of gasoline at Esso and Mobil = 30 points $1 spent at partner grocery stores & PC Travel = 30 points $1 spent anywhere = 10 points |
| PC Money Bank account | $1 spent anywhere = 10 points |
| Benefits of the program | Free membership (no charge) Participating stores to match your essential needs Personalized offers Easy to use |
As you can see, the PC Optimum program is very beneficial to consumers. In order to accumulate points, all you have to do is do your essential shopping in places targeted by the program.
This is the main goal of the program offered by Loblaws – to build customer loyalty! You can earn points through various personalized offers, weekly flyer offers and points events
You can maximize your rewards by choosing the PC Financial World Elite Mastercard credit card and opening a PC Money Bank account.
Start earning points now and reduce the price of your essential expenses!
About The Author: Arthur Dubois
Passionate about personal finance and financial technology, Arthur Dubois is a writer and SEO specialist at Hardbacon. Since his arrival in Canada, he’s built his credit score from nothing.
Arthur invests in the stock market but doesn’t pay any fees because he uses National Bank Direct Brokerage online broker and Wealthsimple’s robo-advisor. He pays for his subscriptions online with his KOHO prepaid card, and uses his Tangerine credit card for most of his in-store purchases. When he buys bitcoins, it’s with the BitBuy online platform. Of course it goes without saying that he uses the Hardbacon app so that he can manage all of his finances from one convenient place.
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