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If you live in Canada, you’ll have heard of the company Loblaw. You’ll have also heard of PC Optimum. And you may have heard of PC Optimum Insiders.

PC Optimum is a way to earn points when you shop for your groceries. You get offers each week, and if you buy those products (usually ones that you have a history of buying), you end up gaining points. Those with a PC Mastercard will earn extra points on each $1 spent.

Get 10,000 points and you have $10. I currently have 600,000 points I’ve collected throughout this year with just the regular points and the PC Mastercard. I use the points at Christmas and New Year so I don’t have to worry about my food budget. This is the most I’ve had to play with at Christmas.

This weekend, I signed up for the PC Optimum Insiders. It’s a $119 per year subscription that offers a few benefits. The ones that sold me were free click and collect spots and the extra points on all PC items.

Here’s why I’ve signed up for PC Optimum Insiders.

I always use click and collect

I love click and collect. Every single week, I will use it for my grocery shop. I order everything online at the start of the day and I pick a timeslot that works for dance class for my kids finishing.

There’s no need for me to traipse around the shops. And I spend less this way because I don’t go past something and think “just this week.” The only time I don’t do click and collect is when it’s Christmas grocery shopping. I want to be able to see items and make my own substitutions based on what I know will work.

It costs between $3 and $5 for a click and collect slot. My one usually costs $3, but that’s during the pandemic when they’re encouraging more people to use this slot. Usually, my slot would cost $5.

Even at $3, it would take my about 40 weeks to make the most of the $119. If it goes back up to the $5, it’s about 24 weeks of shops. Once I’ve got those weeks, my subscription has paid for itself.

That was the first thing that sold me.

PC Optimum Insiders get extra points

We also get 10% back in points on all PC products. It didn’t used to be this way, and it’s why I didn’t get the subscription right away. It used to be on very specific PC products that I didn’t buy.

Now it’s on all PC products. And I get a lot of PC products.

I’m not brand conscious. As long as the food/drink tastes good, I’m fine with it. I’ll buy whatever is the cheapest.

There are times I will spend more on particular items. For example, I don’t get PC cheese anymore. I prefer the taste of Black Diamond and Cracker Barrell. But most of the time, I’ll get a PC choice if it’s cheaper that weak.

So, I get points back through purchases that I would already make.

This week, I got 3,700 points that I wouldn’t get without being a PC Optimum Insiders member. So, that’s another $3.70 that I can take off the subscription. It will take me less time to work off the $3 fee for click and collect.

I’m not locked in forever

This subscription is paid once a year. There used to be a monthly option, but it’s no longer available.

I usually opt for an annual subscription over a monthly one, especially when I know I’m going to gain a value.

While I’m locked in for the year, that’s it. I don’t have to pay anything extra for the subscription during that year. I’ve paid it all up. If I decide not to shop at a Loblaw place anymore, then I just end up losing out on my subscription. But I’m not going to pay extra money in 2021 for the subscription.

And once the year comes to an end, I’ll get a choice of whether to sign up again for it or not. I’ll get to make a choice based on how I’ve found this year of shopping. If I like it, I’ll sign up. If I don’t, then I’ll drop the subscription.

For our family, the PC Optimum Insiders makes sense. It won’t for everyone, but if you’re already spending $3 weekly on click and collect and you use that every single week without fail, then you’ll want to consider getting the subscription.

As I get more out of the subscription, I’ll share a full review.

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Do you want to sign up to PC Optimum Insiders? Check out all the details here.