Knowing What's in Your Wallet

It seems at every store you shop at these days comes with its own version of what can be considered a rewards card or a savings card. You will often be asked if you are a card member at checkout and if you reply no, you will be encouraged to sign up. Most of these are free, but are they even worth bulking up your key ring and your wallet? Let’s take a look at three of the local opportunities for savings and rewards.

Sheetz- One of the most frequently shopped at locations by students and the Frostburg community alike is the gas station Sheetz. With their My Sheetz Card users can save 3¢ on gas any time. Unfortunately, if you look at the gas prices at other local gas stations you will notice that without a My Sheetz card you will actually pay more at Sheetz, so you’re not really saving. Another offer is the Buy 10 Get One Free deal on popular items like donuts, coffee, and subs. If you frequently eat at Sheetz, it’s worth having.

Overall: If you frequently shop at Sheetz it’s worth having the card because it’s 100% free, and over time you will get free stuff, just don’t be excited about saving money on gas, you’re not.

Food Lion- Most everyone knows about Food Lion’s MVP card, but how useful is it? Again this savings card is 100% free and it saves you on a rotating array of food and general items around the store. It also makes you a shopping profile for what it thinks you will buy in the future and will produce coupons for certain items. Finally, the MVP allows you to access Food Lion’s specialty programs whenever they come around, like getting a free gallon of milk after you purchase 5, etc.

Overall: It’s definitely worth having, it saves you money and sometimes even gets you things for free.

Martin’s- This local grocery store offers customers a Bonus Card, which similar to Food Lion, allows customers to save on certain items in the store, and even get certain items for free. The Bonus Card also creates a customer profile and prints off special coupons for each customer. The difference between the Bonus Card and the MVP card is that Martin’s has a gas station. After a customer uses their bonus card and spends $100 they will get 10¢ off each gallon of gas (up to 30 gallons). This increases after every $100 spent unless the customer redeems the money off at the pump. So hypothetically speaking, someone could spend enough at the store and get gas for free. Something to note is that Martin’s usually puts certain items on sale and then gives “Bonus Points” for buying those items, that is usually how people get free gas, not spending $38,000 in groceries each month.

Overall: A Bonus Card is a must have. If you buy a lot of groceries and often and don’t mind riding to La Vale, then you can really save on gas. Yes, it’s only one tank but it’s worth it since you need food anyway.

It all comes down to whether or not you shop at the store frequently. If you don’t most stores have a ‘store card’ they can scan for you if you only need it to save money, but if you are a frequent shopper at a store it is worth getting the free card so you get the rewards you have earned!