Kuala Lumpur, Feb 22- Swiping your membership card when shopping at your favourite hypermarket or malls may actually help you save quite a lot on your shopping.
Besides collecting reward points that can be exchanged with free products or cash vouchers on the next purchases, consumers can also obtain certain necessities at a huge discount compared to non-members.
Today, many hypermarkets and even petrol stations offer various rewards for membership as a way to attract customers.
Membership cards are generally given for free or for a nominal fee. Membership is either for life or renewed annually.
The government has also introduced various discount cards such as the 1Malaysia Student Discount Card, the 1Malaysia Privilege Discount Card and the Consumer Squad Card. These are among the efforts to help reduce the burden of the people in facing the rising cost of goods.
Through the government initiative, cardholders can get a special discount on purchases of daily necessities, sports and school gears, vehicle spare parts, hotel stay and healthcare items at selected premises.
Multiple Benefits
Bank officer Shahrul Nizam Ridzwan, 37, said he had nearly 20 membership cards from various business premises, which he used quite frequently.
These included hypermarkets, petrol stations, furniture warehouses and clothing boutiques
He said the membership cards, especially those by hypermarkets, offered many privileges. Some offer discounts on food and beverages and holidays, while others offer free parking and drinks to cardholders.
“I notice that many buyers, including my own friends, do not own membership cards even though they frequent the shopping premises often and buy a lot of items from there. When asked, they said that it didn’t matter and would not make much of a difference on their total expenditure.
“I know it seems like it may not make much of a difference, but when the total spent is converted into reward points and reaches a certain amount, it can be exchanged for cash vouchers, food coupons or even free electrical goods. We also get discounts on our birthdays. Isn’t that savings enough?”, he said.
Even a discount of 50 sen or RM1 on selected items can amount to a lot of savings, especially when purchasing in bulk consistently.
Make Sure It’s Worth It
However, Shahrul Nizam said, not many businesses in the country offered membership. There were also some businesses that charged a lot for membership but offer limited privileges.
“I will usually scrutinise the benefits offered if they are charging me for membership, to see if it is worth it. If membership is free, I will usually just register as it can help me get discounts”, he said.
He said cardholders would usually save even more during a sale, with items offered to members at an exclusive price and often topped with cash voucher rewards.
To collect high reward points and more cash coupons, Nadia Nurhaslinda Abdullah, 32, chose to be ‘loyal’ to selected shopping centres. She would also use a card that could be accepted at many businesses premises, such as Bonuslink.
She said certain hypermarkets offer more that reward point redemption. They often give away cash vouchers, additional rebates, and further discount vouchers to cardholders, depending on the amount of transaction conducted in a certain period.
Collecting Discount Coupons
Besides, Nadia said she also liked to retrieve free shopping vouchers and coupons from newspapers, catalogs and pamphlets.
She started the habit in 2009, and used it mainly for groceries or grooming products.
“However, there are not as many choices in Malaysia as there are in other countries. Not many businesses are willing to issue discount coupons or vouchers, even though it can help increase business”, she said.
Shanty Nurshafizan Shafie, 34, a part-time financial consultant and mother of five, said her family had really felt the pinch from the rising cost of goods.
She said discount vouchers and membership cards have somewhat helped in buffering the impact from the surge in living costs.
“The savings from using membership cards and coupon has certainly helped, especially for those with large families. The money saved can be set aside for the next day’s expenses or for other necessities”, she said.
-Bernama
