I'm sick of the plastic store cards, anyone else?
The next time I hear, " do you have a XXX store card" I think I'll scream.
There is no purpose to these plastic store cards other than to track us. Sale price only if you have a card? Nuts!
CVS, Walmart, Shaw's, Ace Hdwr, Home Depot, ad infinitum.
I can see having a card if you belong to one of the clubs like Cost-co or BJ's. You have paid to shop there. The rest are nothing but pains in the backside.
My change purse now has several cards, and I am not a big shopper. These cards are not charge cards, just tracking cards.
Whoever thought up this phony-baloney gimmick should be fired.
Another thing that bugs the heck out of me, Sale price? X dollars off your next purchase? What's with that? Take my money, give me a receipt and off I go. The heck with XXX dollars off my next purchase. I live in the here and now. There may not be another time that I visit a particular store. I need to save the money now!
This gimmick is nothing but a bet just in case we don't come back.
I may be too sensitive to this issue but I am sick of these cards. I also don't like to feel I have to give my zip code to places like Walmart. I avoid them like the plague but when I need cat food or litter, they are the least expensive.
Cranky old geezer, aren't I. Anyone else agree?
= new reply since forum marked as read
It's illegal for them to charge full price for items offered on sale. The sale items are for every customer whether they have a store card or not. When you go through the checkout and don't feel like dealing with your card just say you forgot it or don't have one and to swipe THEIR store card to get the sale price. Every clerk has a card at their register for this purpose.
In fact, most stores sale items are input into the system to automatically come up at the sale price at some point before the end of the transaction. Since I usually go through the self-checkout at the grocery store that opened rather recently across the street from my house the sale price comes up when you hit the "pay for my order" button though it comes up with the regular price when the item is scanned. The grocery store I used to go to for years I still go to once in awhile if it's more convenient (or they have something I want on sale that the new store doesn't), and when going through the self-checkout the sale price comes up when you scan the item on sale. Either way, they both have the sale prices imputed into the system already.
Store cards have only ONE purpose - to track what you buy. They have nothing to do with getting items on sale that you supposedly wouldn't get on sale without the card, but of course, that's what they WANT you to think they do so you don't know that the only purpose for the card is to track what you buy.
If you want to, throw out all your store cards. Be careful which ones you pitch out because some stores do offer actual special discount cards that without the card you don't get the discount. These are pretty rare though. The discount cards normally come with a lot more paperwork than a regular store card, and are normally offered for specific types of people such as seniors, low income persons, friends and family of store workers, medical personnel like doctors or nurses, etc.
Since you're on Social Security, check out every store or place that you go like movie theaters, etc. to see if they offer a discount card for seniors. I remember when my mom officially became a senior she was thrilled that soooo many places offer senior discounts, and she ALWAYS asks. Over the years she's saved a bundle just being diligent in always asking about senior discounts where ever she goes where she'll be spending money. My mom is a wizard at figuring out all kinds of ways to pinch a penny. And she could pinch a penny 'till there was blood on Lincoln's face. 
Oh yeah, always check stores for what rebate offers are available. Stores used to always have a little sign about a rebate available right on the shelf with the item, but these days I've noticed that a lot of stores have gotten REALLY lax about this. The pharmacy I go to for instance stopped doing that and now has a bulletin board way off in a hidden corner with all the rebate offers tacked to it for items they carry. And of course, nobody ever mentioned that's what they did with the rebate offers, and they hid them on purpose. I've gotten stuff for half price or even more for items through rebates that I would never have known about without checking for them and getting the paperwork to mail in for them.
Never earned a point in my life. I don't need two bottles of a knockoff perfume for 500 points. Glad those deals worked out for you though. 
I stopped shopping there when they stopped accepting Humana for prescriptions.
One of the reasons I shop at State Bros is because they have 1/3 off the price of Albertsons etc and no card required, and besides that the cashiers smile. I sorted cards one day and kept about four of the cards I was carrying. And most of those I never sent in the paperwork! I have stopped going to lots of stores that use those card things. Hope someone is scanning the responses to your post, smile. You know, the NSA of retail.
I refuse to have one of their cards and I always pay in cash. I also get the feeling that I get the cold shoulder from the cashiers when they realize I'm not signed up. It's nothing serious just less friendly and they don't make it easy for me to get my bag of purchases. Maybe it's my imagination.
and I don't give two shits about them tracking how much peanut butter or tofu I purchase. In fact, I get targeted savings coupons based on that tracking. They benefit by tracking purchase patterns and I benefit by getting a discount on my Saturday morning OJ.
Everyone is so desperate to be pissed off about utterly insignificant things; seems a bit sad, really. I'll reserve my privacy-related anger for the NSA and let the fact that Ralph's knows I drink an awful lot of Earl Grey slide for now.
Of course the drinking glasses were jelly jars and the good wheat pattern china came from boxes of DUZ detergent.
Can't continue this subthread without a pic - 
I remember us collecting enough to get a lawn chair or something at one point. It's been so long ago but I believe the redeeming place nearest to us was up in NE Philly somewhere - some "showroom"-like spot.
and she said we also got a card table and 2 chairs at some point.... 
I sortof remember the last time we were at the nearest redemption center and I think there were signs up in there indicating its imminent closure at that time. And that was that.
"Them was the old days..."
... for so many people. Choices, decisions, analysis ... gads, how is anyone supposed to deal with all that complexity? Really, it's traumatic. The government should just decide what you need and send it to you and debit your account. Life is so hard. 
I get funny looks from cashiers, but I don't care. And I don't want those stupid cards either. I hate those things. And I don't want to donate to their charity of the month either. I just want to pay for the freakin' cat food and go. Is that so much to ask for? 
