Loyalty cards in Thailand
We used to collect points or stick stamps, which we received with our purchases, sometimes for free, sometimes for a fee.
When I still lived in the Netherlands, we had all kinds of savings cards and booklets in a kitchen drawer and the stamps and points obtained were saved in them. At set times (!) I was allowed to sit in front of it and stick the stamps or count the points. I certainly didn't give up, we weren't rich, but I've always found this kind of saving thing poor.
Of course I remember the points to be bought at Albert Heijn, 5 cents each and if you had saved for 49 guilders, you could hand in the booklet and you received 52 guilders in cash. At the Keurslager you got the points for free, a full booklet (if you had spent 50 guilders) yielded 1 whole guilder. My wife loved it, just like the discount coupons in brochures and advertising magazines: “when you present this coupon, a second pack of washing powder for half price” or something like that. Then there was: only today! If she wanted to take advantage of that, fine with me, I certainly didn't go to the store with such a receipt.
The Shell and Texaco also gave stamps when filling up with petrol and since I made quite a lot of kilometers, those booklets filled up pretty quickly. I had to get them, because if the servant forgot, I wouldn't ask for them. I thought that was so childish: “you forgot my stamps!”. Texaco gave money back for fully saved cards, at Shell you could choose gifts in their store. My wife (not me of course!) had collected quite a few nice and strong towels. That last must have been 25 years ago and believe it or not, I still use some towels here in Thailand.
I don't know if saving points or sticking stamps is still happening in the Netherlands. I want to assume that it is an end of business, because the function of saving points to earn money in one way or another is increasingly being taken over by loyalty cards. A plastic card, the size of a credit card, that various shops provide, sometimes for a fee, sometimes for free, but in any case after you have registered yourself. It is a nice marketing tool, because per customer you can check exactly what and how much you have bought and it is also a form of customer loyalty. .
It is no different here in Thailand, you can also collect a lot of loyalty cards here. I don't have one myself, but my Thai wife (do only women do this madness?) has a whole zipper in her wallet. Tesco-Lotus, Big C, HomePro, Toys 'R Us, Mike's Shopping mall and so on. On Thaivisa this week I read a forum discussion about this phenomenon. Some were against being registered, because it harms privacy, and others didn't think it was a problem as long as it brought in money. There were also some examples of that and I couldn't get excited about those miserable savings and presents. Only Home Pro was praised, but that man bought his entire interior at that store and was able to score a considerable discount with his loyalty card.
Still a positive ending. So my wife has a loyalty card from Mike's Shopping Mall here in Pattaya, for which she pays 100 or 200 Baht annually. That card, which is only issued to Thais, provides a 10% discount on any purchase of clothing, shoes, jewelry, bags, etc. Still a nice bonus, isn't it?
I paid for one from Luk Dot, 150 bath, valid for a year and is good for a 10% discount.
Bought just about all my furniture there, then the 150 bath for that card is peanuts.
Arranged that card yourself, so they do not distinguish between Thai and Farang.
Card is made directly for you, is also not registered to your name, so you can lend it to your acquaintances.
I have The1Card from Tops, Central, B2S, Robinson etc.
A great card that entitles you to many discounts, 2 for the price of 1, etc
It says in the last paragraph of the piece that a loyalty card from Mike's Shopping Mall is only issued to Thai's but I'm a real Dutch, blonde,
and i have a card like that. This costs 100 Baht.
Logical, Elly, rules in Thailand are there to deviate from. You certainly do everything for a charming, blonde Dutch woman!
Nice reaction but the rules are not deviated from because I know several farangs who have that card. If it were only for Thai they could say that when I come to renew the card but I've never had any response to that. All they say is 100 Baht!
We have, among other things, had a Tesco Lotus card scanned when purchasing groceries. This is also possible at the food court in the Tesco. Subsequently, every quarter a letter at home containing various discount vouchers and also vouchers for a cash discount.
Also an M Genaration card from Major cineplex. Have it scanned when visiting the cinema, then discount and points for free tickets. Also points at Major bowl and IMAX theater and various other things (shown on the back of the card). Since we regularly go to the cinema, we regularly get free tickets.
And don't forget the card from Swensens. Ten percent discount, with two coups of 150 Thb still 30 Thb. Wn. I think 50 percent discount on Tuesday, but then a bare ice cream without bells and whistles. Card has expired, let's see what a new one costs.
Dear Gring, I just had a look in my wife's wallet. It's okay with us. Tesco Lotus, Amway, Paragon/Emporium/The Mall and Index Living Mall. No BigC, which is remarkable because that's where we do most of our shopping. I only have one card: my Dutch credit card.
I miss the Airmiles in your Dutch overview. I was happy to discover a Shell pump in Thailand. You will not find Praxis, V&D, AH here. But when I asked Shell for Airmiles, they acted as if they had never heard of it. I still have to write to Shell about it. So I miss a lot of points.
Dear Jacques, I also regularly shop at Big-C., and use my
Big-C customer card., the final receipt always states the bonus amounts
a subsequent visit to the supermarket will be deducted., depending on the bonus amounts
of your spending behavior varies from about 20, 40 baht to sometimes as much as 200 to 300 baht.
I still think this is worth it, kind regards william
William, you are absolutely right. My wife has registered with BigC once and she passes on that registration number every time we are at the cash register. The number is duly entered. I think she lost the card. Every time a surprise what the voucher yields. 200 bath was the main prize so far.
Bought a new toothbrush from Boots last week. The girls there thought I should take a loyalty card (free) before paying. Gave me 10%, almost 200 bath discount.
You are a thief of your own wallet if you don't take a loyalty card-
By the way, at AH you pay 10 cents instead of. 5 cents per stamp, so you now get 52 euros.