Payback and other Loyalty Cards (bonus programme for shoppers)

[mattshaw 0]

I always shop in Real & get asked if i have a Payback card. Im going to be spend a lot in Stadler tomorrow (buying 2 bikes + accessories) & ive just seen (on their website) that you can use a payback card.

 

From what i can gather, its like a loyalty card type thing where you earn points for the money you spend.

 

My questions are these:-

 

1) How easy is it to get a card?

2) Is it worth it? ie how many points per euro

3) What do you get for collecting all those points (if thats how it works)?

[Small Town Boy 6,672]

Presumably you've already looked at the Payback website...

 

Basically, you get points equivalent to between 0.25 and 1 percent of your purchase. These are redeemable as cash. I don't personally bother, but millions do. I guess the good thing is that it's valid all over the place, rather than having 20 different cards for different stores like some other countries I can think of.

[mattshaw 0]

Had looked at the website yeah, but my german isnt that good

 

Only 1% max? Maybe not worth the 'hassle' then? If ill only earn 10euro for spend shedloads tomorrow!! would only also get 1euro per week for shopping in real... I know some people will say "but its free money!". I could prob 'earn' that just by deciding not to by that big bar of chocolate! lol

[Small Town Boy 6,672]

That's the conclusion I came to.

[pootle 94]

 

1) How easy is it to get a card?

2) Is it worth it? ie how many points per euro

3) What do you get for collecting all those points (if thats how it works)?

1) Pick up a new card at any main partner store (kaufhof, real, aral, dm, apollo optik, europcar and many more)

 

2) It depends on how often you shop, if you use any of the 5/10x points coupons to help raise the points you receive

 

3) You can convert points to miles (with lufthansa), you can get things from the payback shop, or you can convert them to cash.

 

Say I just bought a new watch from Kaufhof. For my birthday Kaufhof sent me a 10 times points coupon. Watch cost €149, using the coupon I got 1490 points - equivalent of close to 15 euros. Is it worth it, depends on where and how you shop. You can also get payback points with your other partners such as amazon etc.

 

Hope that helps

[Guest]

Payback is also accepted in other places too... not just your shopping outlet..

 

I will get one in the next few days, simply because of the amount of diesel I use each week...

 

If I get a free cart of shopping once a year.. then I have at least got something for nothing!!

[pootle 94]

p.s. you can also collect payback points at lots of online partners such as amazon.de, tchibo, eventinm, itunes, expedia.de, conrad.de

 

Payback online partners

[Small Town Boy 6,672]

Ah. I hadn't realised you can convert them into Miles & More points. I take back everything I said; I will be applying for one immediately.

[leky 173]

There is also the payback plus card that acts as a kind of debit card & comes straight out of your bank & you also get more points. The other benefit to payback cards is that you get vouchers all the time for 10% off and 5 or 10x the amount of points, you can also use them in NH hotels and a couple of others for folk that travel a lot.

[mystery 34]

I use mine quite alot, and twice a year I shop for free at DM! Example: at DM there is a machine there which you print out your "points" (gathered from Kaufhof, OBI, REAL and others) and with that slip you go to the cash registers and they deduct the "points" from your receipt. I usually shop for free twice a year for about ca. €15,00. Applying for the card isn't alot of work, nor is using it - so yeah, it's worth it.

[alika 14]

I was just online trying to sign up for one and got nervous because they wanted my bank info. I tried to wade through the German and I still don't understand why they want it. Could someone enlighten me?

 

Also, it seems like Payback Plus is the way to go, no? It is still free and gives more benefits than the normal Payback card. What are the advantages of just the normal card? I am a little hesitant because my German is not completely up to the task of wading through fine print.

 

Thanks for any help in this regard.

[Small Town Boy 6,672]

The Payback Plus card can also be used to pay for purchases in the participating shops. They therefore need your bank details so they can get the money from your account. Make sure you tick "Direktzahlung" (which works like a debit card) rather than "Teilzahlung" (which will work like a credit card with resulting interest charges).

[alika 14]

Thanks, STB! So is that the main difference between Payback Plus and the normal one? So it is basically just like using your EC card?

[leky 173]

Yes and you get more points and discounts from plus.

[alika 14]

Thanks, STB and leky!

[Small Town Boy 6,672]

Yeah, you collect points with either, but with the Plus card you have the option of paying with the card as well (but you don't have to; you can pay by cash and still get the points). With the Plus card you get 500 extra points for signing up (until 31.03.08) and supposedly get more offers in the post, but other than that the points are the same.

[Starshollow 6,069]

One of the things that have kept me from getting myself such a card is that the companies behind payback collect all kind of data on you that they are according to their contracts free to use for specifically targeting advertisement and so on at you. While I am not exactly one of the "protect your privacy" ayatollahs, I don't want to be called by all kind of companies offering me their services etc...

Does any of you PayBack users has had experience like that, increased inflow of paper and phone marketing actions? Would be nice to know if my suspicion is warranted or not.

 

Cheerio

I am a professional independent insurance broker, financial adviser, and authorised advertiser. Contact me.

[NOFXmike 18]

 

Does any of you PayBack users has had experience like that, increased inflow of paper and phone marketing actions? Would be nice to know if my suspicion is warranted or not.

 

Cheerio

Nope, we haven't noticed any difference. We have both happydigit cards and Payback cards. We don't get extra e-mails, mail, or calls from what we've noticed. That being said, I think we would notice if there was a difference since we get nearly no mail, calls, or e-mails (other than from work or family).

 

Also, I want to point out that the payback card works at Aral gas stations too...so you can easily rack up the points with no hassle. We go to Real about once a month as well...which takes payback cards...

[pootle 94]

Payback - Datensicherheit und Datennutzung

 

 

Datensicherheit und Datennutzung

 

Bei Ihrer Anmeldung teilen Sie PAYBACK persönliche Daten mit. Diese benötigen wir, um Ihnen Punkte gutzuschreiben und Rabatte auszuzahlen.

 

Wenn Sie PAYBACK Punkte für Ihre Einkäufe sammeln, teilen uns unsere Partner mit, wann Sie in welchem Geschäft wie viel Umsatz tätigen. Daraus errechnet PAYBACK Ihre Punkte und schreibt sie Ihrem Punktekonto gut. Von manchen Partnern werden an PAYBACK zudem Daten auf Warengruppen-Ebene (z.B. Elektro-Abteilung, Feinkost,...) oder Warenebene übermittelt.

 

Ihre Daten sind bei uns sicher und werden selbstverständlich nicht an Außenstehende weitergegeben und auch nicht im Kreis der Partnerunternehmen herumgereicht. Nur das Unternehmen, von dem Sie Ihre PAYBACK Karte erhalten haben, sowie PAYBACK selbst kennen Ihre Adresse. So bleiben Ihre Daten geschützt und PAYBACK kann sicherstellen, dass Sie keine unnütze Werbepost erhalten.

 

Angebote unserer Partner erhalten Sie, wenn Sie dies bei der Anmeldung wünschen. Die Zustimmung über den Erhalt von Werbung per Post, Newsletter oder SMS können Sie jederzeit widerrufen.

I'll let one of the legalese poeple write a better translation for this...

[Starshollow 6,069]

sounds pretty safe and complete to me from reading the small print. How is the personal experience of users?

 

Cheerio

I am a professional independent insurance broker, financial adviser, and authorised advertiser. Contact me.