Loyalty? You've got to be joking!

I got a new so-called loyalty card in the post today. You know the cards I mean? The ones that give you points for shopping at a particular supermarket, or for spending your money at some other retailer that's part of the same set-up. They call them loyalty cards - at least here in the UK - because the idea is that the points are their way of thanking you for your loyalty to their retail chain. Well, really... Does anyone take this seriously? Does anyone really have a sense of loyalty to a supermarket chain?! How many loyalty cards has the average Brit got in their purse/wallet? I'm not so bad, I've got two... no, three actually, two supermarket chains and one rather well-known chain of pharmacies which does not need my free advertising. So, does this mean I feel more loyal to these chains? or that I would shop there deliberately in order to earn points? That would just be pathetic - at least, I would feel pathetic if I caught myself doing that, making a choice as to where to do my shopping based on their generosity in point allocation.

And the generosity is, of course, exaggerated. Not that they promise more than they give - it's just the way they phrase things. When you're promised an extra 250 points if you spend such-and-such by a certain date, it sounds good, doesn't it? Two hundred and fifty sounds like a lot, unless you do the maths and remind yourself that actually one point is worth one penny, so we're talking about £2.50, which is not really worth the extra purchase, is it?

One thing I'm pleased about though is that some of the chains have started offering key fobs - little tags that you can hang on your keyring and use if you are shopping and haven't got your loyalty card with you. Not that I want to hang this collection of supermarket advertisements on my keyring, but I do have two separate purses I use - one for my own spending money and one for the housekeeping (yes, I know how this sounds, but it is so much easier keeping to a budget this way) so obviously the loyalty cards live in the housekeeping purse, but I don't necessarily have it with me when I'm filling up with petrol. So what they call key fobs I'm using as spare cards - they will not dangle on my keyring, but they will sit snugly in my other purse and come out when required. It's a small thing maybe, but it's nice to feel that in some way you're beating the system...