How to use Loblaw's new PC Optimum loyalty program

Loblaw reveals new PC Optimum loyalty program If you shop at a Loblaw grocery store or a Shoppers Drug Mart you probably collect loyalty points, but how you do it is about to change.

Beginning Feb. 1, 2018, Shoppers Drug Mart and Loblaw customers will be able to use one card or app for a new loyalty program that combines the Shoppers Optimum and PC Plus points systems.

The merged program is called PC Optimum and will allow consumers to transfer their existing points to the new platform at their “full value.”

For a better understanding of how the new points system will work, CTVNews.ca examines some of the program’s finer details.

Can I keep using my current points cards?

Both Shoppers Optimum and PC Plus points cardholders can continue collecting points as they normally would up until Feb. 1, 2018.

After that, customers are advised to hold on to their current Shoppers Optimum and PC Plus points cards until the next time they shop when a cashier will ask them to swap the old card for a new PC Optimum card.

Loyalty program members can also download the app or create an online account and follow the prompts to link their points to the new system once it launches.

What will happen to the points I’ve collected thus far?

When the new loyalty program launches at midnight on Feb. 1, 2018, Shoppers Optimum and PC Plus points will be automatically converted into PC Optimum points at “full value,” according to PC Optimum’s website.

For PC Plus members, that means points will be converted to a ratio of 1:1. For example, 5,000 PC points will equal 5,000 PC Optimum points.

Although that seems straightforward, the conversion ratio for Shoppers Optimum points is a little bit trickier. Customers who have amassed points between two different reward levels will have their points rounded up to the higher level for the conversion.

The conversion rates are based on the corresponding dollar amount, the website said.

To determine how much your current points will be worth in the new system, customers can visit the PC Optimum calculator.

How do I earn PC Optimum points?

Customers will be able to earn points by making purchases at almost 2,500 participating Loblaw’s locations across the country, including Shoppers Drug Mart, Pharmaprix, Loblaws, No Frills, and Real Canadian Superstore. They will also be able to collect points through Loblaw’s online retailers.

How do I spend my PC Optimum points?

For every 10,000 points, shoppers will earn $10 to spend at any participating store or online at BeautyBoutique.ca and JoeFresh.ca. Customers are able to save up their points for a maximum redemption value of $500.

PC Optimum members will also be able to earn points through personalized offers and promotions and by using their President’s Choice Financial MasterCard.

What about Pharmaprix members in Quebec?

Customers of Pharmaprix, the name for Shoppers Drug Mart in Quebec, will be able to keep earning points for the Pharmaprix Optimum program until Jan. 31, 2018. After that, members will have until May 2, 2018 to convert their points over to the new PC Optimum system.