Unboxing the PC Optimum Insiders subscription

Photo by cottonbro from Pexels

In our household, like in many across Canada, we’ve been taking a closer look at how we’re spending our money. We’re a family of four, which includes two school-aged kids—one of whom is a preteen who will be eating teenage-sized portions sooner than I’d like! And already, on average, we spend around $1,000 per month on food and household items at the grocery store, like cleaning products and garbage bags. We rarely eat out, and love to try new dishes. So when I heard about the PC Optimum Insiders™ subscription, I thought it would be worth a look because it could save us some money, and even some time. Here’s what I found out. For $119 a year plus taxes, anyone can sign up for this subscription, which offers such benefits as 10% back in PC Optimum™ points on all PC® and Joe Fresh products. That translates to $10 on every $100 spent, which you can redeem to reduce the cost of a future purchase at Shoppers Drug Mart or Loblaw banner stores.

Big points-earning potential on PC products

Let’s say a family like ours spends $100 every week on PC products. That means they’ll get more than $500 back in PC Optimum points each year. For us, the points are a cool perk for buying items we would normally buy anyway, including my favourite PC Black Label Mushroom and Black Truffle Pesto, which makes the most delicious quick pasta sauce. (With two working parents at our house, it’s a weeknight dinner saviour.) In addition to food items, we can also get points on PC-brand gear for our family, like kitchenware, small appliances and cute bento boxes for school lunches. I like to keep a couple sets on hand as backup for when our kids forget their lunch kits at school (insert tired-mom eye roll here).

Time-saving pickup and delivery services

One area that I know a lot of people struggle with is actually having the time and energy to get to a store. We find ourselves in that spot sometimes, too. There are weeks where, between taking our kids to and from school, getting all of our work done, keeping the house from falling down under dust bunnies, making meals and negotiating screen time with our kids, we feel completely frazzled. For those weeks, having our groceries ready for pickup would be a dream! And one of the life-saving things about this subscription is that members get free grocery pickup with PC Express and priority time slots (hello, less scrambling to reserve a spot!). For a weekly grocery pickup with fees that range from $3 to $5, that adds up to at least $156 in waived fees annually—more than covering the cost of the subscription. One great thing about this membership is that it works at a bunch of different stores, including Loblaws, Real Canadian Superstore, No Frills, Fortinos, Valu-Mart, Zehrs, Atlantic Superstore, Provigo, Pharmaprix and Shoppers Drug Mart. So, if one place is having a sale, we can go there and get what we need for less. But if we want to shop online (and we do love that convenience), subscribers also get free shipping at shoppersdrugmart.ca and joefresh.com (and the amounts spent on Joe Fresh product purchases made online also count toward the PC Optimum points that members get back). No more needing to pick out a certain amount of stuff to qualify for free shipping; we can get exactly what we need, when we need it.

Big payback on baby needs

Our kids are out of the baby and toddler stage, but being able to earn points on PC-branded items at Shoppers Drug Mart would have been amazing when they were smaller. Diapers set parents back an average of $550 a year, per child, so if you buy the PC brand, that’s $55 worth of points to redeem. You can also earn points on baby-food pouches, baby wash, sippy cups and much more.

Bonus for parents of big kids

One way a subscription could help us right now is with finding the perfect birthday and holiday gifts for our bigger kids online, and not having to pay for shipping. And there are some great options for kids’ gifts on shoppersdrugmart.ca, like Nintendo Switch Lites, Xbox consoles, cameras, headphones and even Chromebooks. With life so busy, I also find that changes of season sneak up on me, so being able to get free shipping (and PC Optimum points back) from joefresh.com when I need to buy, say, new pairs of boots, replacement gloves or bathing suits for our kids would be fantastic.

Help in the kitchen

As a foodie, I’m thrilled that my kids like trying new dishes—and they sometimes even like cooking them, too! So I’m always looking for new recipes, especially ones we can prep quickly or in advance, allowing us to eat well, even on busy nights. PC Optimum Insiders members get exclusive recipes that are developed with families in mind. There are a couple other membership bonuses that are cool, too. I love free stuff as much as the next person, and when people sign up for the PC Optimum Insiders subscription, they get a welcome box that features a bunch of delicious PC products. The second fun thing is that members get sent the inside scoop on new and upcoming PC products straight to their inbox. As a person who grew up nerding out over the Insiders Report and who loves to cook, this is definitely appealing!

The verdict

For my family, this membership is definitely worth considering, especially if we’re diligent about using it to its full capabilities. It would help keep costs down, save us time and encourage us to discover some new favourites. And with two growing kids in the house, we need all of the help we can get!

PC, PC Optimum, PC Optimum Insiders, Loblaws, No Frills, Real Canadian Superstore, PC Express, Joe Fresh, Zehrs, Your Independent Grocer, Valu-Mart, Fortinos, Maxi, Provigo, Bloor Street Market, Extra Foods, Blue Menu and Atlantic Superstore are trademarks of Loblaws Inc., used with permission. Shoppers Drug Mart and Pharmaprix are trademarks of 911979 Alberta Ltd., used with permission.

About Alex Mlynek

Alex Mlynek is a writer and editor with more than 20 years’ experience. She's written for such magazines as Report on Business and Reader's Digest. Her first job out of journalism school was at MoneySense.

Comments Cancel reply

Andy Io says:

November 17, 2020 at 3:50 pm

The revamp PC subscription is not as competitive as the previous version. Considering that PC doesn’t offer product in all categories, purchase $1190 PC product just to break even is quite a difficult task. The grocery pick up service can be a time saver, but one can be missing significant saving by just choosing products available online. Bulk pack of rice, and other staples are not available when placing a grocery order. Spending $119 with zero special/priority access, while limit your brand selection is unwise, and carries no money sense.

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Ruth Quiroz says:

November 18, 2020 at 10:59 am

I like the program but I do not buy PC products. Can I buy just PC express groceries and make this membership wort it? MY kid living at home is 14 and he is very picky to buy clothes. He does not like Joe clothes. any tips to make it work It?/

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Logan West says:

November 18, 2020 at 6:48 pm

Exactly what savings are there for “delivery” as implied in this article? It states none, and the PC website states no advantages for saving on delivery.

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Cheryl Reid says:

November 25, 2020 at 12:09 am

I find that the best way to earn PC points is shopping during the 20x the points events at Shopper’s Drug Mart. I have a large family and shop often so I usually get these offers at least twice a week. I watch the sales flyers and purchase only items that are on sale that week. There are hundreds of grocery items (both PC and other Brand products) that are for sale at Shoppers, especially at the larger stores.
In addition to the item being on sale, I get 30% back in PC points, as that is what 20x the points works out to. Often I will have a personal offer on some of these sale products as well. These are offers for the products that I buy most often and are emailed to me each week. These offers earn me an additional 20% back in points. This means that I save at least 30% and often 50%. I then spend my points at one of their grocery stores rather than at shoppers as they do not offer 20x the points.

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Helen Beyer says:

November 28, 2020 at 5:24 pm

This article is 80% sales pitch and 20% reality. It might work for the author, but as he notes, he and his family would have to be “diligent about using it to its full capabilities”.
Except for a few exceptions, the No Name products are cheaper and often equal in quality to the PC products. For health reasons, I bake my own bread, and thanks to an old Crock Pot, cook mostly from scratch – so my family purchases very few processed food.
Unless they start offering a discount on fresh produce, meats and dairy, I can’t justify buying this.
And I absolutely agree with Cheryl Reid – the best way to maximize your dollar at the Loblaws family of stores is to shop for what you can at SDM during the 20X points events (milk, eggs, butter, coffee on sale and other items whose prices aren’t over inflated etc.) and then use the points you’ve just earned to get a discount on what you need at the other stores.

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Clay Enns says:

January 4, 2021 at 2:18 pm

I have been using this for 2 years, and we get many times our value. You get something like 30% back on all baby products INCLUDING Diapers, Wipes and Formula! Also $100 off travel, a free gift box (sometimes 2). So its defiantly worth it. I also used code KB1782 last time I subscribed for a year and got 25,000 points as well.

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Joe Fresh says:

March 28, 2021 at 6:50 pm

Quite the sales pitch. The reality is that PC Optimum no longer frequently gives money back on high priced items such as poultry, beef, lamb, and pork. This alone was the main driver for making PC Optimum worthwhile.

You’re better off shopping around for deals and just using PC during 20x points events, and buying big ticket items during bonus redemption events. Neither of which require paying for a rather pointless membership.

If it works for you because you somehow spend a ton on PC specific brands or the rather low quality Joe Fresh clothing, then that is great. Just don’t be sucked in if this isn’t your current situation.

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Kyle Novak says:

June 17, 2021 at 6:04 pm

The PC Insiders subscription is a waste of money. I signed up in 2019 when there was a promo to get $99 per year travel credit. I tried to redeem twice on a flight but their software didn’t work. Then of course the pandemic happened and it turns out the credit expires rather than carry over. Then they raised the price and cancelled the credit without much of a notice. Stay away. I just hope I can get some money back at this point..

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