Discussions

So we got a measly $68 from Coop after spending over $4700 on fuel. That's 1.5 cents per litre. Sure we have equity but what good is that if you can never get it in cash. What about shop and save on fuel at Safeway? How does that work? Wherever we buy I want to pay with Visa. We get cash back with the Visa.

Like you, i was fustrated with coop, I switched all my cash fuel purchases to canadian tire. And get about $200 a year in can tire money (its great with the new electronic money card)  
 
If im using credit card (rarely) i go to esso and double dip for aeroplan points.

Superstore PC points. Can either get the cash back at the pump to use in the store or collect on your points card. If you have their credit card you get more points.

I use Fas Gas. You get a card and swipe it every time you get gas. You earn 3 cents per liter purchased. It adds up on the card and you can use it on purchases or redeem it for cash in your hand.  
 
Say for instance for your $4700 spent on gas at an estimated cost of $1.10 per liter you've purchased approximately 4273 in one year. That's $128.19. You will almost double the amount of money you get back from co-op.

Just switched to superstore with their PC Card and get 10 cents back per litre in super bucks.

What are super bucks?

With a PC MasterCard and PC plus card I get 10.5 cents per litre back

I get 10.5 cents per litre back in the form of points that I use to reduce purchases from superstore.

I'm happy with safeways gas program: I get a cents off/l coupon with my grocery bill, then a dollars off my grocery bill coupon when I buy the discounted gas.

we tried it this year for the first time. We spent 1700 in gas, and got back $30. I would have been better off saving at the pump at Safeway or anywhere else.

fuzzy slippers said "we tried it this year for the first time. We spent 1700 in gas, and got back $30. I would have been better off saving at the pump at Safeway or anywhere else. "

You do realize that what you got back was just a yearly payment, and that you have more equity than that built up?

It like a coupon, same as Canadian tire money, you get back after getting gas at superstore. It has a 3 month expiry date. So if I get $60 in gas I get a $6 super buck to use on groceries when I put it on the presidents choice credit card. 10 cents per litre back.

So far in 2015, I have purchased 1020 litres at Superstore gasbar and received $107.19 in PC Points which we use for buying groceries at Superstore. Let's see some other real figures.

The PC plus points at superstore are the best, I find. I use the my PC MasterCard and get the 10.5 cents or whatever in superbucks that moment while at the gasbar. Plus I get the points on my PC plus account from spending on my Mastercard. So I fill my truck regularly which has a big tank. I can spend 120-130 easily. I get 12-13$ in a superbuck coupon then and there. Then a little later on once the transaction goes through I get some more points added to my PC account. which is roughly 1200-1300 points, which equals 1.20-1.30 because every thousand points is 1 dollar. You add that to regular shopping of groceries and others on PC card and it adds up fast. been saving for about 4 months now up too 95000 points.

i believe supper store is the best IF you use their PC CC card then you get 10.5 cents back to spend on groceries and who doesn't need groceries, if you dont use their CC then you still get #.5 cents back in super bucks and what i do is combined that with my master card that gives me 2 cents per dollar back so i get 5.5 (seriously considering getting a PC CC just for gas when in brandon)  
 
co-op does give equity tho that you can cash out when you move or retire (bad thing is its a taxable benefit)not sure what their rates are currently because they change all the time and different rates for different items but you get equity on your groceries and lumber store purchases too, they also give out annual payments sometimes based on their profits but honestly i think still not as good as supper store with their CC IF you can make sure you ALWAYS pay the balance in full

With the co-op. What part of the year did you join? The first year you may be only getting a portion due to the fiscal year they run on.

NotThatGuy said "    fuzzy slippers said "we tried it this year for the first time. We spent 1700 in gas, and got back $30. I would have been better off saving at the pump at Safeway or anywhere else. " You do realize that what you got back was just a yearly payment, and that you have more equity than that built up? "

How does one access the equity from the coop. Assume you have to move out of the service area?

Oh Canada said "    NotThatGuy said "    fuzzy slippers said "we tried it this year for the first time. We spent 1700 in gas, and got back $30. I would have been better off saving at the pump at Safeway or anywhere else. " You do realize that what you got back was just a yearly payment, and that you have more equity than that built up? " How does one access the equity from the coop. Assume you have to move out of the service area? "

You are correct, in that to get all of your equity paid out, you have to move, or as Annetta said, reach the age of 65.  
My cheque this year was just shy of $250. I do all of my shopping in the grocery store and my gas purchases are all from the Co-op as well. For me there is a benefit to both of those commodities, as I don't have to bag my groceries or pump my gas. To me that is worth something. Not sure why people are willing to pay the same price for fuel as Superstore or almost any other gas station, and then have pump it themselves. Heck, even my window gets washed when needed.

Superstore's program with their credit card provides the best saving (% off and ppoints towards $ off on groceries) here in Brandon and you get superbucks ($ off to use in store).  
If you go to Winnipeg a lot Winnipeg's Coop pays out much more than here. Our monthly trips provide us with a pretty decent cheque. Heritage Coop does not pay much even with. High gas and grocery spending totals.

Canadian Tire gives the 4 cents/L in Canadian Tire money. If you first buy a gift card with your credit card and use the gift card to buy gas you also get to make use of your credit card's reward system, which in our case is 2%. So if it was your $4700 in gas it would end up being $264.91 as long as you don't mind your reward cash being split between Canadian Tire and travel expenses. Works out to 5.6 cents/litre on the assumption gas is $1.10/L.  
 
Do also have to factor in where you live. If you have to spend an extra $3 round trip in gas to drive clear across town to collect an extra $2 in rewards you'd better really like those rewards  
 
We buy literally everything on our credit card to net the 2% no matter what or where the purchase is. Sounds like the Superstore deal is a good one for gas, and there are other options with Canadian Tire if you use one of their cards but we use a lot less than $4700 in gas in a year and just don't want to carry around another credit card that we'll have to pay off every month.  
 
Still we arent married to Canadian Tire if we can net more elsewhere when taking everything into account and not having to use a separate credit card. Can someone elaborate more on how coop's formula works, not just in terms of cash but equity?  
 
 
 
Edited by Adam, 2015-07-29 07:36:56

I have tried the Co-op equity but it really is a waste of time and money. After two years I got two equity cheques for $13 and $24. So after the $10 sign up I got $27. The groceries are also more expense then other stores. I don't plan to move out of the area and I'll be likely to make 65!  
 
Canadian Tire, Fas Gas and Superstore are likely the best. Fas Gas if you prefer cash. Canadian Tire and Superstore if you shop at either. Never tried Safeway but like Co-op there groceries tend to be on the higher side.