PC Optimum is the loyalty points program of Loblaws Companies Limited, the largest Canadian food retailer. It is one of the largest loyalty rewards programs in Canada with over 16 million members.
Members can earn and spend points on purchases at Loblaws-owned and partnered stores. Points are best earned by paying with a PC Mastercard and best redeemed on groceries that are on sale.
How much are PC Optimum points worth?
PC Optimum points have a value of $0.001 or a tenth (0.1) of a cent each for all redemption amounts.
| PC Optimum points | Dollar value |
|---|---|
| 1 | $0.001 |
| 10 | $0.01 |
| 100 | $0.10 |
| 1,000 | $1 |
10 points is worth one cent ($0.01), 100 points are $0.10 and 1,000 points are equal to $1 in cash value.
The easiest way to remember this is to divide the number of points by 1,000, or remove 3 zeros from the end of the number of points and you’ll get the cash value.
The minimum redemption amount is 10,000 points for a cash value of $10 towards your purchase at participating Loblaws stores. Points can be redeemed in increments of 10,000 points up to a maximum of $500 off a single purchase.
For example, if you have 13,000 points, you can spend a maximum of 10,000 points for $10 off your purchase, and you’ll have 3,000 points remaining. You cannot redeem your points until you reach a balance of at least 10,000.
| PC Optimum points | Dollar value |
|---|---|
| 10,000 | $10 |
| 20,000 | $20 |
| 30,000 | $30 |
| 40,000 | $40 |
| 50,000 | $50 |
| 100,000 | $100 |
| 200,000 | $200 |
How many PC Optimum points do I earn per dollar spent?
There are 2 ways to earn Optimum points:
Fixed point ratio on purchases
How many points you earn depends on what card you have and what store you shop at:
- PC Optimum loyalty card: Earns the least, 1.5% at Shoppers Drug Mart/Pharmaprix and 1% at Esso/Mobil
- PC Money Account: 2.5% at Shoppers Drug Mart and 1% on all other purchases
- PC Financial Mastercards: Earn the most, offer a return of 1% to 3% in PC Optimum points. Up to 4.5% at Shoppers Drug Mart; 3% at Loblaws-banner stores and Esso/Mobil; and 1% on all other purchases.
| Card | Participating stores | Shoppers Drug Mart, Pharmaprix | Esso | PC Travel | Everywhere else |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PC Optimum card | 0 | 15 (1.5%) | 10/L or 10/$ in-store | 0 | 0 |
| PC Financial Mastercard | 10 (1%) | 25 (2.5%) | 30 (20/L + 10/$) | 20 (2%) | 10 (1%) |
| PC Financial World | 20 (2%) | 35 (3.5%) | 30 (20/L + 10/$) | 20 (2%) | 10 (1%) |
| PC Financial World Elite | 30 (3%) | 45 (4.5%) | 30 (20/L + 10/$) | 30 (2%) | 10 (1%) |
| PC Money Account | 10 (1%) | 25 (2.5%) | 10 (1%) | 10 (1%) | 10 (1%) |
Premium gasoline (Octane 89, 91, 93, 94) earns an additional 10 points per litre. The earn rate at Mobil gas stations is at least 30 points per litre, but varies by province and location and are advertised at each station.
Bonus points on exclusive and personalized offers
In addition to the 1% to 3% back in points, additional points can be earned through weekly grocery flyers as well as exclusive and personalised offers posted on their website or the app:
How and where can I earn PC Optimum Points?
Points can be earned at almost almost 4,500 retail locations, primarily Loblaws-owned grocery, pharmacy and retail stores (see store locator) including Loblaws, Real Canadian Superstore, No Frills, Joe Fresh and Shoppers Drug Mart, online shopping at Joe Fresh and PC Express as well as Esso gas stations.
In-store
Scan or tap your digital or physical PC Optimum card, PC Mastercard or key fob when prompted by the cashier or self checkout kiosk to earn points on your purchases at Loblaws-owned stores:
- Atlantic Independent Grocer
- Atlantic Superstore
- Dominion
- Fortinos
- Loblaws
- Provigo
- Retail RCWC
- Valu-Mart
- Wholesale Club
- Real Canadian Liquor Store
- Your Independent Grocer
- Zehrs
- Real Canadian Super Store
- Maxi
- Extra Foods
- No Frills
- Shoppers Drug Mart
- Pharmaprix
- Joe Fresh
- The Mobile Shops
- Loblaw Optical
- Theodore & Pringle
- Eyewear
- Wellwise
As well as at participating gas stations:
- Esso
- Mobil
At Esso stations, a PC Optimum, PC Money Account, PC Mastercard card or a 10 digit phone number registered to a valid account must be scanned, swiped, or manually keyed in as part of the payment transaction, or use the barcode linked to your account.
At the pump, customers can use their PC Optimum card, key in the phone number associated with their account, pay with their PC Mastercard, or use their Speedpass+ app linked to their account.
Note: Points cannot be earned or redeemed on gift cards.
Online
Earn by entering your card number or logging in with your PC id account when shopping online at:
How and where can I redeem PC Optimum points?
In store
At Loblaws-owned stores, let the cashier know how many points you’d like to spend after scanning your PC Optimum card, PC Mastercard or key fob. During self checkout, ask the staff member watching the self check out area.
At Esso gas stations, a PC Optimum card, PC Mastercard or PC Money Account card can be inserted or tapped at the pump or presented in-store. In-store, scan your digital or physical PC Optimum card or PC Mastercard and let the cashier know how many you want to redeem.
You can redeem 4,000 points to get 10 cents off per litre up to 40 L or redeem 10,000 points for any free car wash.
Redeeming the points on gas is not worth it unless you’re buying 40L or more. 4,000 points are valued at $4, but you’ll only get the full $4 of value if you buy the maximum of 40L (40 x $0.10 off per litre = $4 saved).
A basic Esso car wash typically costs around $10 and the next tier is around $15 to $20. So for 10,000 points ($10 value), getting a premium car wash could be a good deal.
Online
At Shopper’s Drug Mart, Pharmaprix and Joe Fresh, select that you want to redeem points.
How to redeem PC Points with PC Express?
Let your personal shopper know that you’d like to redeem points with your purchase by either adding a note into the instructions box on the checkout page, or during the pre-call prior to receiving your order.
Note: Points cannot be redeemed to pay for tobacco, lottery tickets, alcohol, prescription medication and milk in Quebec.
How to maximize your PC Optimum points
In addition to getting the best PC Financial Mastercard you can qualify for, and filling up your car at Esso and Mobil stations:
Save your weekly personalized offers for next week
If you’re planning on grocery shopping next week, but a product you want to buy is offering bonus points this week, you can save up to 4 offers and delay them until the following week.
Wait for Shoppers’ bonus events and offers
Check your on the PC Optimum app or the Shoppers website for any earning bonuses.
Shopper’s Bonus Redemption Events come around every month or so and increases the redemption value of your points to:
- 50,000 points = $65 instead of $50
- 100,000 points = $140 instead of $100
- 200,000 points = $300 instead of $200
They semi-regularly offer 20x the points on purchases over $75, which is the equivalent to 30% back in points.
There are also “spend $150 get 50k points” or similar offers. The best is “40% back in points”, but it is rare and is a targeted offer through the PC Optimum app and is not made available to the general public.
Shopper’s has very high markups on most of their products – particularly snacks and beauty products. However, big-ticket electronics such as gaming consoles, fitness watches, laptops and TVs have the smallest markup, so buy those with your points to get the best value.
Stack offers and points
For example, I have an exclusive offer for 10,000 PC Optimum points if I spend $40 or more at Shopper’s Drug Mart.
In the weekly flyer, there is an offer for of 7,000 PC Optimum points for every $20 spent on Listerine products.
Let’s say a bottle of mouthwash is $5 and I decide to stock up, buying $40 worth.
I would have earned a total of 24,000 PC Optimum points (10,000 + 14,000). Paying with my PC Financial World Elite Mastercard, I would earn an additional 1800 points (4.5% of $40 is $1.80). That’s a total of 25,800 points (valued at $25.80) on a purchase of $40, which is 72% back in points.
Merge (or separate) your PC optimum accounts
PC Optimum members can pool their points with up to 9 other program members by creating and joining a “Household” in their accounts. Merging accounts and points makes it easier to make large purchases with points, more often.
However, doing so will mean you’ll only receive one set of offers in your PC Optimum account, so it’s recommended to merge accounts in order to redeem points and then leave the household and separate accounts in order to receive more offers.
What is the history of PC Optimum?
Initially launched in May 2013 as PC Plus, PC Optimum was formed on February 1, 2018 when it merged with Shoppers Drug Mart’s similar Optimum program. Loblaw Companies acquired Shopper’s Drug Mart in 2014.
Contact PC Optimum
To contact PC Optimum or get customer support:
- Phone: 1 866 246 7262 (24/7)
- Email: talktous@pcmastercard.pcfinancial.ca
- Submit a complaint
- Mail: 600-500 Lakeshore Blvd. West Toronto, ON M5V 2V9
- Website
- Android
- iOS
Over to you
We’re interested to know – are you a PC Optimum member? Let us know by leaving a comment below!
