What is Adelaide's Best Value Coffee Loyalty Card

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Calling in to a non-regular coffee shop the other day, I was offered a loyalty card as I paid for my coffee. Naturally I took the card, and then tried to add it to my wallet. It was at that point that I realised I had a problem with the size of my wallet ... or perhaps it was that I had no comprehension as to how to maximise my loyalty and receive value from these cards.



A quick review of all the coffee cards I had collected over the years determined that all the various cafes believed that the reward for loyalty was a free coffee. So I set out, fully knowing that sleep was about to take a huge hit, trying to find Adelaide's best value coffee loyalty card, where value was determined by spending the least amount of money in order to obtain a free mug or standard / grande sized coffee.

CIBO

The CIBO loyalty card is a plastic card that contains all of my personal details and is swiped at the cash register every time a coffee is purchased. One great benefit of this process is that the Baristas do not need to ask for your name – it has already appeared on the order, exactly in the manner that you wish to be called. One downside is that you never know immediately how much benefit you have accrued on your card, unless you ask or logon to the CIBO webpage. A grande sized flat white costs $4.60, and 10% of that amount is accrued on the personal plastic card as a reward for future purchases. Hence to obtain a free grande sized coffee, one needs to spend $46.00.



FUNK

The Funk loyalty card offers one free coffee for every ten purchased, albeit the free coffee could be any size. Hence a purchase of ten ordinary cup size coffees at $3.50 each has the potential to provide an opportunity to acquire a grande / mug sized coffee for free, thus meaning a total investment of $35.00. However if you purchase your coffee between 3pm and 4pm on a weekday, then the price is $1.00 cheaper, thus meaning it is possible to receive a free grande sized coffee for a total of $25.00.



Mylk Bar

The Mylk Bar on Flinders Street provides one free cup of coffee for every six purchased. As the loyalty card only allows a free standard cup of coffee, it would be necessary to upsize in order to get a free mug or standard sized coffee, thus incurring an additional cost of $0.80. In conjunction with the six cups of coffee, this brings the total outlay at the Mylk Bar to $21.80 before a free standard size coffee is obtained. A great side benefit at the Mylk Bar is the free slice of Almond Bread with every coffee purchased.



C Coffee

The On the Run stores around Adelaide sell the C Coffee brand, with a loyalty card that provides one free grande size coffee for every four $4.20 grande sized coffees purchased, thus resulting in a total outlay of $16.80. With On the Run stores spread throughout the greater Adelaide region and in some parts of regional South Australia, additional benefits accrue by being able to use the card in more locations, and all with 24/7 access.



McCafe – All stores

At the McCafe, your card is clipped four times and then you earn one free standard coffee. Similar to Funk, it appears as though it is possible to buy four small coffees at $3.55 each, and then receive one free standard coffee. Hence the total amount payable before you earn a reward is $14.20. The McCafe coffee card is arguably more "valuable" than the others due to extensive number of McCafes across the whole of Australia and the 24/7 opening hours.



McCafe – Specific company owned stores

I stumbled across a different card at a recent trip to a company owned McCafe. This card offers a free standard coffee for every two purchased, thus meaning the effective total outlay only needs to be $7.10.



So in summary, and assuming that price is one of the key factors, then the McCafe outlets provide the best value. Arguably, because of their spread of outlets and trading hours, they also provide good accessibility in parallel with the C Coffee outlets at the On The Run stores.

But if quality and customer service are key factors in your choice for coffee, then stay with your local café(s) and enjoy those intangible rewards that come with regularity and consistency. And perhaps get a bigger wallet.

Let us know, do you have a favourite cafe with a good loyalty card deal? Or do you skip the cards and just focus on finding your favourite coffee?

What other stores have loyalty cards on offer?

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