Many retailers have some form of reward or loyalty program that they'd like you to sign up for. Not all of them are that great though. Here are some of the most worthwhile programs for the stores you're shopping at already anyway.


There's almost no limit to the number of rewards programs out there. Ideally we'll highlight ones that don't require fees and that you could use at stores you might already go to. Some retailers don't push their programs too hard, though (which we actually appreciate sometimes!), so if you know of any others we missed, feel free to add them in the discussions below.

Get Refills and Free Drinks at Coffee Shops


Coffee shops are ripe for rewards programs because they cater to the regular customers. If you're the type to grab some caffeine on your morning commute, it makes sense to get a little something back.

Starbucks, as an example, has the My Starbucks Rewards program. The program awards you "stars" when you use your Starbucks card or mobile app to pay for your purchases. The company also owns Teavana, a tea store, and La Boulange, a pastry shop, so you can accumulate stars even if you don't get coffee every day. The number of stars you accumulate (and maintain) determines what level you're on (Welcome, Green, and Gold). Each level has its own perks:

Welcome Level (0 Stars): Here you'll get basic coupons and sales in your email. It doesn't require accumulating any stars, so it's hard to call it a reward, but it's nice to have around.

Here you'll get basic coupons and sales in your email. It doesn't require accumulating any stars, so it's hard to call it a reward, but it's nice to have around. Green Level (5 Stars): On the Green level, you get free refills on some coffees or teas. If you've ever spent time at Starbucks working, or hanging out, it's hard to overstate how much money this could save you.

On the Green level, you get free refills on some coffees or teas. If you've ever spent time at Starbucks working, or hanging out, it's hard to overstate how much money this could save you. Gold Level (30 Stars): The Gold level gives you the same benefit as Green, but you also get a fancy gold card. You'll also get different deals in your email and you can accumulate free products over time, to the tune of one new free item every twelve more stars. This is more geared toward the everyday customers, but if that's your routine, you could end get a new reward every couple weeks or so. Not bad.

The program is a bit more complex than some others, but it's worth it for the free refills, if nothing else. If you go to Starbucks even once every couple of months, it's worth enrolling. Personally, I hate coffee, but still end up there every once in a while for free WiFi, so it's not hard for casuals to get some use out of the plan.

If Starbucks isn't your thing, Dunkin Donuts has a rewards program that lets you accumulate points you can spend on free items called DD Perks.


Score Snack Upgrades and Cash Back at Movie Theaters


Movie theaters may have more competition than they've ever had before, but movie theaters are typically willing to reward your loyalty to the cinematic experience. AMC leads the pack with its Stubs program. However, it is one of the few on this list that charges a yearly fee ($12), which means how much you benefit from it depends directly on how often you go to the theater. That being said, it's not that hard to reach the threshold. Here's what you get with the AMC Stubs program:

$10 for every $100 you spend: Going to the theater can get pricy if you include snacks, multiple tickets, or IMAX/3D upgrades. Every dollar you spend on those luxuries, though, gets you what amounts to 10% cashback (notably much better than most rewards cards). Assuming a moderate ticket price and a snack, you could hit that $100 threshold in four or five movies by yourself. If you go with a significant other or friends, it gets even easier. You can also swipe your Stubs card for everyone's transactions, which means you don't necessarily have to be the one to spend all that money yourself.

Going to the theater can get pricy if you include snacks, multiple tickets, or IMAX/3D upgrades. Every dollar you spend on those luxuries, though, gets you what amounts to 10% cashback (notably much better than most rewards cards). Assuming a moderate ticket price and a snack, you could hit that $100 threshold in four or five movies by yourself. If you go with a significant other or friends, it gets even easier. You can also swipe your Stubs card for everyone's transactions, which means you don't necessarily have to be the one to spend all that money yourself. Waived online ticketing fees: For some reason movie theaters are one industry that hasn't figured out that charging people a fee just to pay money through the internet is a crappy thing to do. Nonetheless, fees for buying tickets online exist and they're difficult to avoid. If you're a Stubs member, you don't have to pay them (provided you book through AMC, of course). You can also avoid the fees by just getting tickets at the box office, but if the other perks have you on the fence, the convenience can push you over to the other side.

For some reason movie theaters are one industry that hasn't figured out that charging people a fee just to pay money through the internet is a crappy thing to do. Nonetheless, fees for buying tickets online exist and they're difficult to avoid. If you're a Stubs member, you don't have to pay them (provided you book through AMC, of course). You can also avoid the fees by just getting tickets at the box office, but if the other perks have you on the fence, the convenience can push you over to the other side. Free snack upgrades: Snacks are already overpriced so whatever you can save counts. AMC will give you popcorn and drinks for the price of the size tier below. If you want a large, you'll pay for a medium. That's not bad on its surface, but paired with the free refills that often come with large sizes, it can be a pretty good value.


The perks may not seem like a lot individually, but they add up. If you and one other person go out to five movies a year and split a popcorn, that's $10 in online ticketing fees and around $2.50 or so in snack savings. That pays for the $12 yearly fee, but then you also get another $10 back. That certainly doesn't hurt.

Regal's Crown Club similarly offers points you can accumulate for the purchases you make. You can see how the point rewards break down here. It's a bit more limited in terms of rewards (you can only earn 20 points per day per card, for example), but if you're already going to the theater, there's no reason not to. Unlike AMC, the Crown Club has no yearly cost, so there's no sense in which you have to use it or risk wasting money.


Get Money Back for your Medicine at Pharmacies


Pharmacies play a bit of a middle-ground role between big box stores like Walmart and the convenience stores attached to gas stations. You know, when they're not dispensing medicine. The result is that you can end up at a store like Walgreens, CVS, or Rite-Aid for all manner of regularly necessary sundries including soap, toilet paper, cold and headache medicine, and prescriptions. It makes sense, then, to score any discount you can.

Walgreens sets the standard in this area. The company gives you points for all your prescriptions and many other items you can buy. Accumulated points become discounts you can apply to future purchases. Here's how it breaks down:

5,000 points = $5

10,000 points = $10

18,000 points = $20

30,000 points = $35

40,000 points = $50

As you can see, the more points you accumulate, the more they're worth. Unfortunately, that also means you can't spend them as you get them for a set value (like how Amazon's reward card works). However, it's a nice perk that you can save up to reach higher tiers and boost your per-point value. It's also worth mentioning CVS has a similar plan with slightly more restrictive policies, but it's worth checking out if this chain is more your speed.


Grab Free Pizzas from Pizza Joints


Pizza chains are the go-to place for feeding a large group of people quickly (or just getting a lazy meal). When it comes to pizza chain rewards programs, Papa Johns couldn't have a simpler one. For every $5 you spend online, you get one point. When you get 25 points, you get a free pizza. That's it. That comes out to one free large pizza for roughly every $125. That can come out to every 5-8 orders, depending on how much you get each time. The best rewards programs are the ones that are the simplest and it doesn't get much easier than the occasional free pizza.

Manage All Your Rewards Programs in One Place

Most of these programs want you to carry around a special card or keychain tag. While that's all well and good if you've got room, both Android and iOS have apps built in that allow you to keep everything in one place.


Google Wallet on Android allows you to add your own custom rewards cards to the app. If it's a supported merchant, you can add your account and it will display the relevant info the merchant sets up. Otherwise, Wallet will store the barcode on the card you scanned originally.

On iOS, Passbook performs a similar function. You can add supported loyalty card just like with Google Wallet. Simply search for the merchant you want to add and scan your card. Unlike Google Wallet, however, you can't add just any card by default. However, a service like Passsource can help you create a custom file that you can add to iOS manually. It's a little roundabout, but the effect is the same.