REVIEW: FREE Walgreens Balance Rewards Loyalty Card Program #BalanceRewards #Cbias

You can sign up for Balance Rewards using the Walgreens app

At Walgreens, Loyalty has its Rewards...

I love store loyalty and rewards programs. When you are a frequent shopper at a store, being part of a loyalty program allows you to not only get rewards based on your purchases, but also to know first about big sales and discounts before the general public.

Being part of loyalty programs is how I am "in the know" about a lot of the great freebies and deals that I post on this blog. So I was very pleased when I was given the opportunity by Collective Bias to review the Walgreens Balance Rewards Loyalty Card program.

Walgreens is a store that I have shopped at over the years for everything from school supplies for my son to photo enlargements that I frame and give as gifts around the holidays. The good thing about the Walgreens Balance Rewards Card program is that you can sign up online, in-store , by phone or by using the Walgreens mobile app.

Balance Rewards sign up is short and sweet with only 3 questions

Rewards are as close as your Smartphone or Tablet
I choose to sign-up via the Walgreens app, which can be downloaded to both Android and Apple devices. I downloaded the Walgreens iPad app from the Apple App Store.  Since I already have a Walgreens account that I use for my photo print ordering, I skipped the sign-up process and signed on to my existing account.

Signing up for the Walgreens Balance Reward Card has got to be the easiest process in the world.  They only ask you for three pieces of information -
- Zip Code
- Mobile Phone Number
- Date of Birth

After filling in the sign up form with my zip code, mobile number of date of birth, I was all signed up and ready to earn loyalty points.

The Walgreens Ad now shows how many Balance Rewards points you can earn for purchases

Shopping Online with the Walgreens App...
After I signed up for the Balance Rewards Card, I made an online purchase to test out the Walgreens app for ease of overall use.  I used the Walgreens app to view the weekly ad to see what's on sale. After all, getting Walgreens saving and Walgreens Rewards at the same time just makes sense.  The Walgreens ads now show how many points you can be earn on your Loyalty Card with each purchase. 

Just 5000 can earn you $5 in Walgreens Balance Rewards

Points can add up if you are a loyal shopper...
Your Walgreens Balance Rewards Points can add up quickly if you are a loyal shopper or just a casual shopper.  Just 5000 points can get you $5 in rewards and this week's Walgreen ad has over 90,000 points available.

The Walgreens App needs some navigation improvements...
Using the Walgreens app, I purchased some Listerine Total Care Mouth Wash and some Soft Soap Body Wash.  For purchasing merchandise, I found the Walgreens app to be overall ok, but not very user friendly for navigating from one purchase to another.

After I added the Listerine Mouth Wash to my shopping cart, I could not figure out how to go back and add in the Soft Soap.  And there is no "back button" to return to the previous screen.  I ended up using the "Shop button" to return to the beginning and then did a search to find the Soft Soap product that I wanted to add to the shopping cart. 

Walgreens can make this app much better by having "BACK" and "FORWARD" navigation buttons and a "SHOPPING CART" button on every screen.

Check out using the Walgreens app was easy...

Easy Check-out with the Walgreens App...
Check-out was very easy.  Walgreens offers FREE shipping on online orders over $25 and up to 10 lbs.  My order was over 10 lbs, but I was only charged an extra 24 cents for the overage, which was very fair.  After inputting my contact and payment information, I submitted my order and received 1000 Walgreens Balance Rewards points for the transaction.

Walgreens makes life Easy for Busy People...
Overall, I found the Walgreens Balance Rewards sign up to be short, sweet and to-the-point.  They really could not have made it any easier.  Although the Walgreens app lacks some basic navigation for finding items, it was still a nice app for busy people who want to purchase products and earn loyalty points while on the go.  You can basically be sitting at your child's sports game and get your shopping done with just your smartphone or tablet.

To learn more that the Walgreens #BalanceRewards Loyalty Card Program, visit the Walgreens Website and also visit Walgreens on Twitter and Facebook. 

And check out my entire progress of using the Walgreens Loyalty Card in my Google+ story at this link.

Enjoy!


Disclosure: I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community. This content has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™ and Walgreens #CBias #SocialFabric .  All opinions are my own.

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Blogging & the City 2.0 (Part 8): @Staples & @UPS are your Swag's Best Friends #BlogHer12

This is the story of how Staples & UPS got 26.5 Ibs of Swag back to Detroit for $20...

This is the last post in my series "Blogging & the City 2.0" where I recounted all my adventures at the BlogHer12 conference in New York City.  And today, I decided to end this series by telling you a funny story about Swag.

When I attended my first Blogher Conference back in 2010, I discovered BlogHer has some great Swag. For those of you who don't know what swag is, in this case, it is FREE items that are given to conference attendees. But what I also discovered is, when you fly to a conference, you better choose your swag very carefully since you will need to pay to ship home whatever you cannot fit in your luggage.

This year, Laura (from LauraInTheMotorCity.com) and I prepared for the possibility of bringing home extra Swag.  Since Laura travels more than I do, she has a Delta SkyMiles Credit Card that allows her and her travel mates to check a bag each on Delta for FREE. So both of us took a big piece of luggage to the conference. When we weighed the luggage at the airport, we found out we could bring home 20 pounds of Swag each without going over the weight requirements for FREE bags.

So I was very selective in what I took home from the conference and my bag was actually way under the weight requirement (see me patting myself on the back).

CoreBody Reformer by Nautilus, Inc.

Sometimes Swag just happens...
During the conference, Laura wanted to attend a special fitness event hosted by Bowflex to introduce their new CoreBody Reformer™ by Nautilus, Inc. During this event, we got to exercise with celebrity trainer Jennifer Galardi who showed us all the ins and outs of using the CoreBody Reformer™.

This unique fitness product combines three popular exercises into one: Yoga for flexibility, Pilates for muscle strength and dance for calorie burn. I have been exercising for years - running, walking, and lifting weights - and nothing prepared me for this machine. Within 10 minutes I was sweating like a pig and was out of breath like I had run a marathon.

Part of working on the machine is that you have to balance yourself like a gymnast in the Olympics - this makes you find your center. I kept falling off (totally embarrassing) and when I finally got my balance, I had to add in the hand straps (which are really 3 to 12 pound weights) and then I started falling off again. By the end of the hour, I was exhausted and every part of my body had been worked out.

After class was over, we were all sitting on the floor recovering when the BowFlex team announced they were ready to start the giveaway for a CoreBody Reformer™.

Did I mention each CoreBody Reformer™ is $250?  HOLLA!

Now the odds of Laura or I winning was good because there were only eight bloggers in the room and they were giving away four CoreBody Reformers. So when my name was called I was over the moon - till I realized I had to get a 26.5 pound exercise machine back to Detroit.

Now if you remember my swag post from BlogHer10 (How UPS Saved my Swag), Laura and I took our swag to a UPS Store two blocks from the Hilton and I paid around $30 total to ship everything home. So I already knew UPS was a great way to ship for a good price.  So I decided then and there we were going to take the CoreBody Reformer to the UPS Store immediately to get it out of the way.

The best laid plans can go wrong quickly....
So I hoisted the 26.5 pound box on my shoulder and carried it two blocks to the UPS Store - but the store was not there - OMG. So here I am in Midtown Manhattan with a 26.5 pound box and no UPS Store.

So Laura pulled out her iPhone and found the nearest UPS store was now another 3 blocks away. I asked if she could walk it to see how far it was since blocks in Manhattan can go on forever. She did not return for 10 minutes - help me!!!

So as we are standing there wondering what to do, Laura looks over and sees the Staples store across the street. Since, unlike me, she is still in her right mind, she remembers that Staples stores have UPS shipping inside. So I put the box on my shoulder and hope this next plan will work out.

I love Staples !!!
We get into the Staples store (with my big lovely box) and go over to the shipping counter. As they are weighing the box, I am praying. And what was my total cost to ship my CoreBody Reformer from New York to Detroit? $20 and change. I could have hugged that Staples store employee.

So if you are going anywhere where swag is king, I suggest you use UPS and that you map out the nearest Staples and UPS stores - before you leave the hotel :)

Thanks Staples and UPS for your reasonable prices, your many convenient locations and your quick shipping. You saved my swag and I love for it!!!

And I hope everyone enjoyed "Blogging and the City 2.0."  Now stay tuned for tons of product reviews and giveaways from brands that I met at the conference.

Enjoy!


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The UPS Store to the Holiday Rescue!

The UPS Store is great for last minute holiday gifting...

The holidays can be a crazy time for everyone.  But really, holidays are all about family and friends.  Most of my friends I have known for decades so it is wonderful when the holidays roll around and I can do something nice for them.

My friend Miss L. has had a busy year working 10-14 hours a day.  She has a very demanding job that leaves little time for herself.  So I thought it would be nice to send her a little "something something" just to make her smile.  But of course, I was busy and I waited until the last minute to buy the gift. So how did I get it to her on time for the holidays?  The UPS Store.

There are tons of The UPS Store locations in the metro Detroit area and I stopped by the one on 12 mile in Southfield, MI on the Monday before Christmas.  Even though there was a line inside the store, everything moved quickly and efficiently and I was in and out in less than 10 minutes.  They took care of everything including the packaging.

I still was a little worried that the package would get to her on time, but everything worked out great and I received a call from Miss L. on Christmas Eve thanking me for her Christmas surprise.  

I do love when things work out - especially when it's all last minute!

Enjoy!

Disclosure: I was compensated by Collective Bias for this review.


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Blogging and the City - BlogHer 2010: How UPS Saved my Swag!

What do you do when your conference swag is just too good to leave behind? UPS to the Rescue!

I have attended many conferences in my lifetime and usually, I am a very reasonable person when I comes to returning home with swag.  (For those of you who don't know what swag is, in this case, it is the free items that are given to conference attendees.)  Before the airlines started adding charges for luggage, I would bring a second bag inside of my luggage in order to transport my swag home. After the airline luggage fees came into affect, I forced myself to edit down the swag items to carry home only what would fit into my one free piece of luggage. But that was all before I went to the BlogHer'10 conference in New York City ....

Every party at BlogHer had wonderful giveaways and swag bags - most of which was filled with great items. Touring the vendor exhibition hall added more wonderful items to the swag pile. I am a purse and bag collector and "White House Black Market" gave away a wonderful black and white bag that was "to die for" - and I picked up more than one.

As I looked at the swag pile in my hotel room, I did not know how any of it was going to get home to Detroit. Where was my usual self control? Well, where ever it was, it was asleep because I wanted everything in my swag pile. Even after doing yet another swag paring, it was still a large pile.

BlogHer, knowing the lure of swag, arranged with the Hilton to have a shipping area conveniently located as part of the conference hall. So I and Laura from @LauraMotorCity paid a visit to get the cost since neither of us planned to part with even one more swag item. To our shock, the shipping area did not have any scales (what?) or boxes (come again?) and they could not tell us the cost for shipping the items home (seriously?). We were asked to hand over our credit card numbers and trust them. Nothing personal against the shipping area, but I like knowing how much a transaction is going to cost me before I hand over my credit card.

So Laura got out her beloved iPhone and looked up the address of the nearest UPS Store - which was only two blocks from the hotel. We packed up our swag piles and headed over to the UPS office. We both looked like bag ladies since we were pretty loaded down.  UPS charged me only $33 dollars total to ship home 31 lbs of swag. And the cost included the boxes and the tape!

Laura was so happy that she was tweeting and tweeting her joy to everyone at the BlogHer conference. When I arrived at the airport, I only had my carry-on bag and no worries other than to finish reading a book on my smartphone.

This story gets even better because the items were shipped on our last day in New York which was on a Monday and arrived in Detroit at lunchtime on Wednesday! My swag and I were reunited in less than 48 hours after leaving New York.

Laura and I have already checked and there is a UPS store only two blocks away from the hotel for next year's BlogHer conference.

Thank you UPS for your reasonable prices, your many convenient locations and your quick shipping.  You saved my swag and I love for it!!!

Click here to read all the posts from BlogHer10.

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