Point Cards = Rewards (And A Fat Wallet)

Not only will your wallet get fat because you're going to join all of these "card clubs", BUT, your wallet will be fat and happy because of all the money you're NOT spending!

Again, I'm going to work on an ever-updating list of places that have reward card programs where in you collect points to get free things. Fun!

(Note, some of these overlap with these sign up freebies and birthday freebies, so remember to fill in your bday, anniversary and a valid "freebie" email address - so your normal one isn't advertised to death - that can be made here.)

GO!!!

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AMC Movie Watchers Rewards - that's right, you can earn free stuff by going to the movies. You can either register a card HERE online and wait for your card to arrive via snail mail (about two weeks in a super non-busy time) OR I'm told you can sign up at your theatre's guest services box office, but you may want to call and check about that one. So here's the nitty gritty. For every movie ticket you buy, you'll get 2 (two) points, with a max of 4 (four) points earned per transaction, per visit. (So, if you and a special someone are the only ones who see movies together, then maybe one card for the two of you will do. But if you go to movies with kids or friends or whatnot, then I'd register for enough cards to cover everyone in multiples of twos - so two cards for a family of four, three cards for a family of six, etc - and buy tickets by the two's in separate transactions on said separate cards until everyone has a ticket.) BUT, in the FAQ page, they have defined "visit" as to mean every three hours, because some people see more than one movie a day, so you could in theory you buy two tickets at 9am for a 7pm showing, then go back after 1 to buy two more tickets and still get the points, then buy more tickets if need be 3 hours after your last purchase and so on. So, what do you get? For every 10 points you have, you'll get a reward. (I haven't made it to 10 yet, as I always forget my card but I'm trying to get better,) BUT the way I understand it is once you get to every 10th point, a coupon will pop out with your printed tickets (no matter if you print them online, at the ticket booth or at the handy dandy ticket kiosk) and your total will keep rolling. I'm not sure if this is over a lifetime or by a sign up/calendar year, or once you hit 100 points (which, btw is 50 movies by yourself or 25 if you always go with a friend) and then everything resets or what, but if you get there before I do, please do let me know! Also, if you forget to enter your card number or show your card when you buy the tickets, just bring the stubs and your card to the theatres guest services counter and they'll take care of you; same thing if you think you were due for a reward and it didn't print. Also, watch the inbox that is associated with this account; you'll get freebies like free drinks and popcorn!

Carino's - has "pasta points" where you earn a point for every pre-tax dollar you spend; after you collect 100 points (and register your card) you can start redeeming for everything from free apps and entrees to a vacation in Vegas or Italy.

Don Pablo's - This is one I don't know too much about, but it looks like you'll get a free dip just for registering, and then awesome rewards like $10 off around your bday, anniversary and after every 9th visit. Click Here!

Freebirds - if you like Chipolte then go try Freebirds and be prepared to never switch back. (Um, anyway.) Get a "fanatic" card and for every burrito, salad, plate of nachos, combo of 3 tacos or quesadilla you buy you'll get 1 stamp; you'll get 2 stamps for every "Super Monster" sized burrito. You can start collecting stamps before you register the card but you can't redeem them until you do; you can redeem 10 points to get either a FREE burrito (size halfbird, freebird or monster) salad, nachos, 3 tacos, quesadilla OR you can pick a shirt or a hat. (they have a few designs to choose between.) 15 stamps will get you a FREE SUPER MONSTER or better looking shirt. (locations.)

Genghis Grill - a Mongolian barbecue joint - has Khan's Rewards - you can sign up to just get a FREE bowl on your birthday but you can also get a reward card by stopping by and asking for one; this one is pretty simple - get 1 point per bowl, redeem 10 points for a free bowl. Everything (except the bday offer) is kept on your card so there are no emails or snail mail cards to wait on. (I love easy programs like this one.)

Godiva - Yes. Free. Chocolate. (YUM!) Either register here for the Chocolate Rewards Club or you can go in store and they'll help you there. The deets - you'll get: 1 FREE piece of chocolate (in store) every month - just go in and say that you'd like to collect on your free piece; 1 FREE gift each month when you spend over $10 (also only redeemable in store, and it's kind of tricky because you don't collect the gift the same day/month you spend the $10 - so if I went in today, the 2nd of Sept I wouldn't be eligible to collect said free gift until October); 1 FREE online shipping promo code over the life of the account; AND *exclusive* online specials every month. (*If you join in store, you'll get a handy card; but if you join online then you have to either provide your email or your phone number when you go to collect on that sweet piece of chocolate every month, which can be skeevy sometimes.*)

Pei Wei - has a rewards card program, but it is currently only available to those who live/eat in CA, NV and UT. So, bummer for the rest of us - but here is the link to find out more for those who do qualify.

Raising Canes - go to an RC and request a card. (I don't think the points will count until you register the card.) Later when you're at an Internet connection that isn't a phone (I tried and failed) register your card here. Upon doing so you'll get an offer for a FREE BOX COMBO, which is 4 chicken fingers, fries, slaw, bread and a drink, for ab-so-lute-ly F-R-E-E. THEN, for every combo you purchase, you'll get a point. I can't find the rules on the site but I'm pretty sure all you need is 10 points to redeem for another Free Box Combo! Yay!

Red Mango - a pinkberry-esk frozen yogurt place, has "club mango", where you'll collect points towards a $5 off coupon for future use. (This place charges by the ounce and or topping, so the set up isn't super simple like some places.) So stop in, get a card, register it, then you'll get 10 points for every dollar spent in store, 50 points just for registering the card and 500 points on your birthday (as well as emails about specials, promos, events, new flavors and the like.)

Sephora - (which sells make up, make up supplies, perfume, cologne and beauty counter name brands like Clinique and Philosophy) Join the "Beauty Insiders" program in store (where you'll get a card, which is great because it ensures that you always get your points 'cause if you have a weird email address then sometimes they could botch it up upon entering it) OR join here online and you'll get a point per every dollar spent both in store and online. After you collect 100 points, you can redeem them for a fun sized free sample, which changes every week, OR you can save them and when you hit 500 points you can turn those in for a limited edition full sized product, which changes monthly AND You'll get a special birthday gift! (If you hit 350 points in a calendar year, so jan - dec, then you'll qualify to become a VIB - Very Important Beauty - and get even MORE special perks, like exclusive shopping times, coupon offers, sneak previews and more.)

Starbucks - (this program is near and dear to my heart as I recently went Gold.) Basically, get a gift card (either as a gift or buy it for yourself), register it here, and then use that card to pay whenever you go to get your fix. For every drink you buy with a registered card you'll get a star (either keep reloading that same card or get new cards and add them to the account you create with that first card); when starting out you'll be considered a "welcome level" member, which just means that you'll get either a card or an email for a free drink on your birthday! Once you've purchased 5 drinks in a calendar year you'll bump up to a "green" level member and you'll get things like free drink customizations (so if you want soy milk or extra mocha you won't pay the additional $.50), free refills on brewed coffee and tea, special trial offers sent to you in the mail, yadda yadda yadda. After you've hit 30 stars in a calendar year you'll be a Gold member and in addition to the welcome and green benefits, you'll also get personalized coupons (like I buy a lot of oatmeal, and my account tracks that so as a "thank you" I'll get cards for free oatmeal, more so than other "golds" I know who don't purchase oatmeal), a personalized gold card (it has my name on it!!!!) AND you'll get a card in the mail for a free drink with every 15 you purchase. (tip - Starbucks has a GREAT app to track your rewards on your iPhone and blackberry; look for something called "my Starbucks card".)