The New Flybuys

Our new Flybuys card came in the mail on Thursday, and I used it for the first time on Friday. A quick look through their new rewards catalogue tells me that we'll be converting Flybuys points to Flybuys Dollars and getting deductions on our grocery bill.

Flybuys points convert to Flybuys Dollars at a rate of 2000 Flybuys points = 10 Flybuys Dollars. Since we earn 1 point for every dollar we spend, plus another 1 point for using our NAB Visa card, that works out to 10 Flybuys Dollars for every $1000 we spend. Essentially, a 1% discount, so I don't think I'll worry about figuring that in when comparison shopping.

The old FlyBuys offered 2 Points per $5, plus I was getting another 1 Point per $5 for using my NAB Visa, for 3 Points per $5, and worth a $20 gift card per 2500 Points. That's $4166 to earn $20, and with the new system, we're earning 2 Points per $1, and worth $20 discount per 4000 points, which is $2000 in spending to earn that $20.

The reason I say we'll probably redeem the points for cash is because I looked at the merchandise rewards, and when you work out the prices, they don't look that great. They offer an iPod Touch 8 Gb for 43,800 points. That works out to be $219, which is the same as the price on the Apple Australia website. But Dick Smith is selling them for $169 with free delivery. So I think I'll just take the cash discount at the register, thanks.  According to my receipt yesterday, we've got enough Flybuys points to knock off $30.

Another new thing going on with the Flybuys re-launch is called My5, where you pick 5 items (from a list of over 800), and from now until the end of October, you get 10% off every time you purchase them. Even if they're on sale. I haven't made a final decision and registered them yet, but I think I've worked out my 5 items--ground beef, Coke, Lawson's bread, Daily Juice, and Amoroso Tomatoes. 10% off those items works out to be about $3.50, which isn't huge, but I think it's about the best I'm going to get.

And the last new thing I've seen so far are the "Docket Deals" they're not printing at the bottom of the shopping receipt, along with the fuel discount coupon. This week they've offered me 400 bonus Flybuys if I buy a box of their Coles Hoki fish fillets. Assuming that the in-store price is the same as (or close to) the online price, that's a 400g box for $7.94. Aldi sells crumbed fish fillets for $3.99 for a 425g box. Even with the $2.00 worth of Flybuys points, that's not a good deal, so I think I'll pass. The other offer is 40% off an "Italian chilled meal", which looks like either a ready-made lasagna or a pasta single-serve meal/side dish. We've tried a few pre-made lasanga meals, and weren't very impressed, but maybe this new product line is better. With the 40% discount, the lasagna is cheaper than a similar product at Aldi ($8.40 vs $9.99), so maybe we'll give that a try two weeks from now (next week is our eat-from-the-stockpile week).