South Africans belong to over 10 loyalty programmes each, on average. Back in 2015, that number was 3.6. And 85% of us use them, not just carry them around in a wallet full of cards we never scan.
Most members are already doing some of the work. You’ve got a card for the pharmacy, one for the supermarket, maybe one for a clothing store. The loyalty programme habit in South Africa is strong; we’re just not always getting the full value out of these programmes. What’s usually missing is a system that ties the cards together.
That’s the gap bsmart fills. It’s not a card that competes with the ones you already have. It supports all of them, earning on spend you’re making anyway, whether that’s at the pharmacy, your favourite clothing store, or the garage getting essential car supplies.
1.Swipe everywhere, not just the grocery aisle
Your bsmart card earns on clothing, dining, pharmacy, salons, auto and home, not only groceries. Most members reach for it at the supermarket till and put it away for the rest of the month. That’s the mistake. The categories you forget about are often where the biggest gains are sitting, simply because nobody’s swiping there yet.
2.Time bigger purchases around retailer sales
A sale price and a bsmart cashback card work together, not against each other. Say your local clothing store has 30% off winter coats. You still pay the discounted price, and you still earn cashback on top of it through bsmart. One doesn’t cancel the other out. If you’re going to buy something big anyway, buying it during a sale is when your card does the most for you.
3. Don’t choose between loyalty points and bsmart
Here’s where a lot of members trip up. They think they must pick between their retailer’s points programme and bsmart. You don’t. If you’ve been wondering how to use loyalty points and cashback together, the answer is: at the same time, on the same purchase. Your retailer card keeps earning points in the background, and bsmart earns cashback at the same time, on the same swipe.
4. Know what’s excluded
Fuel and prescription medicine don’t earn cashback through bsmart. Knowing which purchases don’t earn cashback before you fill up or collect a script means you’re not expecting a return that was never on offer. Put your stacking effort into the categories that pay you back, and don’t waste time chasing cashback on the two that won’t.
5. Pick a payout rhythm that suits you
You can choose quarterly payouts for a regular top-up, or an annual payout for one bigger amount. There’s no right answer here. Some members like the steady drip every three months. Others would rather wait and get a lump sum they can put toward something specific. Pick whichever suits how you manage money and make it a choice rather than something you never got around to.
The bigger idea
Stacking rewards isn’t a clever trick you need to learn from scratch. Most members are already halfway there. You’ve got the habits and you’ve got the cards. bsmart is the piece that connects them, across every category you spend in, not just the grocery trolley. That’s how you maximise cashback rewards without changing a single thing about how you already shop. The habits are already there. bsmart just makes sure none of that effort goes to waste, wherever you shop.