Beauty in Canada is a multibillion-dollar industry – and one that’s been growing consistently over the years, given soaring demand and the rising cost of skincare, makeup and hair products.
So it’s no surprise that for some people, beauty products can be an expensive part of their budget. Fortunately, various loyalty programs can add up to significant savings on mascara, moisturizer and more.
Beauty Insider – Sephora
Sephora’s Beauty Insider program is a fan favourite, letting shoppers decide whether to redeem 500 points for $10 off a purchase or trade in varying amounts for products at the Rewards Bazaar, Sephora’s rewards catalogue. Cash redemptions give you a minimum return of 2 per cent, but products at the bazaar – such as skincare samples and full-sized beauty products – are typically worth more.
Earning points is simple: You get one Beauty Insider point for each dollar spent at Sephora. You can earn up to an additional 500 points by completing Beauty Insider “challenges” such as buying a certain product, signing up for text alerts or ordering online but picking up in-store.
You can also double-dip with Air Miles. The regular earning rate is one Air Mile for each $20 spent at Sephora when you scan your membership card. But until Oct. 31, you can earn 45 Air Miles when spending $100 at Sephora in-store; simply link any Canadian Mastercard at airmilescardlink.ca and pay with it. If you’ve linked an Air Miles Mastercard, you’ll still earn your regular miles in addition to this offer. Since you can redeem 190 Cash Miles for a $20 Sephora e-gift card, the promo is a 5-per-cent return.
Although Air Miles has seen some recent turbulence, being able to earn and redeem at Sephora is a great benefit.
PC Optimum – Shoppers Drug Mart
If you spend a lot on beauty products, it’s easy to get huge value out of the PC Optimum program at Shoppers Drug Mart.
Typically, you earn 15 Optimum points for each dollar spent. But the chain regularly has events that give you 20 times regular point earnings when you spend a minimum amount, which works out to 300 points per dollar. Holders of a PC Financial Mastercard can sometimes do even better, with offers for 25 times the points (375 points on the dollar). If you spent $100 during one of these promos, you would walk away with 30,000 or 37,500 PC Optimum points, respectively. Since 10,000 points equals $10, that’s a value of $30 or $37.50.
And when you’re ready to cash in, Shoppers often has bonus redemption offers. With these, you can redeem 50,000, 100,000 or 200,000 points for $65 ($15 extra), $140 ($40 extra), and $300 ($100 extra) off, respectively. Sometimes there are special events – such as Black Friday – that can be even more lucrative, giving you an additional $30, $70 or $150, when redeeming 70,000, 130,000 or 250,000 points, respectively. If you were to maximize these promotions, you’d get a 60-per-cent return.
Of course, during these bonus events, you’re not restricted to beauty products. But if you’ve been eyeing a pricey item such as a Dyson hair dryer, you’d be hard-pressed to do better.
Hudson’s Bay Rewards – Hudson’s Bay
When it comes to beauty, the real value at Hudson’s Bay lies in the gift-with-purchase offers put out by various brands. Recent deals include a six-piece gift set worth $200 with a minimum $79 purchase of Lancôme products, and an eight-piece Kate Spade collaboration gift with a purchase of $65 or more at Clinique. The one drawback is that some people may not find every bonus item useful.
The Hudson’s Bay Rewards program can also be of help. If you shop for cosmetics regularly at the department store, it’s worth waiting for events where you can earn 40 times the points when spending $125 or more on beauty products. Since 1,000 Hudson’s Bay Rewards points can be redeemed for $5 off, this offer equals a 20-per-cent return.
To accumulate even more rewards, shop with a Hudson’s Bay Mastercard and you’ll get double the points you earn on base spending at the store.
American Express Membership Rewards – All purchases
If you’re not the type to stay loyal to one retailer, consider an American Express credit card.
With American Express Membership Rewards, you can redeem 1,000 points for a $10 statement credit whether you’re buying beauty products or anything else. This is an excellent option, since no other credit-card program offers this kind of value for a statement credit. Best of all, with this strategy you can still take advantage of bonus earn or redeem events wherever you shop.
Barry Choi is a personal finance and travel expert at moneywehave.com. He was previously affiliated with PC Optimum and American Express, but currently has no relationship with any of the brands.