This feels odd to admit, but going to the supermarket is one of my favourite things to do. There’s something so soothing about chucking on a podcast or some music, and slowly filling my silly little basket with my silly little groceries. I enjoy every single part of the ritual immensely, except for the annoying last bit where they ask you for money.
I’m not amazing with money. But two people who are pretty bloody decent in this department are Flybuys superstars Andrew and Haylee. Andrew is a 30-something passionate runner and even more passionate about everyday savings — he’s been in the top 1% of Flybuys points-collectors in Australia multiple years running.
Meanwhile, Haylee is a 29-year-old single mum from Warrnambool who became a points millionaire overnight simply by playing a game on the Flybuys app. Who better to ask for some handy tips on sneaking lil perks from ya weekly shop, aye?
Don’t forget to scan your rewards card
This one seems obvi, and yet, so many people forget to scan when it’s game time. “Little points add up to a lot over time,” says Andrew, who’s a big advocate of whipping out your Flybuys card at every single opportunity, no matter how small the purchase. It’s called incremental gains, son.
Keep a lookout for deals
If you really don’t give much of a toss about brands, then base your shop on whatever’s on sale, and buy that — easy. However, there’s a lot more to finding the best deals than just grabbing whatever’s on special.
Sometimes a good deal comes in the form of a carpload of bonus points associated with buying a certain product at a certain time. And by carpload, I truly mean a load of carp.
And if there’s anyone who knows a carpload about deals, it’s Andrew. “Often I’ll get really great offers such as bonus points for reaching a certain spend, triple and tenfold point offers on my regular shopping categories like fresh fruit and vegetables, along with bonus points on select products each week,” he says.
Smooth savings operators like Andrew also know to check in on their various rewards apps, and make sure to leave no email unturned just in case there’s a case of Furphy on special at Liquorland.
Stretch the carp out of your reward points
Speaking of points, Haylee is a fountain of knowledge. “I would base when I did my big shops to gain the most points on offer,” she says. “Being a single mum to three very active kids means every cent counts.”
“So I let the points bank up for a day where I didn’t have much money for groceries or to treat the kids — then I would use my points.”
Suss FB groups and online communities
“There’s a couple of Facebook Flybuys groups where people are always talking about offers they have, and ways to be more savvy and collect more points,” says Haylee.
Andrew too is a big fan of jumping on Facey to scope out some hot deals. “There is a whole community of us out there sharing tips and tricks on making the most of Flybuys —and they’re not run by a marketing team, but true Flybuys fanatics; people who really give a Flybuys.”
Get your timing just right
Like pretty much everything in this fun little life, timing is everything. On this front Haylee has gamed the Flybuys system and found what hardcore Flybuys fans call the glitch. “I usually try to do my shops on the day one big points offer ends because another one has already started — so you get two lots of points,” she says.
Mind blown, Haylee.
