I am an unabashed 'Cheap Bastard' and I'm always looking for a good deal, especially on food. I am also a self-proclaimed credit card 'Points Whore' - pardon the expression, but I'm at a loss for a more accurate moniker.
I will look at ads, I will complete surveys, I will eat at places that I would have otherwise never eaten at; as long as they give me points and/or miles. Enter the "Safeway Triple Dip" stage left...
Ever since they reinstated the 'Buy 7 Sandwiches, Get the 8th Sandwich Free' deal at Safeway, I've been frequenting their deli; stalking their deli may be an adjective more apropos.
- First, sign up with grocerymiles.com and link your Safeway club card with your airline partner. I'm using United but I've heard some other airlines may be participating.
- Second, be sure to swipe your Safeway card at checkout each time you shop for them to track it, or do as I do and enter your phone number. They'll dump 125 miles into your airline's account for every $250 you spend.
- Third, use a credit card that earns you miles with the same airline you signed up with.
- Lastly, only eat sandwiches.
With the Safeway Triple Dip, you're getting free sandos, and earning 1.5 miles for every dollar spent... at the grocery store! You need to go there anyway, you might as well eat lunch too. Now, I may be a 'Points Whore' but I am also a 'Sandwich Snob'. It amazes me how often establishments manage to screw them up. In fact, making an excellent sando is a perfectly simple equation. It is beautiful in its simplicity.
When it comes to sandwiches, no matter where you go - the veggies are more-or-less all the same, the cold cuts are all the same, the cheese is all the same, the toppings, the pickles, and the dressings are all the same.
What makes a great sando is the bread.
Safeway bakes their own bread, fresh, everyday and it is delicious. I usually go for the Dutch crunch, the artisan, or the pesto, but the ciabatta is also good. Always ask for spicy mustard instead of yellow. If you are feeling more adventurous, they make a tasty muffaletta spread, a pesto spread, and a horseradish spread too.
They'll even toast it for you...