Safeway just for U savings program

I was invited to the Safeway headquarters in Pleasanton, California a couple of weeks ago for a blogger event where they introduced us to a new program. A very exciting program! Safeway just for U is one of the most ingenious ways to save money that I have seen in a long time.

I have been a Safeway customer for years, and have always loved the good deals when using my club card combined with coupons. Cutting coupons, however, can be a daunting task, and can be quite time consuming while doing grocery shopping. Oh – and I love it when they scatter all over the floor when I am looking for a particular coupon! That was dripping with sarcasm – could you tell?

Along with myself, there were several other bloggers at the Safeway VIP Blogger event.  Some were frugal bloggers, deal bloggers, and mom bloggers such as myself.

Safeway just for U is a smarter way to shop – most definitely. How does the Safeway just for U program work? I am so excited to tell you about this!  After you have signed up for just for U, you will no longer need to clip coupons – you will simply go to Safeway.com, sign into your account, look over their huge selection of manufacturer coupons, click “add” on the ones you want, and they will automatically be loaded on your Safeway Club Card.  It doesn’t get much easier than that!

Each coupon has an expiration date, and the coupon will remain on your card until that date {or until item is purchased}.  If you don’t necessarily need a particular item on your next shopping trip, but know you will need it in a couple of weeks, you will still get the coupon savings, as long as you buy the item before the expiration date.  It is so much fun to go through the Safeway site, and click on the coupons that are used frequently.  This is really a one-stop way of collecting coupons – they include coupons which you will find in weekly flyers, and manufacturer coupons, which are updated weekly.  It is the largest digital grocery coupon site in North America.  Not only does this save me money, but it saves me time!

There are three sections on the just for U area on Safeway.com.  The coupon center is self-explanatory and you will load the coupons as I described above.  The “personalized deals” section shows you everyday prices and deals that are good for long periods of time, up to 90 days.  The “your club specials” section is really neat – to me, it is kind of like having a personal assistant.  It uses your shopping history and matches that with what is on sale and shows you the deals!  I was concerned about my information being stored, but I was assured that Safeway has the highest standards of privacy.  They do not sell your info, and all of the tracking is done anonymously by a computer system.  Good to know!  The system will automatically take the lowest price too.

Once you have finished adding coupons and deals to your club card, you simply print out your grocery list.  You can choose to pull up your list by personal price, club specials, expiration date, or broken down by categories.  It is a good idea to wait about 30 minutes or so from the time you print your list until you go shopping, just to make sure all the deals are active.  Safeway employees have been trained about the just for U program, and are there to help. If you have any questions, just ask!  If you ever need to print out a list at the store, Northern California Safeway stores will have computers and printers, for your convenience.

Safeway is extremely passionate about the just for U program.  As I listened to various Safeway personnel, I could tell how much time and energy had been put into this program, and I am so glad they did.  As we were using the laptops they had set up for us, we were able to load deals and coupons onto our cards.  They also gave us an in depth look at how it all works, and I have to say that I am impressed.  In a big way.  Safeway loves their customers, and they want to be a part of their shoppers lives – family life and everyday life.

Something else that I found really neat is that for different offers, you can compare what the prices are at Target and Walmart, in your geographical location.  It really is interesting to see the price differences between the three stores.  Typically, the zip code in which you registered is geo-targeted to get exclusive deals.  if you shop at several different Safeways, you may find that you get different deals.

One important thing to remember:  Make sure you get the right product when you shopping to get the deals you have loaded on your card.  Always double check that you are buying the right sizes and brands.

Safeway strives to be the lowest, while making shopping convenient for their customers.  I believe this wholeheartedly, and I think you are going to love the new just for U program at Safeway!

Something fun going on at Safeway – Safeway’s Thanksgiving Recipe Challenge:
Safeway is running a Thanksgiving recipe challenge November 2–23 on the Safeway Facebook page. Fans can submit their favorite Thanksgiving side, dessert, and appetizer recipes (with photo) for a chance to win a $500 Safeway gift card. Weekly winners will be selected from each category based on the highest number of votes received from other Facebook users. Fans can enter as many times as they want, but they must “like” the Safeway Facebook page.
*No purchase necessary. Void in NY, FL, RI and where prohibited. Open to legal residents of the U.S., residing in a participating Safeway Inc. Division, as defined in the Official Rules, 18 years or older. Begins 12:00:01 a.m. PT on 11/2/10 & ends 9:00:00 a.m. PT on 11/23/10. For official rules, visit the Safeway Fan Page on Facebook and click on the Contest tab.

I would like to give a special thank you to Safeway for inviting me to this event!

*I was not compensated for travel expenses, lodging, etc. for this event – I was, however provided two gift cards to try out the just for U program.