Given these shaky economic times, consumers are tightening up their fists and holding each and every dollar for as long as possible. Consumers have eliminated many historical discretionary items from their monthly budgets like dry cleaning, car washes, spa appointments and golfing despite the fact that these expenditures provide great convenience and pleasure. So we ask – can rewards actually increase your purchase value, convenience and joy in troubling times? If so, how?

What we have found is that consumers who are repetitive spenders on life’s small luxuries can receive rewarding purchase value combined with the convenience and joy factor that make these luxuries economically reasonable! Let’s walk through the analysis together – if your average dry cleaning bill is $40 and you traditionally went to the dry cleaner 1.5 times per month then you’re spending $720 per year on dry cleaning. In many reward programs like Thanks Again (www.thanksagain.com) you can earn rewards with a value of worth up to $100 on this $720 expenditure and that value can be available in cash back or converted into 5,000 airline miles (given the seasonal promotion and if you earned these miles on an airline rewards card or not). Thanks Again® is one of few free customer reward platforms for members featuring the world’s top loyalty programs, the 6 largest frequent flyer programs and purchase value-options among neighborhood stores, restaurants, car services, spas, ice cream parlors and numerous merchant reward opportunities around every corner.

So add the rewards value to the convenience factor – how much time would it take to clean and press your dress shirts (or how frustrated would your significant other be for you transferring this new responsibility to him or her)? Finally let’s add the loss of joy. Do you really give up playing your normal round of golf at 7am on Saturday @ an average cost of $50 or $600 per year? This could also translate into another 5,000 miles for a total of 10,000 incremental miles earned.

With the airlines now allowing you to burn miles for paying for partial tickets, 10,000 miles can reduce your annual family vacation travel cost 5 – 10%. So let’s sum this up – you can still play golf, you don’t have to clean and press your own clothes, and you lower your family vacation travel costs because you made smart and rewarding purchases for discretionary and repetitive services – Yep Rewards Can Really Help!