Military Life News

Military Life News, Commissary Rewards and Military Discounts

What You’re Missing When You Don’t Use Your Commissary Rewards Card

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Do you have a commissary rewards card?

I do and I completely forgot to use mine this week when I went grocery shopping at my commissary.

At the checkout, the cashier asked if I had a commissary rewards card. When I told her I forgot about it she said that’s unfortunate because some of the things I bought had coupons on it. Well at that point I really felt like I had missed out.

I went home and put my groceries away. Then I logged onto the commissary rewards card site to see which coupons I missed. Sure enough, Charmin, Bounty, Swiffer and Tide were all on it and worst of all, I missed out on a $4 off coupon for Zyrtec.

I don’t want that to happen again so I downloaded the commissary rewards card app right away. If I had that app on my phone already, I could have clicked those coupons right there in my commissary and saved money instantly. That’s money I could have spent on coffee on the way home. Lesson learned.

I use to be really good about clipping coupons. I would make my grocery list for the week and see what coupons matched up with what was on the grocery list. I also use to Google coupons for bigger items and print them to take with  me.

That was before I had kids and had the time to do it.

One day I discovered the commissary rewards card and that card made saving money quicker and easier. With the commissary rewards card you don’t have to clip coupons or print them. You simply tap the coupons you want and they are added to your card. At the checkout you just hand your commissary rewards card over to the cashier and they swipe it. Easy savings.

The commissary rewards card app makes it even more convenient. When I use the commissary rewards card, I always log on with my laptop. Now that I have the app, I can do it anytime and anywhere as my phone is pretty much always with me.

I don’t purchase the newspaper to clip coupons anymore, but I do see coupons pop up when I’m on my laptop from time to time. I also get them in my email occasionally. It’s great that I can still use those along with the commissary rewards card. You can’t use double manufacturer’s coupons at the commissary, but you can save money by using other coupons you find with the coupons you get through the commissary rewards card.

If you don’t have a commissary rewards card, it’s simple to get one. Just ask the cashier at the checkout and he or she will give you one for free. It’s easy to register it and get started using it right away as well.

Pro-tip: Walk up to a cashier at the beginning of your shopping trip to get one. You can register it while you shop and quickly look through the coupons to see what matches up with the items on your grocery list.

You don’t have to go through every item if you don’t want to. You can search by category or by specific product. If you go ahead and do this, you can save money right away.

Do you have a commissary rewards card? Are you saving money each shopping trip or are you missing out? There are great savings opportunities with the commissary rewards card and it is quick and easy to use it.

If you don’t have one, I recommend that you pick one up on your next stop to the commissary.

Want more information about the commissary rewards card? Read this article by clicking here.

Free Wi-Fi Coming to a Commissary Near You

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The commissary at Naval Air Station Oceana here in Virginia Beach has just become the first commissary to test free Wi-Fi. I was very excited to hear that it was one of the commissaries near me so that I could drive over and test it.

I often forget to load my commissary rewards card and end up sitting in my car scanning through them on my phone quickly as my 19-month-old baby repeatedly chimes from the back seat, “I go bye-bye. Groceries now, groceries now mama.” Finally being able to access the Internet inside of the commissary is great. I know my son does not want to sit still any longer than he has to and now I won’t have to keep him in the car that extra time. Of course I always tell myself I will remember next time to look at the coupons at home, but as all parents know, that doesn’t always happen.

I will make a better effort to digitally clip my rewards card coupons at home, but it is nice to be able to access them while in the commissary if I do forget. Some of the recipes I use are online so being able to glance back at them and make sure everything is on my grocery list is another great perk. I’m sure there are many reasons that people will happily find to utilize the free Wi-Fi. Entertaining your child with cartoons on YouTube so everyone can shop in peace is what one of my friends beamed about.

Having access to Wi-Fi is so mainstream now that not having it comes as a surprise to many new patrons, especially young military spouses. For those of us that have been shopping at commissaries for years without it however, this is an exciting new feature. NAS Oceana is the first to test free Wi-Fi, but once preliminary test is complete it will be rolled out to 102 commissaries stateside that already have the existing infrastructure that would be needed to support customer traffic.

A specific timeline for the program has not been determined yet. Once DeCA is able to calculate the test results here at Oceana, they will decide how quickly they can roll out free Wi-Fi to other commissaries. For those locations that will need updates to their systems to support customer Wi-Fi, it may be awhile. At this time DeCA has not made any plans to expand the offer of free Wi-Fi to commissaries overseas unfortunately.

There are so many reasons to shop at the commissary and adding free Wi-Fi just makes it that much better. What other perks would you like to see at your commissary in the future?

10 Reasons to Shop the Commissary

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Being part of the military community has many benefits and the commissary is one privilege everyone should take advantage of. Great savings are not the only reason to shop at the commissary either.

Here are 10 reasons to shop at your commissary.

1. Save Money

Yes, saving money is the No. 1 reason most people shop at the commissary. Consumers save 30% or more on average over commercial grocery stores. “Commissaries are required by law to sell items at prices set only high enough to recover item cost, with no profit or overhead factored into item price.”

Have you noticed all the orange “VALUE” tags lining the shelves? There are on average 300 products in more than 33 categories with this label. These truly are value items as the commissary has worked hard to identify “name brand products that provide consistent value, based on an average lower price than the equivalent store, private label item.”

2. Case Lot Sales

Another great way to save is buying in bulk. Commissaries have customer appreciation case lot sales twice a year stateside. “We choose the items from the list that we think will sell well at our stores,” said Mark Crump, the store manager at the Little Creek commissary. “These are not items that have been sitting in our warehouse.”

Products are marked down and you can still use coupons to further increase your savings.

3. Rewards Card

The commissary rewards card allows you to redeem coupons electronically and all commissaries worldwide accept the rewards card. You can pick one up at the checkout and register it at home or on your smartphone. From there you can browse coupons and add them to your card. New coupons are posted multiple times a week so check it before you head to the commissary. At the checkout simply hand your card to the cashier. With digital coupons you won’t have to worry about clipping coupons at home and having the frustration of leaving them in the car. The rewards card comes as a key chain tag as well, so as long as you have your keys you’ll have your coupons.

4. Click2Go

Click2Go is a new service currently being tested at only 3 commissaries: Fort Lee, VA, Offutt Air Force Base, NE and Travis Air Force Base, CA. Click2Go allows customers to order their groceries online and pick them up at the commissary curbside. If the program proves to be popular the service may be added to more locations.

5. Support Scholarships for Military Children

The Scholarship for Military Children Program provides college scholarships to military dependents. It was “created in recognition of the contributions of military families to the readiness of the fighting force and to celebrate the role of the commissary in the military family. It is the intent of the program that a scholarship funded through contributions be awarded annually for each commissary operated by the Defense Commissary Agency worldwide.” Every commissary awards at least one $2,000 scholarship and more may be possible based on funding and eligible applicants.

6. Pathways for Students and Recent Graduates

This is a federal driven program that includes an internship program for current students, a recent graduates program and the Presidential Management Fellows Program for people who earned an advanced degree within the proceeding 2 years. These programs promote employment opportunities for students and recent graduates in the federal workforce. The commissary supports these programs.

7. International Aisle

There are some wonderful products on the international aisle and you aren’t likely to find them at commercial grocery stores. If you have a sweet tooth or would just like to try a British chocolate bar, grab a Crunchie. It is a honeycomb toffee chocolate bar that will fix your sweet tooth for a few days. The international food aisle isn’t just for sweets; you’ll find a wide variety of products from many countries.

8. Meet Other Military Families

At times being part of the military life can be lonely. Shopping at the commissary gives you an opportunity to meet other families. Striking up a conversation over an item on sale or just how cute the little baby in the shopping cart is one easy way to feel a little more connected.

9. Consistency in Your Life

Moving can put you at odds but there is one thing that can be consistent in your life, the commissary. Looking for a new home, new schools, new stylist and new friends is a lot to worry about. Knowing the commissary is available is one less stress. You won’t have to look for a new grocery store.

10. Support Military Dependents

Many of those working at the commissary are military dependents. You will hear many different accents from spouses from all over the world and notice young baggers that are children of service members. There are also a few retired individuals that will be happy to share a story with you.

These are just a few of the many reasons to shop at the commissary. Why do YOU shop at your military commissary? Tell us in the comments section.