More Rewards: How We Earn and Redeem Save-On-Foods Points for Maximum Value

If you live in Western Canada, chances are you’ve shopped at Save-On-Foods and collected More Rewards points. Like many loyalty programs, More Rewards can either be an afterthought that earns you the occasional free eggs (around 3600 More Rewards points by the way), or it can become a surprisingly valuable source of free groceries, travel, gift cards, and discounts.

Over the years, our family has accumulated thousands of More Rewards points. I have been redeeming them for milk or eggs once in a while, and then I heard another mom redeem them for a BC Ferry Car and passenger fare. As you know, BC Ferries with a car is very expensive so I was intrigued when she said she got a car ticket and a passenger ticket for 12,000 More Rewards points.

While it will never rival Aeroplan or Avios for outsized travel redemptions, More Rewards remains one of the easiest loyalty programs for British Columbia families to earn through everyday spending.

The key is understanding where the value comes from—and where it doesn’t.

Here’s how we maximize More Rewards points and the redemption strategies we use to get the best value.

What Is More Rewards?

More Rewards is the loyalty program used by Save-On-Foods and several other Pattison Food Group brands. Members earn points when shopping at participating partners and can redeem those points for groceries, travel, gift cards, and merchandise.

The program is free to join, and if you’re already shopping at Save-On-Foods, Urban Fare, PriceSmart Foods, Nesters Market, or Buy-Low Foods there is little reason not to have a card. 

The biggest mistake most people make is earning only the base points.

The real value comes from stacking offers. As you know, I love to optimize!

How We Earn More Rewards Points

1. Load My Offers Every Week

This is the single most important strategy.

More Rewards offers personalized digital coupons called “My Offers.” It’s an app you can download. Each week, members can load offers to their account and earn bonus points on specific products and spending targets. Some offers provide hundreds of points, while others can provide thousands.

Many shoppers scan their card but never load offers.

That’s like collecting half the rewards available.

Every week before grocery shopping, I spend about two minutes loading offers through the app. I believe the offers are refreshed every Thursday.

The return on those two minutes is often substantial.

One time I got a free 4 pack of Iogo yogurt in My Offers. My kids loved it and I loved it because it was free.

2. Shop Flyer Promotions

Save-On-Foods regularly features bonus point promotions in its flyer.

Products may offer:

• 500 bonus points
• 1,000 bonus points
• 2,500 bonus points
• Buy-two-get-points promotions
• Or spend $60 and get 3000 bonus points

The points add up quickly if the items are already on your shopping list.

The key is not buying something simply because it offers points (very tempting, I know).

A 2,000-point offer isn’t worthwhile if you’re paying significantly more than you would elsewhere.

3. Combine Sales with My Offers

This is where the program starts to shine.

The best opportunities occur when:

• An item is on sale
• The item has a flyer bonus
• The item is included in My Offers

Stacking all three can create surprisingly good returns.

4. Take Advantage of Partner Promotions

More Rewards has hundreds of partner locations where points can be earned. The program occasionally runs promotions rewarding members for shopping across multiple partners.

Historically, some of these promotions have generated thousands of bonus points for activities you were already planning to do.

5. Use a Strong Credit Card

This is where many people leave value on the table.

Even if you’re collecting More Rewards points, you should still pay with the best possible rewards credit card.

For example:

• American Express Cobalt (5x the points on groceries)
• Scotia Gold American Express (5x the points on groceries at Save On Foods brands)
• Rogers Mastercard
• BMO Cashback World Elite

The More Rewards points are simply a bonus on top of your credit card rewards.

Double dipping is where the real value comes from.

There is an RBC More Rewards Visa card that gives you 20,000 More Rewards points and has $0 in annual fee, but 20,000 points is essentially worth around $30 if you do the baseline redemption. The 20,000 More Rewards points are rewarded on your first purchase. It does give you 5 times the More Rewards points on your purchases, but to be honest other credit cards available have better options.

How Many Points Are More Rewards Points Worth?

Unlike Aeroplan or Avios, More Rewards doesn’t have a fixed valuation.

The value depends entirely on how you redeem.

The baseline redemption is straightforward:

10,000 points = $15 off groceries.

That means:

• 1,000 points = $1.50
• 10,000 points = $15
• 100,000 points = $150

This creates a floor value of approximately 0.15 cents per point.

If you redeem below this value, you’re likely making a poor redemption.

The Best Way to Redeem More Rewards Points

Option 1: Travel Redemptions

Historically, the best redemption value has often come through More Rewards Travel. Members can redeem points toward flights, hotels, vacations, ferries, and other travel bookings.

While values vary, travel redemptions can significantly outperform grocery redemptions.

Many experienced collectors specifically save their points for travel because the value per point can be substantially higher. Community discussions frequently point to travel as the strongest redemption option.

If you travel regularly, this is generally where I would focus.

For example, my measly 4700 points are worth $20 in travel right now.

This is equal to a CPP (Cash Per Point) of $0.43.

You can get the BC Ferries vouchers in the “Rewards Store” section of the More Rewards website.

For 12,000 More Rewards points and paying $55 (or 40,500 More Rewards points) you can get a BC Ferries voucher for one passenger and a car- a one way trip. Normally this would cost anywhere from $79 to $110 depending on the sailing time.

The 12,000 points + $55 option is significantly better than redeeming for groceries.

For example, if your sailing would have cost $110:

• 12,000 points save $55
• Value = 0.46 cents per point
• That’s over 3 times the value of redeeming points for groceries.

Even at a $79 sailing:

• Value = 0.20 cents per point
• Still about 33% better than grocery redemptions.

Redemption	Value
Groceries (10,000 pts = $15)	0.15 CPP
BC Ferries voucher	0.20–0.46 CPP
Travel redemption	0.43 CPP

Option 2: Gift Cards

Gift cards can sometimes provide reasonable value.

However, values fluctuate and should always be compared against the grocery redemption baseline.

My 4700 More Rewards points are worth around $6.71 right now according to this chart.

This is about $0.15 (or a little less) CPP, so not that great of a redemption.

Option 3: Free Grocery Items

Save-On-Foods regularly offers featured products available entirely through points.

Examples might include:

• Milk (something around 4500 points for $6.35 jug of 4L 2% milk)
• Eggs (something around 3300 points for a $4.15 dozen eggs)
• Bread

These can occasionally provide strong value.

I always compare the points required against the standard Pay With Points option before redeeming, so if each point is worth $0.15 a point make sure you are getting more value before you cash in your Save On More points for milk or eggs.

In the past, I was excited about redeeming for milk or eggs, but I am planning to save the reward points for a BC ferries ride instead.

My 4700 points are worth only $6.35 4L of milk- this is $0.135 CPP which is even worse than the baseline redemption.

Never again will I say yes to the free milk or eggs!!

Option 4: Pay With Points

This is the simplest redemption.

You can redeem 10,000 points for $15 off your grocery bill directly at checkout.

There is nothing wrong with this option.

In fact, many families prefer it because:

• No searching for rewards
• No travel planning
• No gift card inventory issues
• Immediate savings

Sometimes simplicity makes more sense. This would equate to $0.15 per point in value.

That means my 4700 points are worth $7 or so.

What We Personally Do

Our household typically follows a simple strategy:

1. Load My Offers weekly.
2. Buy sale items we already need.
3. Stack credit card rewards.
4. Accumulate points.
5. Wait for higher-value travel redemptions.

This approach requires almost no extra effort.

The points simply accumulate in the background.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Chasing Points Instead of Savings

The biggest mistake is purchasing products solely because they offer bonus points.

Saving $2 by buying a competitor’s product is usually better than earning 500 points.

Always compare the final cost.

Sometimes the My Offers tries to tempt you with 900 points for buying something full price that you would normally not use.

Redeeming Too Quickly

Many people redeem as soon as they reach a small threshold.

There is nothing wrong with that, but larger balances provide more flexibility.

Sometimes better redemption opportunities appear later.

Forgetting to Load Offers

This may be the most common mistake.

You can scan your card every week and still miss thousands of points annually if you forget to load My Offers.

Ignoring Credit Card Rewards

More Rewards should not replace your credit card strategy.

It should complement it.

The best value comes from earning both simultaneously.

Final Thoughts

More Rewards is not the most exciting loyalty program in Canada (far from it).

It won’t generate business-class flights to Asia like Aeroplan.

It won’t create luxury hotel stays like Marriott Bonvoy.

But it excels at something else:

Rewarding everyday grocery spending.

For BC families who already shop at Save-On-Foods, More Rewards is essentially free money.

The formula is simple:

• Load My Offers.
• Shop sales.
• Stack bonus points.
• Use a strong rewards credit card.
• Save points for high-value redemptions like travel

Do that consistently and you’ll earn significantly more value than the average shopper.

More Rewards isn’t going to make anyone rich, but if a few minutes of effort each week can help fund groceries, ferries, hotels, or your next family vacation, that’s a loyalty program worth paying attention to.

Anyway next time, think twice before you use your More Rewards points for that free jug of milk. You could go lying on a beach somewhere instead, or at least getting a free BC Ferries ride to Vancouver Island for $0.43 value of CPP!

Lesson learned here for me, I will not be redeeming for free milk or eggs from now on.

Do you use the More Rewards Program? What is your favourite redemption?