High Fees Plus Deposit Plus Electric! Options

[dbnck]

I spent the last month traveling through southern Texas and shopped occasionally at HEB. I was in Corpus Christi and decided to buy some groceries at the HEB located at 1145 Waldron Rd.

What a lovely time to be traveling through south Texas!

Veering wildly off topic here, but that HEB is something else. A Canadian I was camped next to once went on and on about the amazing sausage section they had there. He couldn't get over it.

I bought some towels for the RV--I'd looked for years for some that were 23" wide or less so they'd fit on my towel rack without bunching, and were regular sized but not too thick, so they'd dry faster (although they'll never dry in Corpus, period). HEB to the rescue, and a friend of mine actually said she liked them (kind of a floral print) before she knew they were pretty much made to order AND cheap.

Then again, another friend saw a man in the cafe section open a package of hot dog wieners and proceed to eat every one of them, straight out of the package, no bun, no sides. That's Corpus for you.

For those who don't know, H-E-B is named for the founder, H. E. Butt. We call it Butt-mart in our household, and you know how Walgreens calls their store brand stuff "Wal-phed" for sudafed, etc? Well, we now consider all generics as if they came from HEB, hence "butt-profen."

[abbygolden]

Let's see if I can put this HEB loyalty card thing to rest.

They have a CREDIT CARD (Master Card in my case) which gives you an automatic 3 cents per gallon off at their service stations and also for every 100$ you spend you get $1 credit on a grocery card. For example (since my math is not very good), for every $10,000 you charge you get $100 credit card mailed to you. If you, like me, use your credit card for major purchases (and pay them immediately), it's a good deal. On a "good" year, I can get three $100 credit cards back from them.

This loyalty card isn't like a Safeway card where you can instantly see what you "saved" when you purchase an item, but rather it is a credit card that can be used anywhere for anything, but is best for use at HEB. Not unlike many other gas and grocery cards.

Tell Lauren, Lydia, and Irma that they need to investigate a little further what their store offers.

[dbnck]

Let's see if I can put this HEB loyalty card thing to rest.

They have a CREDIT CARD (Master Card in my case) which gives you an automatic 3 cents per gallon off at their service stations and also for every 100$ you spend you get $1 credit on a grocery card.

In our defense (and in defense of the employees in Corpus), you never said it was a credit card; all of our discussion was in reference to a loyalty card, which the vast majority of supermarkets across the country DO have and HEB does not. Everybody pays the same price at HEB--there are no "sale" prices available only to people who have loyalty cards. Well, except in Waco, for some reason. Never have gotten to the bottom of that.

[Tweetie13]

In our defense (and in defense of the employees in Corpus), you never said it was a credit card; all of our discussion was in reference to a loyalty card, which the vast majority of supermarkets across the country DO have and HEB does not. Everybody pays the same price at HEB--there are no "sale" prices available only to people who have loyalty cards. Well, except in Waco, for some reason. Never have gotten to the bottom of that.

[font=Comic Sans Ms]

Hey - thanks for unmuddying the water here, dbnck. You are absolutely right on several counts.

1) I'd rather be traveling up north where it's a heck of a lot cooler, but ... since my husband is the driver and wanted to head east this way, I sit in the passenger seat and say "Ooooo" and "Ahhhh" as we pass by all of the wonderful flora and fauna throughout the south.

2) I must admit that I was a bit confused with this "loyalty" card business. If it had been immediately identified as a credit card, then we would probably all have been on the same page of, hopefully, the same book... I'm with you on this one.

3) Some sad news for you...I don't know how we managed to do it, but when I checked my sales receipt from HEB, I found I had saved $1.72 in "OUR BRAND SAVINGS" and $2.83 in "ON SALE SAVINGS". So, alas, items do go on sale at HEB...

4) I enjoyed reading of your experience at HEB in Corpus. What a hoot! Hot dogs with no mustard??? Eeeeeeuuuwwww...hopefully they were on sale...

Keep in touch. I like ya!

[abbygolden]

In our defense (and in defense of the employees in Corpus), you never said it was a credit card; all of our discussion was in reference to a loyalty card, which the vast majority of supermarkets across the country DO have and HEB does not. Everybody pays the same price at HEB--there are no "sale" prices available only to people who have loyalty cards. Well, except in Waco, for some reason. Never have gotten to the bottom of that.

I didn't realize any defense was needed, and, read #3 above. I don't care any more about this topic but I can gaurantee you that you can take any credit card other than a HEB one into HEB to shop and not get a grocery card from them back. Call it what you want, but to me that is just another loyalty card, perhaps clothed in a credit card cloak. My intent when responding to this subject was to set the story straight that some employees didn't know the whole story and there may be some snowbirds who would be interested in saving some money by getting a grocery card back after spending "x" amount over the winter.

All of which brings up another (to me) interesting point. We were shopping in Fred Meyers in Florence, OR yesterday and remarked to the cashier how much we liked the store more than Safeway. Somehow the conversation got to national chain grocery stores in Texas, such as Kroger and Safeway. We have neither in my area as they both went under in the region years ago and I couldn't think of another national brand.

Is anyone aware of one or is it just the Austin area that doesn't seem to have them? Or could it be my memory?

For those of you who are suffering from the heat and drought, it hasn't been above 66 on the Oregon coast yet this summer. Life is good!

[Texasrvers]

There is still an Albertson's in New Braunfels, TX, and maybe some in Austin. There are also some Kroger's here and there--some in College Station, I think.I haven't seen a Safeway in Texas in years, but I think there are some Randall's in Austin (aren't they affiliated with Safeway somehow?). Other than that, it is pretty much HEB (or WalMart).

PS It is 66 degrees here, too. It's just that the numbers are upside down.

[dbnck]

I didn't realize any defense was needed, and, read #3 above. I don't care any more about this topic but I can gaurantee you that you can take any credit card other than a HEB one into HEB to shop and not get a grocery card from them back. Call it what you want, but to me that is just another loyalty card, perhaps clothed in a credit card cloak. My intent when responding to this subject was to set the story straight that some employees didn't know the whole story and there may be some snowbirds who would be interested in saving some money by getting a grocery card back after spending "x" amount over the winter.

The HEB credit card is just like any number of other rewards cards out there, but more restrictive in that the "reward" can be used only at HEB. If a snowbird doesn't go back to south Texas for some reason, then he can't use the reward.

My credit card gives me up to 1.35% "cash" back--on the January statement, they give me a credit for the previous year's activity. Something like that would be a much better deal for someone who travels a lot.

3) Some sad news for you...I don't know how we managed to do it, but when I checked my sales receipt from HEB, I found I had saved $1.72 in "OUR BRAND SAVINGS" and $2.83 in "ON SALE SAVINGS". So, alas, items do go on sale at HEB...

Oh yes, HEB does put things on sale, but you don't have to have a loyalty card to get that price. They circle your savings just like they do at places with loyalty cards, which is kind of lame because you didn't have to do anything special to get that price.

One kind of jinky thing they do is have in-store coupons for stuff, which are always hanging right by the item so it's kind of stupid. Good advertising for the item, I guess, but bad for people who don't like coupons (and I don't blame those people for not liking them, even though I use them).

HEB also frequently pimps their house brands by giving them free if you buy the national brand, like if you buy Doritos, you get a free bag of HEB chips IF you use the coupon that's hanging there. Or they have a coupon with this big complicated list, where you get a free bag salad and HEB shredded cheese if you buy a pound of ground beef and a jar of spaghetti sauce and a package of spaghetti. Probably good savings, but requiring precision work.

But at HEB, if you see a shelf tag that says "Sale $.99" you know you can buy it for $.99, no card required.

And now that I think about it, the Meijer chain up in Illinois/Michigan--not sure where all in that area--doesn't use loyalty cards, either. Gigantic stores, more like a Walmart than a grocery store.

There is still an Albertson's in New Braunfels, TX, and maybe some in Austin. There are also some Kroger's here and there--some in College Station, I think.I haven't seen a Safeway in Texas in years, but I think there are some Randall's in Austin (aren't they affiliated with Safeway somehow?). Other than that, it is pretty much HEB (or WalMart).

Albertson's left Austin several years ago. Randall's is Safeway, and they're in Austin--a much more civilized shopping experience than HEB, but way more expensive.

HEB started in South Texas and is inching its way north. Kroger and HEB are in Houston; Kroger and Randalls/Tom Thumb are in Dallas.

It's complicated to keep track of who owns which store, but vital to fulltimers who want to have "only" 10 or so loyalty cards.

4) I enjoyed reading of your experience at HEB in Corpus. What a hoot! Hot dogs with no mustard??? Eeeeeeuuuwwww...hopefully they were on sale..

I think I could take a hot dog without mustard if it were cooked. But raw? In public?

The worst part is that my friend who saw it is from Colorado, which is the only state in the union with an obesity rate less than 20%. So his report was tinged with judgment and I found it hard to mount a rousing defense of my fellow Texan.

One night at that HEB, they had the sprinklers on but the incessant wind was blowing the water all over the pavement. I purposely drove through it to try to rinse some of the salt off my car, and circled around to get the other side. My boyfriend was totally embarrassed, and then I pointed out somebody who was doing the same thing under another sprinkler. Not that the behavior at a Corpus HEB should be any kind of a standard, of course.

But I have found fewer soiled diapers in this parking lot than the Walmart, so there is that.

[chowhound]

Tweetie, thanks for the detailed report. As a native Texan, I have spent many dollars at HEB and have inquired on numerous occaisions as to the existance of loyalty cards similar to Kroger or Randall's (Safeway) and they don't have them, hearing about loyalty cards in Waco is news to me. So I continue to buy groceries (meat and produce from HEB, staples and packaged goods from Walmart and gas from Kroger (loyalty discount).

[abbygolden]

Tweetie, thanks for the detailed report. As a native Texan, I have spent many dollars at HEB and have inquired on numerous occaisions as to the existance of loyalty cards similar to Kroger or Randall's (Safeway) and they don't have them, hearing about loyalty cards in Waco is news to me. So I continue to buy groceries (meat and produce from HEB, staples and packaged goods from Walmart and gas from Kroger (loyalty discount).

Every cashier line and every pump should have the application form for the HEB credit card. Read the directions on the application and it will tell you how to redeem your points for a grocery card. You will also get $.03 discount on your gas per gallon. Like you, I do all my shopping for fresh vegetables and meat at HEB and anything prepackaged at WalMart or a similar type store. I get my gas from HEB because they are close and the cheapest (or nearly so) in a town of 50,000.

Even Waco isn't that behind times that they don't offer this! Oh wait a second, we are talking about Waco. I forgot.

[Tweetie13]

Every cashier line and every pump should have the application form for the HEB credit card. Read the directions on the application and it will tell you how to redeem your points for a grocery card. You will also get $.03 discount on your gas per gallon. Like you, I do all my shopping for fresh vegetables and meat at HEB and anything prepackaged at WalMart or a similar type store. I get my gas from HEB because they are close and the cheapest (or nearly so) in a town of 50,000.

Even Waco isn't that behind times that they don't offer this! Oh wait a second, we are talking about Waco. I forgot.

I grew up in the very wet Great Northwest and am well acquainted with Fred Meyer, Safeway, Albertson's, Thriftway, QFC and Trader Joe's. I've been a coupon clipper for most of my life, and every week I would haul my 2 reluctant children to wherever the sales were. As the single parent of children who grew like weeds, I needed to spend my dollars wisely. Each store had its own brand and sometimes I would buy them. Most of the time I went with the national brands, especially if they were on sale. Thanks goodness all we have to do at Safeway, QFC and Albertson's now is to input our phone number at the check out to get in on the store sales! No more carrying all of those annoying little key chain cards!

When making purchases (including having my utilities and as many other expenses possible automatically debited from my card), I choose to use my airline credit card. Not only do I have a monthly itemized statement of my expenses (which are paid in full every month), but I get to fly back and forth to Europe every once in a while. I like that!

No matter what rewards card, credit card, or loyalty card you use, it all ends up being a personal choice. What works for one person may not work as well for another.

I'm in Springfield, MO doing some family research and spoke with my sister who lives in University Place (just south of Tacoma, WA). Looks like it hit 89 degrees in Seattle yesterday...I appears as though the dismal, wet, grey, cold spring and summer weather has decided to cooperate and let the sun shine for a while. Trust me...it will ONLY be for a while. Enjoy it while you can. Remember, we Washingtonians don't tan, we rust...

Tomorrow we are off to Fort Wayne, IN and the wonderful Allen County Library, holder of the second largest genealogical reference collections in the United States (after Salt Lake City). I will be looking up dead people, and my husband will be golfing. Sounds fair...

Have a great day!

[abbygolden]

I find it incredible that we have been on the Oregon coast for almost two months and the high has been 66! There has been very little rain as well. I picked a good year not to be home for the summer.

[abbygolden]

Just as a follow-on to my original post, the new owner of the park in which I'm staying has removed the requirement for a deposit for those who are staying less than six months. I have no problem with this.