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Why it might be time to tear up your loyalty card

Victoria Devine Money columnist October 26, 2025 — 5.01am

It was around this time last year, when my mind turned to Christmas shopping, that I began to notice something had changed.

Where a decade ago, the most common question shoppers faced when they found themselves at a register or checkout was if you planned to pay by cash or card, it’s now become if you’re a member of that store’s loyalty program.

What surprised me wasn’t the programs themselves, but rather just how widespread they’ve become recently. Now, it feels like every single store, selling absolutely anything and everything, has a rewards program.

In Australia, loyalty programs have become so ubiquitous that around 90 per ce

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