Holly Buchanan Staff Writer
Both Pierce College cafeterias, along with Shoreline and Everett Community Colleges, have all started a new café’ rewards card system that offers students discounts and rewards.
Food Service Director Renae Perez said that people receive a cookie just for registering. Students and staff members earn points every time money is spent on the card, which adds up to a free beverage or food item. One dollar is equivalent to one point. “If you’re going to spend money here anyways, you might as well get discounts,” Perez stated.
“I have to spend $100 to get a free sandwich or small drink,” student Jesse Williams stated. “I think it could have been brilliant if they upped the rewards.”
Caferewards4you.com lists a variety of prize levels for various amounts spent (see sidebar). For example, for $100 spent the choices are a free Sabino sub sandwich, free Daily Special of the Day, free large Grab n Go Salad, free Going Green mug, or $5 of any purchase.
According to the College Café Rewards website, the card works as a declining balance debit card. By creating an account online, students and staff can keep track of their points and also see what weekly College Café reward specials are coming up.
Adding money on the card can be as simple as giving money to the cafeteria cashiers to load on cards or going online and transferring money from credit or bankcards. “This system provides a way for parents to load money onto their kids’ cards and not worry about kids spending it somewhere else,” Perez said.
According to the Café Rewards Card website, students and staff members won’t have to worry about losing or misplacing the card as long as the cards are registered. The College Café Reward system can transfer current balances onto new rewards accounts.
The College Café Rewards card resets every year on Aug. 14, meaning “the balance is zeroed out, that’s why it’s important to spend your money before then,” Perez said.
A couple weeks ago there was a glitch in the system making the website hard to operate. Since then it has been resolved and the website is up and going correctly.
