Pikom PC Fair round 3

Okay, I admit I’m a little clueless sometimes. I didn’t know the Pikom PC Fair is held three times a year. I always thought it’s two.

But I’ve just heard the third one will be happening at the KLCC Convention Center from December 12 – 14, 2008, so consider yourself informed.

If you’ve just about had enough with your cranky used cisco which you paid big bucks for way back in 1998, it’s time to make your way down to the PC Fair to buy a new one. They’re not that expensive any more these days.

redeemed from OneCard

I used my OneCard to redeem a bottle of contact lens solution a few weeks ago. It’s pretty neat because I didn’t think I could actually use it in place of cash.

You can’t use the card against the parking charges any more, I’m told. But you can continue to accumulate points in your OneCard (which takes forever) and use it against purchases at certain retailers.

Metrojaya voucher gets me a new handbag

I had an rm50 voucher from Metrojaya that’s going to expire soon. So yesterday, I had to go to Midvalley out of desperation. I try not to go to Midvalley on the weekend because the parking and crowds drive me nuts.

But yesterday, I had no choice. Worse still, I had DH and Steev with me. They’re not the most patient shoppers so the girls and I were really under pressure on how to spend that rm50.

I wanted a handbag and they’ve got lots at Metrojaya, just that they weren’t actually my taste. So after browsing the handbag section and finding nothing I liked, we went to the ladies’ section. Nothing there either. Then the shoes section. Nothing there either.

The clock was ticking and we knew my phone was going to ring anytime once the guys got bored reading magazines at MPH. So I decided I’d just buy the handbag we’d seen earlier which I don’t really like, but what the heck, it’s free, right?

It’s a Beverly Hills Polo bag at 50% off. But when I asked the promoter to write it up for me, she said it’s 80% off. Woot! I was so happy. But the guys weren’t. That whole episode took 2 hours and they were saying, how can buying a handbag take so long, it’s not like you were looking for compatible tape drives that can only run on an obsolete machine! Duh!

the trouble with coupons

I don’t know how many points I’ve got in my Tesco Clubcard. All I know is that every once in a while, I get some coupons for discounts and rebates that get me discounts off my purchases.

It’s not much, only a few bucks considering that I shop truckloads at Tesco practically every weekend. But anything is better than nothing these days, I guess.

I finally used my coupons today after carrying them around in my handbag for weeks. That’s the trouble I have with coupons – I keep forgetting to use them till they expire. Duh.

redeeming stuff is stressful

I still haven’t gotten over the disappointment of my Bonuslink points expiring without notice, and the fact that they don’t carry the Tefal brand any more. I went to Parkson to see what else I could redeem on the spot.

Lo and behold, they have a La Gourmet non-stick pan, exactly what I’m after. Sadly though, I don’t have enough points yet.

Worse yet, I had more points expiring in April which I had to use up. The machine at Shell wouldn’t work with any of the items I wanted. Apparently none of the redemption codes were valid except for Pepsi. So I was forced to redeem 3 bottles of Pepsi. Duh!

I figured if I keep using up my expiring points at the end of each month, I’d never have enough points to redeem my La Gourmet pan. So I went back to Parkson to redeem my points for RM50 vouchers.

Okay, here’s the lesson I learnt. RM50=4,900 points but if you take the RM10 vouchers, they only cost you 900 points each. This works out to be 4,500 points for RM50. So you actually save 400 points.

Unfortunately I only realized this after redeeming 2xRM50 vouchers which means I lost 800 points for nothing. I mean, who would’ve thought a smaller denomination would cost less? Why do people bother buying in bulk then if bulk is more expensive than single items? This kind of logic is totally beyond me!

Tags: Bonuslink, non-stick frying pan, points, redemption, vouchers

more flexible rewards for your frequent flyer miles

So what do Credit Cards and Oil Prices have in common? In recent days, I was reading about the price of oil reaching US$120 per barrel and who knows how high it will climb to eventually?

The rise in oil prices will deeply affect the price of transportation. Ugh, what, does that mean fewer holidays or worse still, none at all *boo hoo*?

Not really because surely you’ve heard of Frequent Flyer credit cards? Well, if you use a Frequent Flyer credit card, you can chalk up your miles and redeem them against bonuses and other rewards.

And these rewards have gotten better of late. You’re no longer restricted to exchanging those hard-earned miles for more travel miles alone.

Yes, now you can redeem them for Broadway tickets at online auctions, seat upgrades. merchandise and even magazine subscriptions. How’s that for more flexible and much more exciting redemption offers? I definitely like the sound of this .