Every week, Coles and Woolworths release a new catalogue full of half-price meat, discounted pantry staples, and "Prices Dropped" specials. Most shoppers stop there — they check the catalogue, grab the deals, and move on. But the catalogue price is only the first layer of savings. The second layer, loyalty points, is where careful shoppers quietly save hundreds of dollars a year without changing what's actually in their trolley.
The core idea is simple: a catalogue discount and a loyalty program are not the same lever. One lowers the shelf price today; the other rewards the purchase itself, regardless of price. When you combine them on the same item, you're being rewarded twice for a single decision.
Start With the Catalogue, Not the App
Woolworths' Everyday Rewards and Coles' Flybuys both run their own in-app "bonus points" offers separately from the printed catalogue specials. The trick is that these two lists rarely overlap by accident — you have to check both. Open the catalogue first and shortlist what you'd buy anyway (this matters: loyalty points are never worth buying something you don't need). Then cross-reference that shortlist against the app's personalised offers for that week.
Aldi is the exception here, since it runs no traditional loyalty card at all — its savings come purely from everyday low pricing rather than points, which is worth remembering when you're deciding which store gets a particular item on your list.
Time Purchases Around Points Multipliers
Both major loyalty programs periodically run "earn double points" or "bonus points on your next shop" windows, usually triggered by opening the app rather than happening automatically. If a catalogue's best specials land in the same week as one of these multiplier windows, that's the week to do your bulk shop — not the week before or after. Setting a recurring reminder to open your loyalty app on catalogue-change day (Wednesday for most major Australian chains) takes under a minute and means you never miss a multiplier window silently expiring unused.
Don't Let Points Expire Chasing a "Deal"
The other side of stacking is knowing when not to. Flybuys and Everyday Rewards points can expire, and some shoppers end up buying items purely to "use up" points before expiry — which defeats the entire purpose of the exercise, since you're now spending real money to protect the value of a reward that was supposed to be free. A better habit is redeeming points for something on your existing catalogue shortlist rather than inventing a purchase around the points themselves.
Where IGA Fits In
IGA's independent, store-by-store structure means its weekly specials can vary more by location than Coles or Woolworths, but IGA Rewards still earns points per dollar spent regardless of which specific IGA you're in. If you live near an IGA and a Coles or Woolworths, it's worth comparing the printed catalogues side by side before committing your loyalty spend to one chain for the week — the better catalogue price plus points usually beats a worse price with the same points rate.
A Simple Weekly Routine
In practice, the shoppers who save the most spend about five extra minutes a week: check the new catalogue, check the app's personalised offers, note anything that overlaps with a points multiplier, and shop accordingly. It's not a dramatic system — it's a small, repeatable habit that compounds over a year of weekly shops into a meaningful amount of money back, on groceries you were always going to buy anyway.