REACHING THE PINNACLE OF THE OPTIMUM

Last week, I achieved a milestone occasion - I reached the 75,000 mark in Shoppers Optimum points. That is the highest reward level - $150 worth of free merchandise.

Over my entire time as being a member of the Optimum club, I probably have managed to get well over 75,000 points. Previously, the highest reward level was reached at 40,000 points - $75 worth of merchandise and I've reached that level at least twice. But I'd always cashed out at 40,000 points. This time, I kept going until I hit the 75,000 mark. What a rush - when the receipt read "You can save up to $150".

But with great power, comes great responsibility. Now, I actually have to choose $150 worth of free merchandise. Well, really $176 worth of free merchandise, because I will off course maximize my Optimum points and redeem them on "Mall Day" when I can save 15% off.

So, now the hard part begins. If they let me redeem the points for gift cards, there'd be no issue - oh there's still choice: Chapters/Indigo; Blue Jays; iTunes; Shoppers Drug Mart... but to walk away with $150 worth of gift cards for Chapters/Indigo is an easy choice. Believe you me, I could spend $150 at Chapters/Indigo in a flash. But alas, it is not meant to be.

So, I'm back at square one. I could buy Armani Code (recommended by Men's Health as the best cologne to wear on a date) but that would still only take me to the half-way point.

I'll fully admit that I've been eyeing the new Gillette razor - Fusion and its 6 blade system (that's a whole 2 extra blades that I can use to cut myself with!), but can I really justify using my Optimum points on that when I've still got all the Mach 3 blades from the last time I redeemed Optimum points? Me thinks not!

If I was a woman, then $150 at Shoppers would be a cinch. In an informal poll (of 1) most girls I know spend at least $50 at Shoppers in a single purchase. I'd be willing to bet most of them carry around $150 worth of makeup and toiletries just in their purse.

So until I decide what to buy, I guess I'll have to continue to wander the aisles of Shoppers, and continue to rack up the points. By the time I finally figure out what to spend my 75,000 Optimum points on, I may actually have to worry about buying $300 worth of merchandise.