Supermarket
Club Card?
# of stores
State(s)
Link to Info & Applications
(No longer in existence. Was owned by Fleming, now split up and sold to other markets.)
Had been 
55
AZ
("Local, family run" - Appear to be privately owned)
?
OH
(Owned by Albertson's - who did away with other acquired stores' cards in 2000)
51
DE, NJ, PA, MD
Ahold
(see Royal Ahold)
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-
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-
(Owned by Bashas')
5
AZ
(Owned by Royal Ahold)
?
Netherlands
Second largest grocery chain in the United States (after Kroger).
Bought American Stores Company in 1999
Owns Lucky, Jewel Food Stores, Acme Markets, Osco Drug, Sav-On as a result of that purchase.
-- ALERT! -- IMPORTANT!
!!!
2,500 stores
(up from 1,002 stores in 1999)
Second largest in U.S.
36 states including:
AZ, AR, CA, CO, FL, GA, ID, IA, KS, LA, MI, MO, MT, NE, NV, NM, ND, OK, OR, SD, TN, TX, UT, WA, WY
After years of advertising " No hassles! No card needed!" Albertson's, one of the key bastions of card-free shopping, has started a card program.
While some locations, (AZ, NM and Southern CA), still do not have a card program, Albertsons has been quietly rolling it out throughout the rest of the country.
Be sure you're on the CASPIAN mailing list to follow our response and fight back.
(Wholly owned subsidiary of Aldi Inc. of Muelheim, German)
578
AR, CT, IA, IL, IN, KS, KY, MD, MI, MO, NC, NE, NJ, NY, OH, PA, SC, TN, VA, WI, WV
"ALDI eliminates some of the 'extras' found at other grocery stores; for example, baggers, fancy displays, check cashing, and preferred customer savings programs." - Aldi's website
Accused of violating the privacy of job applicants, however.
(See Wild Oats)
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1
Palmyra, IN
A reader writes: "there's a little low-price store "katty-korner" from a huge Albertson's here in Tulsa,OK...they're out of KC."
(Bought by Albertson's in 1999) Owned Lucky, Jewel Food Stores, Acme Markets, Osco Drug, Sav-On.
1,550
Each store had a different policy but most required cards.
9
CA
Ask for SSN and DLN, but company reps say it's "optional"
(Owns Dominion, Farmer Jack, Food Basics, Kohl's, Sav-A-Center, A&P Super Foodmart, Super Fresh, The Barn, The Food Emporium, Ultra Food & Drug, and Waldbaum's)
126
LA, NY, NJ, Canada
Apple's
(Locally owned, recently bought by Giant Eagle?)
8
OH
Owned by Wal-Mart
248
UK
A reader writes "Now owned by Walmart. No loyalty card - believes in retaining loyalty by offering lower prices across the board when measured against major competitors (Tesco, Sainsbury's, etc)"
(Owned by Spartan Stores)
8
MI
1
Ashland, OR
These are nice folks.
1
So. Amherst. MA
1
Philadelphia, PA
(A multinational corporation based in France)
203 hypermarkets
470 supermarkets
591 related stores
107,000 employees
France, Spain, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Luxembourg, Hungary, Mexico, Argentina, Thailand, USA. Coming soon to China.
Unfortunately, their website is now only available in French.
(Owned by Auchan France)
2
Houston, TX
B-Kwik
(Run by Top's, owned by Ahold)
8
NY, OH, PA
No website. Mentioned here.
(Owns Russ's Market and Super Saver)
(Bought by Kroger 3/01, now part of Kroger's Dillon Stores division. Was owned by Fleming)
16
NE, OK
Case study on their card program here
Owns Price Chopper and Hen House stores.
23
KS
Unrelated NCR case study here.
(Also own AJ's Fine Foods, Food City, and Bashas' Mercado)
65
AZ
12/3/2002
A reader writes that the AJ's and Food City stores do not require cards.
(Owned by Raley's)
18
CA
(Owned by Kroger)
?
CA
9/15/2002
A shopper writes "They did once trumpet the fact that they didn't
require them but changed their policy a couple of months ago, no doubt
from the Kroger influence."
(See Wild Oats)
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Big Bear Plus Supermarket
(Owned by Penn Traffic Co.)
76
OH, WV
Big Bear imposed its "Big Bear Wild Card" surveillance program on shoppers October 2000.
(Wholly owned division of SUPERVALU, Inc.)
VP
Bravo!
10
OH, KY, IN, CO
"Bigg's does not have any loyalty marketing program nor do we intend to start one in the future. Our philosophy is 'One True Minimum Price for all, regardless." David Gossett, Tech Manager 11/16/99
(Locally owned and operated)
Bravo!
3
New York
"We do not now nor in the future intend to use a club card or loyalty program...I believe that these programs are exclusive and our goal is to be inclusive" -Tom Trippany Big M, 11/9/99
(Owned by Foodtown Supermarkets of Kentucky, Inc. who also owns Slone's)
5
KY
This seems like a nice, family-run chain of stores.
(Family owned)
Was
Now
45
MA, CT
(Most owned by Royal Ahold; formerly owned by Penn Traffic. 43 BiLo stores are still owned by Penn Traffic's Riverside division)
VP
260
GA, NC, SC, TN
96
CT, DE, FL, ME, MD, MA, NH, NJ, NY, OH, PA, RI, VA
(Owns Hyper Co-Op, Super Co-Op, Zil v'Zol, Super Center, MEGA, and Shefa Mehadrin)
170
Israel
One of Israel's largest food retailers (with over 30% of the market)
Hoover's info in English
(Owned by Fresh Encounter, Inc.)
?
OH
(Owned by Royal Ahold)
VP
?
Brazil
The website is in Portuguese - please let me know if you can read it.
21
KS, NE
No website
Bravo Supermarket
?
NJ, NY
Bread of Life Natural Foods Market & Deli
(Now owned by Whole Foods)
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(See Whole Foods)
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3
New Orleans, LA
Bravo!
13
Southern CA
"We will not be offering [a loyalty card] program. We believe that customer loyalty must be earned."
Charlie Bergh, Marketing VP
11/12/99
But recently signed up with E-scrip.
Some stores called B&B, Budget Chopper, Celebration Foods.
(Over 50% employee-owned according to NCEO)
70
LA, TX
(Run by the privately owned Brookshire Grocery Company)
106
AR, LA, TX
Originally part of the Brookshire Brothers grocery chain (above), the companies split in 1939.
11/19/2002
A reader writes that prices without the "loyalty card" are considerably
higher.
(Family-owned. Owns Cost Cutter, Food Pavilion, Food Depot, and $ave-On-Food$)
34
WA, MT, OR
A reader informs us they started a card program at the begining of 2003
and he stated "regular prices went through the roof when the card became required"
info
(Also runs Food World, Food Fair, Food Max, Fresh Value, Vincent's Market and 21 Piggly Wiggly Markets. Operated under Chapter 11 bankruptcy until early 2000, see details)
(Some stores it owns do use cards to monitor shoppers)
29 Bruno's
over 150 total stores
AL, FL, GA
11/20/2002
A reader tells us "the owner Frank Budwey always states 'No cards,
no points, no gimmicks' in his advertisements...And they have stated that
they will not use cards anytime in the future as well"
11
OH
(Owned by Overwaitea Food Group)
(Privately-held, local, independent)
12
MI
A shopper writes: "Well run, clean and reasonable. They advertise that they do not have cards but 'Bottom Line Savings.' "
But getting BeeLine shopper (go here and search for "BeeLine" to learn more)
12
MN
Capers Market
(See Wild Oats)
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(Owned by Kroger)
19
Northern California
9/15/2002
A shopper writes "They did once trumpet the fact that they didn't
require them but changed their policy a couple of months ago, no doubt
from the Kroger influence."
Carnival Food Stores
(Owned by Minyards)
(Multinational corporation based in France. Merged with Promodes to become world's second largest retailer in 1999.)
(May be XX)
9,000 stores, including 680 hypermarkets 2,600 supermarkets
26 countries across North America, South America, Europe and Asia.
730 million people buy their groceries from a Carrefour-owned market
A French reader writes: "Carrefour fidélise ses clients avec la carte Pass." 10/11/01
Carter's (Indiana)
(To be bought by Marsh in 2001)
2
IN
(Owned by Safeway)
24
AK
Alaska's largest retail chain
(Privately owned and operated)
20
MI
(Bought by Smart & Final in 1998)
2 retail
36 total
San Jose, CA and Tacoma, WA are open to the public
CA, OR, WA, ID
Owned by H-E-B
3
TX
The upscale arm of H-E-B
(Independently Owned)
1
Utica, NY
No-card status reader-confirmed 10-2-00.
Checkers
1
Lawrence, KS
1
NJ
(Owned by Kroger)
(May be please
confirm)
38
CO
A reader writes: City Market "is controlled by King Soopers. City Market is located in the Rocky Mountains, and King Soopers is on the Western plains of the Rocky Mountains.
(Family owned)
Bravo!
1
Lamesa, Tx
"We do not monitor our customers and do not have any future plans for discount cards or any other such device. We protect our customers and promise them the lowest prices we can offer. To each and everyone!" - Jessica Blount, Claiborne's
Clark's Supermarket
(Independently Owned)
1
Saint Michaels, MD
No-card status reader-confirmed 10-4-01
16
PA
"...you will need to provide a valid driver's license or state I.D. card for name and address verification only."
12/12/2002
A reader writes that Clemens' loyalty card EXPIRES if it is unused for
six months!
(Family-owned)
1
RI
Coles Myer Supermarkets (Australia)
(Owns Bi-Lo and Coles New World)
410
52,000+ Employees
Australia
16
Ontario, Canada
(Owned by Fresh Encounter, Inc.)
?
OH
(Owned by Fleming)
1
MO
?
Switzerland
A reader writes: "The Coop Schweiz has its 'Supercard', and by using it, shoppers can assemble points and superpoints, which they can redeem for other items from the Coop's catalog."
(Owned by Overwaitea Food Group)
Copps Food Center, IGA
(Owned by Copps Corporation)
21
WI
Cosentino's
?
CA
A reader writes: "Absolutely no card or registration, ever. Fantastic service, top notch all the way."
Costco (See Price-Costco)
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Cost Cutter
(See Brown & Cole)
(Owned by SuperValu)
VP
101
AR, IL, IA, FL, MN, MO, MT, ND, OH, PA, SD, WI,
A reader writes: : Does not have the usual "I do not want to receive special offers from County Market" box to check.
21
KS, MO, OK, TN
Cousin's Supermarket
U
PA
No card status reader-confirmed
Coy's Discount Foods (IGA)
2
Frederick, OK; Vernon, TX
Asks for phone number only
C-U Supermarket
(Privately owned)
1
New Paltz, NY
Cub Foods (in Georgia)
(Owned by SuperValu, run by Super Discount Markets, Inc.)
VP
19
GA
Closed in 2001
(Owned by SuperValu)
VP
according
to reader reports
unknown
CO, IA, IL, MN, MO, OH, WI
There is a new web based "Club Cub" which offers coupons based on location.
Curtisville Market
1
South Branch, MI
(U.S.A.'s largest pharmacy/drug store chain)
4100
AL, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, IL, IN, KY, MA, ME, MD, MI, NC, NH, NJ, NY, OH, PA, RI, TN, SC, VT, VA, WV
Good luck -- this is a horrible website to navigate. (Update: It was so bad, it's now down for remodeling)
(May be XX)
26
Western MI
Dan's Foods
(Owned by Associated Foods)
(Owned by Nash Finch)
10
ND, SD, WY
(Over 50% employee-owned according to NCEO)
12
IA
Dave's Supermarket
6
OH
Advertising circulars mention "no card required"
Bravo!!
(Family owned)
VP
1
Fairbury, IL
David's Supermarkets, Inc
27
TX
A reader writes that these are "wonderful, clean, great-priced stores."
(and Jitney-Jungle Stores)
198
17,500 employees
MS, AR, AL, TN, FL, LA
Boast that 1,200,000 people are using their "gold card"
(Owned by Belgian company Delhaize "Le Lion". Owns Food Lion, Shop 'n Save, Hannaford Bros, Save 'n Pack, Kash n' Karry)
1,426
DE, FL, GA, KY, MA, MD, ME, NH, NY, NC, PA, SC, TN, VA, WV
DeMoulas Market Basket
(Privately owned)
58
MA, NH,
(Independently owned and operated by Dick Rinehart)
1
WI
Newspaper interview with owner
8
WI, IL
(Family owned since 1914)
16
St. Louis, MO
Did they get rid of their card? No mention left on their website...
(Owned by Kroger)
?
KS, MO, OK
(Royal Ahold has a majority share)
111
Argentina
(Publicly traded; Discount food and merchandise)
3,852
24 Southeastern and Central states
(Acquired by Safeway in 1998)
40
IL
Donelan's
6
MA
2
OH
(Family owned and operated)
3
CA
159
NJ, NY
Info & Apply The form at the store does not state that SSN, drivers license, income level, DOB, is optional, but the online form does.
64
IA, IL
A reader writes"All customers are required to prove their identity even if they aren't going to use the card to cash checks."
(Owned by Nash Finch)
37
IA, IL, MN, MO, SD, WI, WY
(Bought out by Giant Food Stores Inc. owned by Royal Ahold. Converted into Super G, Giant, and Stop & Shop stores.)
?
NY, NJ
Ennens Food Stores, Inc.
?
WA
No Website
(Bought by Nash Finch in 1999, Was owned by Erickson's Diversified)
18
MN, WI
(Owned by Fresh Encounter, Inc.)
?
OH
25
KY, MS, TN
(Publicly traded; Discount food and merchandise)
3,400 stores
Will open 400 more in 2000
39 states
Website boasts "everyday low prices in a no frills, low overhead, self-service environment."
(Owned by Spartan Stores)
12
MI
(Owned by Nash Finch)
VP
6
SD
Fareway Stores, Inc. (Info)
(Family-owned since 1938)
70
IA, IL
"Because of the founders' biblical beliefs, the stores are closed on Sundays" - Hoover's
(Owned by A&P)
99
MI
(Owned by Supervalu)
42
VA
7/14/2002
A reader tells us they discontinued their card program 2 years ago!
was
now
21
MI
"On June 4, 2001 you will no longer need your Felpausch card to receive any of our sale prices!" Hooray! -Website
Old Card Picture: 
7/26/2002
A reader writes "They are switching to a new card system according
to their website. I think they were purchased by Spartan. Put them back
in the bad category. "
Can anyone confirm this? I couldn't find anything about a card program
on their website.
Festival MN Website (Knowlan's)
(Owned/Supplied by Fleming)
28
IL, FL, OH, NE, MD, PA, MN, WI
VP
55+
TX
A reader tells us they're "a hugely successful independent chain of stores serving the Hispanic communities of Texas. They've moved in to underserved neighborhoods with large, clean, well-lit and well-stocked stores."
(No longer in existence, now Top's)
Fine Fare
?
3?
New York City
Their web site disappeared - please advise!
Fishers Foods
(Locally owned)
6
OH
(ABCO Foods, Baker's, Boogaarts, Consumers Food & Drug, Festival Foods, Food4Less, Hyde Park Market, Jubilee Foods, Market Basket, Piggly Wiggly, Rainbow Foods, Sentry Foods, SuPeRSaVeR, Thompson Food, Yes!Less)
as a corporate philosophy
270 company-owned stores
3,000 stores supplied
Supplies to supermarkets in 42 states
Unknown
AR, CA, OH, OR, PA, UT, WI (KS?)
Their web site does not mention the KS stores, but readers have reported these stores in KS.
Food Circus Supermarkets, Inc.
(Owns Super Foodtown and Foodtown Stores)
Greenpoints
11
NJ
(Privately owned by K-VA-T Food Stores, Inc.)
84
KY, VA, TN
Food City (broken link)
(Owned by Bashas')
15
AZ
All mention of Food City has vanished from Basha's website. Please advise if you have info.
Food Depot
(See Brown & Cole)
(Owned by A&P)
VP
33
NY, CT, NJ
(Owned by Bruno's)
26
AL
(Controlled by Belgium's Delhaize-Le Lion SA. Owns Kash n' Karry, Save 'n Pack, and is purchasing Hannaford Bros.)
1,120
87,000 employees
11 Southeast and Mid-Atlantic states:
DE, FL, GA, KY, MD, NC, PA, SC, TN, VA, WV
According to two CASPIAN visitors (a shopper and a former employee) Food Lion requires a fingerprint to pay by check. Two others say that they do not (also one shopper and one employee.)
(Owned by Bruno's)
All mention of Food Max has vanished from Bruno's website. Please advise if you know what has happened to Food Max stores.
One reader wrote us that the Bi-Lo in Cochran, GA was bought out by Food Max in 2001, so they must still be around! Another reader writes that as of 12/03 the Food Max in Newnan, GA still existed.
48
AL, GA, MS, TN
"We currently have no card, but many of Bruno's other stores do. We have no say over whether Bruno's starts a card program in our store."
Chris Entrekin, Co-Manager Carrolton, GA 11/17/99
Food Pavilion
(See Brown & Cole)
(Owned by Raley's)
7
CA
(Owned by Spartan Stores. Formerly Seaway Food Town)
39?
OH, MI, TX
8/22/2002
A reader writes: "About ten stores in Houston market - low low prices,
opening new big stores."
(Not sure if the TX stores are part of the same chain. The website only mentions OH and MI.)
(Owned by Bruno's)
90
AL, FL, MS
Click on FAQ to see application
VP
130
KY, MD, OH, PN, VA, WV
A reader writes: "Locally owned supermarkets in Boston suburban areas. Prices are much lower than the loyalty card stores"
7
CA
(owned by Spartan)
Greenpoints
Foodtown Supermarkets of Kentucky, Inc.
(Appears to be privately owned. Owns Slone's Signature Markets and Big Valu Foods)
12
KY
Lane Report Interview with Bob Slone, CEO.
Fortino's
(Fortino's Supermarket Ltd.)
?
Canada
1/30/2003
Per a reader, "a small chain, based in Ontario...supplied by Loblaw's
distribution. I don't know how many stores--there are 2 or 3 in Toronto,
and several in Hamilton and Burlington."
3
Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands
(Australia's 3rd largest grocery retailer; owns Franklins, Franklins Fresh, and Big Fresh)
1400
(includes drug & convenience stores)
Australia
(Owned by Kroger)
VP
400+
26 states, but primarily OR, WA, UT, AZ, AL, ID
10/22/03
A new card program that amounts to a 1% rebate is in place but there is no "two-tiered" pricing.
(Owns Bob & Carl's, Ev's, Fulmer Supermarkets, Great Scott, Community Markets, Sack 'n' Save)
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?
OH, IN
(See Whole Foods)
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Fresh Market
2?
NC
944 Merriman Ave., Asheville, NC. 704-252-9098.
17 Turtle Creek Dr., Asheville, NC. 704-274-4418.
Fresh Value
2
AL, GA
(Owned by Kroger)
?
AZ (others?)