Most frequent-purchase
punch cards are as useless as nude nylons. We found a few
that actually pay off.
1.
Meier & Frank Bra and Panty Club
Bras are expensive, uncomfortable and annoying to shop
for. To make the drudgery more fulfilling, so to speak,
Meier & Frank offers a punch card that promises a free
brassiere after six purchases, and a gratis pair of panties
upon buying 12. You may want to keep this card well sheathed--it's
kind of embarrassing when it falls out of your wallet.
2.
MAC Cosmetics
Cosmetic companies are always hawking gift bags, but
they're crammed with colors (Peach? On your lips?) nobody
should be allowed to wear. MAC, the makeup line that's a
little bit goth, a little bit glam, gives shoppers something
to really mouth off about--a free lipstick you get
to choose. Turn in any combination of six spent lipstick
tubes, compacts or mascaras and you get a fresh stick. One-upping
companies that use post-consumer recycled packaging, MAC
pulls off PC without being prissy, which is just what you'd
expect from a purveyor that made it acceptable for guys--and
I don't mean men in drag--to powder their noses. MAC is
available at Nordstrom.
3. Trade Secret
Sucker. Stop buying your hair products at chi-chi salons--the
cuts are expensive enough. Take your tired, your sick and
your poor tresses over to Trade Secret for designer potions
at a discount. Hair-care products aren't the most thrilling
things to shop for, but with the new elixirs that make your
hair shiny, messy or straight, they're not just for Aqua
Net ladies anymore. Make 10 purchases of $10 or more and
receive $10 of free merchandise. Bargain-hunter bonus: Clerks
double-punch every Tuesday and often for super-sized bottles
as well. There are several Trade Secret locations; try the
one in Pioneer Place (228-4488). The shops carry, among
other lines, Paul Mitchell, Tigi, Aveda and KMS.
4.
Zona Rosa
There's not a whole lot of logic at work in the world:
CDs cost about 50 cents to manufacture, but they are priced
at $15 and up; Nashville has a pro hockey team; and Bob
Dylan opens for Paul Simon. So it's bloody invigorating
when something makes perfect sense, like the Zona Rosa punch
card that celebrates variety. The card can be used at any
ZR cart--there are 11 in all--for burritos, pasta or bento.
Pasta Venus resides in Pioneer Courthouse Square and on
the corner of Southwest 5th Avenue and Morrison Street;
a bento trailer sits at Southeast 6th Avenue and Hawthorne
Boulevard; and there are eight Full Moon Burrito carts.
After 10 purchases, you get that free lunch. What makes
this deal all the more savory is the combination of sweet
service and fresh, deliciously spicy food for cheap. Items
start at $3 and don't exceed $5.50.
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Willamette Week | originally
published June 23, 1999
|
