Airmiles Armchair Chatter

[dancin Disney style]

I just wanted to add one thing before the thread becomes a sort of 'Corona-Free' escape zone....

I don't post on here that often anymore but still read it and am still an avid AirMiles geek. I worked in the food industry for many years, first on the supply side at Kraft Canada, then on the retail side at Sobeys (Sobeys, Foodland, Lawtons etc). I helped integrate Thrifty Foods and I was one of the key people behind the whole loyalty points business. So I know the industry very very well. I want you to know that you should not worry about the store shelves being empty right now. Supply chains are vast and have thought of every contingency to source goods. Supply issues are extremely common such as bad weather killing oranges in Brazil or disease hitting coffee beans. Buying agents are experts in sourcing alternatives. What we have right now isn't a supply issue, its a demand issue. But people's fridges and freezers and shelves are likely busting to capacity right now. You may see shortages of a few items like sanitizers because we have outstripped manufacturing capabilities for a certain time period. But the good thing about capitalism is that it is extremely good at filling supply-demand gaps. The world grows so much produce that quite a bit rots in the field hoping to be sold to retailers. We may see some issues it transporting fresh produce out of Mexico/South America through California where the business generally flows but if say oranges become difficult to source, you will likely see stores flooded with a substitute like blueberries. The really good thing about consolidation in the grocery industry in Canada is that you generally have the big 3 (Loblaws, Sobeys, Metro) so they have huge buying power which means they buy huge volume and get priority with produce brokers out there.

So don't panic, have faith that what you see is temporary, and that people behind the scenes are working hard to keep things going (just like you likely are in whatever industry you work in). We probably won't see a Blue Friday for a while only because it encourages hording, but not because the stores wouldn't be capable.

Yep...all true info. My DD is a supply chain analyst for Loblaw. She has been working overtime for days now including all weekend long. She said we may have some minor shortages further down the road because the manufactures are now dipping into their summer supplies but there is time for them to catch up. I personally think that as people over buy now they will under buy later and it will all balance out.

BTW, grocery stores and pharmacies are deemed as essential services and can't close.

 

[hdrolfe]

I need to go to the store today, dog food at least. I plan to get some eggs if Sobeys has any. I dont want to go too many places. Also need gas for the car, which should be pretty cheap, and I may go to Farm Boy for veggies, unless I can find some good ones at Sobeys.

I am not sure what they will do about Megamiles, they did already say it would all be app based, so no printed coupons. I would like the miles, towards a future trip when this is over and life resumes.

 

[juniorbugman]

What an amazing idea-smart thinking!

It will remind me of my stay at the Disneyland Paradise Pier hotel a couple of years ago. We had a Club Level room that included breakfast and the only eggs were the hardboiled ones so we had those with a bagel and cream cheese for breakie. My sister actually got mayonaise from the parks and made chopped egg sandwiches.

 

[CanadianKrista]

I went out yesterday, got to Costco and Metro. Both were well stocked, and I was able to get what I needed, even yeast so I can make bread. Got some treats for the kids and enough food that we should be good till at least next week. Costco wasn't busy, less than a usual Monday. I was still the only one without TP in my cart, though....

 

[ilovetotravel1977]

DH just returned from Costco and buying cat litter. He said it was busy but not insanity. Costco is always "busy" though.

 

[marchingstar]

Milk is my biggest source of anxiety right now, because running out will mean another dramatic change to my toddlers schedule.

I went out yesterday for 2 more jugs. We have enough for 2 weeks, especially if I don’t use it to cook or bake too much. Baking is a fun activity for the two of us though, so we’ll definitely do some. So far I haven’t frozen any, but I might end up freezing some soon.

In any case, I really appreciate all the information about food supply. I know logically that the world isn’t running out of food, but seeing those empty shelves can be unsettling.

I’m going to wait a while before venturing out again. I know that the next few dats are crucial in avoiding exponential growth. Our house is full, so until I start to feel jittery about milk again, we’re hiding away.

 

[hdrolfe]

Well I spent a bit more than planned but we have two dozen eggs, cat litter, dog food, and some fresh veggies. Also bought frozen fruit and got kiddo some more twinkies... and pretzels. They tend to last longer than chips. Sobeys wasn't that busy, they had some TP and paper towels being put out but I don't need them so didn't follow the guy pushing the cart to stock the shelves. Also got the kiddo McD's for lunch, they have signs up about not being able to eat inside, and were all wearing gloves at the windows.

 

[marchingstar]

Oh

Well I spent a bit more than planned but we have two dozen eggs, cat litter, dog food, and some fresh veggies. Also bought frozen fruit and got kiddo some more twinkies... and pretzels. They tend to last longer than chips. Sobeys wasn't that busy, they had some TP and paper towels being put out but I don't need them so didn't follow the guy pushing the cart to stock the shelves. Also got the kiddo McD's for lunch, they have signs up about not being able to eat inside, and were all wearing gloves at the windows.

My kiddo learned about Happy Meals a couple months ago and loves them (of course!!). We stopped at McDonald's last week, thinking it might be a while before we get back.

I'm glad you got good supplies and some snacks too! We're setting ourselves all up to fail if we stock our pantries with what we 'should' instead of what we actually eat.

 

[Donald - my hero]

back from metro and Costco and shocked to manage to snag ABOVE my 1:1 normal airmiles
everything we needed was back in stock, grabbed the Last 2 bags of milk, some yeast, bananas, apple juice and cheese rice crackers for the hubby. In and out in under 15 minutes.
off to Costco and got taters and blueberries for me and then a bag of flour for the bread baking. The flour was a welcome surprise, it came from cambridge (about 20 minutes from here) and was cheaper than the stuff I normally buy, SCORE! In and out of there in under 10 minutes.

 

[marchingstar]

back from metro and Costco and shocked to manage to snag ABOVE my 1:1 normal airmiles
everything we needed was back in stock, grabbed the Last 2 bags of milk, some yeast, bananas, apple juice and cheese rice crackers for the hubby. In and out in under 15 minutes.
off to Costco and got taters and blueberries for me and then a bag of flour for the bread baking. The flour was a welcome surprise, it came from cambridge (about 20 minutes from here) and was cheaper than the stuff I normally buy, SCORE! In and out of there in under 10 minutes.

I always get flour at Costco. Great prices, and mine is pretty local too (not from Cambridge! haha)

I hope it helps to have some more essentials in your house! What kinds of breads do you make? I'd love to share recipes. I've made ciabatta a few times and I really love it, but I do think it puts a bit of a strain on my mixer.

 

[juniorbugman]

I hope it helps to have some more essentials in your house! What kinds of breads do you make? I'd love to share recipes. I've made ciabatta a few times and I really love it, but I do think it puts a bit of a strain on my mixer.

I have a good recipe for raisin bread where you use ripe bananas instead of butter. I should find it so when the bananas I bought to eat get too ripe I can use them for bread. I have a bread machine that does all the work for me. I too found bread flour and regular flour today so I am happy.
Air miles comes in handy sometimes because only save my air miles as cash and just use them for groceries so todays shop was paid for by airmiles points.

 

[kerreyn]

Just saw on *that* facebook page that Mega Miles has been postponed. I looked on the air miles website, as well as the mega miles website, and nothing about a postponement on either.

 

[hdrolfe]

I only managed to get 25 airmiles, but it was better than none I guess! I'm sure I forgot staples that I should have bought, I am hoping for some sales this weekend, but of course with limited stock it doesn't seem likely. Oh well! The pets are taken care of for at least 3 weeks and we can manage with what I have in the house. Though I'm sure the boy will complain about something. We do only have one bag of chips left... I will say, my WW has taken a hit with this... it is hard to stay on track from home and with temptation so close at hand. We are walking distance to McD's and Timmies, I think we've had a little too much of both the past week.

 

[dancin Disney style]

Just saw on *that* facebook page that Mega Miles has been postponed. I looked on the air miles website, as well as the mega miles website, and nothing about a postponement on either.

I didn't see it on FB......was busy watching the Dis Unplugged live

blog.rewardscanada.ca/2020/03/air-miles-mega-miles-was-set-to-launch.html?fbclid=IwAR3hWjYbc-Qy4cwNDuVH9juH8P89C5YnR9300FGgfcONjvFBnSteNjgPnFI

 

[ottawamom]

Milk is my biggest source of anxiety right now, because running out will mean another dramatic change to my toddlers schedule.

I went out yesterday for 2 more jugs. We have enough for 2 weeks, especially if I don’t use it to cook or bake too much. Baking is a fun activity for the two of us though, so we’ll definitely do some. So far I haven’t frozen any, but I might end up freezing some soon.

In any case, I really appreciate all the information about food supply. I know logically that the world isn’t running out of food, but seeing those empty shelves can be unsettling.

I’m going to wait a while before venturing out again. I know that the next few dats are crucial in avoiding exponential growth. Our house is full, so until I start to feel jittery about milk again, we’re hiding away.

Have you ever thought about using powdered milk in your baking. I know it isn't as palatable to drink but it can be used in baking the same way you use normal milk. Just mix some up and keep it in the fridge for baking with. I am the daughter of a mom who grew up during the depression.

 

[ilovetotravel1977]

Air Miles sent an email, this is a blurb:

Collectors who have used Miles for cancelled, rescheduled or temporarily postponed events
If you have tickets to an event date prior to March 31, 2020, AIR MILES is working with individual Reward providers and will contact you to provide either the benefit of rescheduling or the refund policies put in place by each provider.

For tickets to an event after March 31, 2020, please be patient while we sequence our efforts on date-specific tickets and wait for further provider policies.

For Collectors holding tickets that have no specific event date, many of these are valid for at least 12 months, and many Reward providers are in the process of further extending expiry dates in many cases.

I wonder if that applies to the CDN Disney Flex Date tickets as well?

 

[dancin Disney style]

Have you ever thought about using powdered milk in your baking. I know it isn't as palatable to drink but it can be used in baking the same way you use normal milk. Just mix some up and keep it in the fridge for baking with. I am the daughter of a mom who grew up during the depression.

I always wondered what people did with powdered milk. Can you still buy that shelf stable stuff that comes in a giant juice box? That stuff doesn't taste too bad.

 

[ilovetotravel1977]

I just saw it on the FB site too.

Well, I guess I can order all of those books now!

 

[Pumpkin1172]

Costco was absurd. I wasn’t going to get TP, but there were staff lined up throwing them into carts and they asked “1 or 2 packages” after throwing one in my cart, so I just said 1. We don’t need it, but maybe our neighbors or parents will. Otherwise, I doubled up on applesauce, grabbed a bag of frozen veggies, and got one extra case of beans. The line to check out wrapped around the entire store, and there were cars lined up to follow people leaving for their parking spot and cart. I wouldn’t wish the experience on anyone, but I’m glad to know I won’t have to face a mob with a 2 year old. I gassed up the car, stopped for toddler essentials at the drug store, and ordered extra cat food.

Now to make a big pot of turkey chili and start planning a couple weeks of fun home-with-a-toddler activities!

Milk is my biggest source of anxiety right now, because running out will mean another dramatic change to my toddlers schedule.

I seen that. Of course all heck breaks out when we are on our way to Calgary. I was seeing posts on FB of people in GP about store shelves. The family did venture out to get some groceries for the couple meals we were eating there while visiting. The dd had been doing a little stockpiling of things that they eat, just so she didn't have to go out with the baby so much. We didn't want to eat her supply she had. We were able to have the meals we wanted

Just wanted to say...you could always freeze some milk in smaller portions that you would use for baking. That way you would have a supply for baking and some for ready to use for the toddler and cooking if needed. Just an idea on how to keep staples that we would use. Or if you can get some evaporated milk too...that would work as well. I bought a few just in case for when we are all told to self isolate, then I will use those specifically for baking

 

[marchingstar]

Have you ever thought about using powdered milk in your baking. I know it isn't as palatable to drink but it can be used in baking the same way you use normal milk. Just mix some up and keep it in the fridge for baking with. I am the daughter of a mom who grew up during the depression.

that's a great idea! thanks I actually do have powdered milk in the cupboard, because I was trying to bake through one of Christina Tosi's books and she uses it in different things.

Mine is just from bulk barn, so no instructions for mixing with water. Any suggestion on ratios?