PC Optimum reward program locks man out of account worth $43K without warning or explanation

Frank Zhang thought he was winning at the PC Optimum game — stacking up points on groceries, gas and gift cards by chasing bonus offers and swiping his PC Mastercard for extra rewards.

But his seven years of smart shopping didn’t pay off. Instead of cashing in on his hard-earned 43 million points — worth about $43,000 — Zhang found himself locked out of his account with no warning, no clear explanation and no way to access his points. 

“That’s unfair,” Zhang told Go Public. “They can control my money. They can control my points, but I can’t do anything.”

Zhang is one of 17 million Canadians collecting PC Optimum points, according to Loblaw Companies Ltd.’s latest annual report, which runs the loyalty program.  

The rewards program lets customers earn points at retailers like Real Canadian Superstore, Shoppers Drug Mart, Esso and more — then redeem them for discounts at checkout.

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Zhang is not the only one. Across Canada, customers are fighting to regain access to their locked accounts — and they’re getting little help from PC Optimum, says reward programs expert Patrick Sojka.  

He says he’s heard from dozens of PC Optimum members who are frustrated over frozen points and no clear explanation.

WATCH | Accounts frozen, cancelled with little explanation:

“It leaves [people] in limbo,” Sojka, who’s been running RewardsCanada.ca for more than 25 years, told Go Public. “At any point, your points can be frozen.”

Sojka says the problem is in the fine print — PC Optimum terms and conditions include phrases like in the company’s “sole discretion” and “reasonable opinion” that give the company broad power to lock accounts while leaving customers with nowhere to turn.

He warns many loyalty programs have terms that give them power to make changes and to freeze or cancel memberships whenever they want.

“It leaves the door open for them to really decide on a case-by-case basis who they want to kick out of the program… it’s really very ambiguous,” he said.

For example, says Sojka, one rule states points may be forfeited for purchases that “exceed normal household use,” but doesn’t say what those limits are, instead, leaving it up to the company’s “sole discretion.”

“I don’t like it… I mean, what does a household spend?” said Sojka. “One household of four can be very frugal, whereas in another household…  maybe going out and spending a lot because they have that discretionary income.”

Loblaw tells Go Public, its terms and conditions “explicitly outline reasons why an account could be suspended or terminated” and says it will freeze accounts to either help protect customers from unauthorized activity.

The company admits the system it used to notify customers of problems “isn’t perfect”, but says it is working to improve it. 

Conflicting reasons 

Zhang realized his account was locked in late January when he tried to redeem points at the grocery store. When he contacted PC Optimum, he got an email saying his account had been flagged by “automated systems” designed for customer security.

He was told to change his password, but that didn’t help. When he emailed the company again, he got an entirely different explanation. 

This time, PC Optimum told him he’d broken its Terms and conditions — but refused to answer his questions about what rules were broken and when. 

“It is hard to deal with,” Zhang said. “No department would give me an answer.”

Zhang isn’t alone. Jeff Mack, a PC Optimum collector in Calgary, has been in the same fight.

Mack has about 1.5 million points — worth roughly $1,500 — but his account was frozen in October. When he pushed to find out what rules he broke, PC Optimum told him he had more than one account, which violates program rules.

Not the case, Mack says. But when he asked for details — like what other names or addresses were linked to his account — PC Optimum would only give him generic responses.

“Seems kind of fishy,” Mack said. “If you don’t answer the most simple of questions, then that just leads to even more questions.”

He says the company offered no justification for saying he had multiple accounts under his name.

Customers redeemed more than a billion dollars’ worth of Optimum points in 2024, according to Loblaw’s annual report.

The company won’t say how many accounts it has frozen.

Sojka says he believes the company’s tactics benefit its bottom line. By suspending accounts instead of cancelling them outright, he says Loblaw avoids paying out points while still counting those members in its subscriber base.  

“It shows a bigger active member base which looks better to the shareholders.” 

The company did not directly respond to that allegation.

Loblaw took action after Go Public reached out. 

Mack’s account was unlocked, restoring access to his points. 

But Loblaw shut down Zhang’s account for good — wiping out his more than $43,000 worth of points. 

The company says he broke the rules by exceeding purchase limits and buying items for resale or commercial use — “we have substantial evidence that suggests this customer is operating outside of what we consider fair,” it told Go Public in an email — but wouldn’t provide proof or say which transactions triggered the decision, when asked. 

Zhang insists he did nothing wrong and questions why Loblaw won’t back up its claims.

Sojka’s advice? Don’t hoard your points — spend them as often as you can because you never know when your account could be frozen without warning or answers.