If you willing to do a little more work then you can stay with the program, exercise all the rebate opportunities and recover an amount in rebates much greater than the cost of the membership fee.

A free $25 gift card is offered during on-line sign up (not MBNA phone solicitation). In order to receive the gift card you need to return a short survey found in your membership package.

How to Join

There are multiple ways to sign up for this program:

Make a purchase through VistaPrint.ca. Pay via credit card. Disable pop-up blocking. Look for offers for a free $25 gift card or survey during order confirmation. Note: sometimes the At Home offer is displayed instead. $12.95 per month (tax included).
Purchase a membership at LavaLife.com. Sometimes they have LifeStyle Rewards enrolment offers.
Credit Card telemarketing offer (Canadian Tire Financial, CapitalOne, CitiBank, Desjardins, MBNA, HSBC, Laurentian, National Bank). Call in and say you heard about the offer "from a friend". You need to have a participating bank credit card to use this method. Note that you don't get the membership number right away, so you need to wait for the arrival of your membership kit or phone in to LifeStyle Rewards. $139.95 + tax for first year, $149.95 for each subsequent year.

Benefits (annual)

Home & Family Care

Bombay	20 * $25 gift cards, 20% rebate
Canadian Tire	20 * $25 gift cards, 20% rebate
Certigard 40-point Seasonal Service	coupon for 40-point service at $49.95
Certigard Labour Discount	coupon for $25 discount per $100 spent
Cyberflowers.ca	save 15%
Golda's Kitchen	free shipping on orders over $75
The Home Depot	20 * $25 gift cards, 20% rebate
Home Hardware	10 * $50 gift cards, 20% rebate
Linens 'n Things	20 * $25 gift cards, 20% rebate
HomeSense	20 * $25 gift cards, 20% rebate
M&M Meat Shops	20 * $25 gift cards, 20% rebate
Microtec Securi-T Home Security System	security system offer
Nurse Hotline	no cost access
Planète Mobile	phone offer
Pier 1 Imports	20 * $25 gift cards, 20% rebate
Sears	20 * $25 gift cards, 20% rebate
Staples Business Depot	20 * $25 gift cards, 20 rebate
Sunglass Hut	20 * $25 gift cards, 20% rebate
VistaPrint	save 50%
Watch Station	20 * $25 gift cards, 20% rebate

Family Fun

Best Buy	20 * $25 gift cards, 20% rebate
Chapters	20 * $25 gift cards, 20% rebate
BLOCKBUSTER	20 * $10 gift cards, 20% rebate
Indigo	20 * $25 gift cards, 20% rebate
Coles	20 * $25 gift cards, 20% rebate
Cineplex Entertainment	20 * $10 gift cards, 20% rebate
Outdoor Rebate Certificate	4 * $15 rebate
Petro-Canada	20 * $25 gift cards, 20% rebate
Sears Travel	20 * $50 gift cards, 20% rebate
The Sony store	20 * $25 gift cards, 20% rebate
Theme Park Savings	4 * $15 rebate
Toys''R''Us	20 * $25 gift cards, 20% rebate

Dining Out

Au Vieux Duluth	20 * $20 gift cards, 20% rebate
Casey's	20 * $20 gift cards, 20% rebate
East Side Mario's	20 * $25 gift cards, 20% rebate
Olive Garden	20 * $10 gift cards, 20% rebate
Fionn MacCool's	20 * $25 gift cards, 20% rebate
Red Lobster	20 * $10 gift cards, 20% rebate
St-Hubert	20 * $10 gift cards, 20% rebate
The Keg Steakhouse	20 * $25 gift cards, 20% rebate

Strategies

Sign up for the free trial toward the end of a month, record your membership number given at the end of sign up and then log on to the program site (Postal Code in upper case) to order your gift cards. Since the free trial allows for 30 days + an additional 14 days receiving the mailing you have time to order twice, cancel after you receive the rebates on your credit card (check you online statement). Enroll again online by varying your address and/or phone number and/or credit card number.
If you plan to stay with the program, follow as above but order all the rebates as well, phone in to ask what additional rebates you are eligible for (ask specifically for gas, dining, and hotel).
If you are staying with the program, phone in after the end of your free trial and request a lower monthly rate. Say "your friend" is also a member and is paying $12.95 / month. Also, request the "Final Billing Offer". For those accepted this allows them to keep the membership for the remainder of the year without being changed any additional monthly fees (only applicable to members on monthly payment plans).
When you receive your welcome package, immediately return the free $25 gift card survey, you should receive the gift card within 8 weeks of signing up (membership must be active), cancel after receiving the gift card, if desired.
Chapters, Coles, and Indigo all accept the same gift cards. Max out all to get $1500 in cards.
If you plan to make a large purchase at Sears, order the Sears Travel cards. They are accepted at any Sears outlet the same as the other cards, but have $50 value as opposed to $25. Using fewer cards will take less transaction time. You may also order both types of Sears cards to use toward your purchase (even on the same transaction).
Purchase the maximum amount of the popular gift cards even if you don't require them for personal use or gifts. Sell them at a 10% discount or trade them for ones that you need.
You are only supposed to have one membership per household, but many people have multiple memberships by using different credit card numbers and/or address and/or variations on their name. There's no problem having a membership in each of the programs, so you can subscribe to At Home or At Home+, SavingSmart, and Galleria or Galleria+ as well. The latter being the safest method of exploiting the programs, as MemberWorks will cancel multiple memberships in the same program, if discovered.

Program Discussion

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