Five Ways to Save Big on a Whole Foods Thanksgiving Dinner

Table Decorations by Willams-Sonoma
Table Decorations by Willams-Sonoma

Check your calendar.  Thanksgiving is just a week away!  If you are hosting this year, it is seriously time to start planning your menu!

Thanksgiving is a huge deal in our family.  We traditionally have:

  • the meal before the meal;
  • the meal; and
  • the meal after the meal.

As our family celebration has grown to over twenty people (think two turkeys) it is sometimes practical to bring in prepared food.  After all, the point of the holiday is to spend time with friends and family, not to be stuck in the kitchen all day.

When Whole Foods Market invited me a few other bloggers to sample their traditional Thanksgiving meal and their Top 10 Holiday Wines, I was intrigued.

Does the Food Measure Up to Grandma’s Standards?

Thanksgiving Dinner from Whole Foods Market
Thanksgiving Dinner from Whole Foods Market

Actually, yes!

The turkey was delicious — moist, flavorful, and nicely seasoned.  The traditional side dishes complimented the turkey:  crisp, vibrant green beans, tart cranberry orange sauce, real mashed potatoes, mushroom stuffing — the works!

In my estimation, the Whole Foods traditional Thanksgiving meal was a good value at $89 for six to eight diners.

Everything tasted homemade, the veggies were fresh, not soggy.  This meal was far, far better than the $49 disaster I ordered from Safeway a few years back.

But you can do much better price wise!

What’s Included in the Whole Foods Traditional Thanksgiving Meal?

Delicious!
Delicious!

The basic package that feeds six to eight people is on sale at Whole Foods Market for $89 and includes an uncooked oven ready turkey, gravy, traditional sage stuffing, homestyle mashed potatoes, organic cranberry orange relish, and a choice of two vegetables or homestyle casseroles.  All this is on sale from the regular price of $119.99.

The small turkey included in the basic package weighs about 13 pounds.

For larger gatherings, a dinner that serves 12-16 costs $169.

You choose the style of turkey from five offerings:

Small Turkey Feeds 6 to 8
Small Turkey Feeds 6 to 8
  • Locally sourced
  • Organic
  • Heirloom bronze (higher percentage of dark meat)
  • Kosher
  • Brined

The ready-to-cook turkey is rubbed with herb butter, and rests on a bed of mirepoix.  You just need to pop it in the oven.

You can choose two vegetables or casseroles from this list:

  • Maple carrots with pecans
  • Creamed spinach
  • Roasted brussels sprouts
  • Green beans with roasted shallots
  • Organic harvest roasted vegetables
  • Garlic roasted fingerling potatoes
  • Organic corn pudding
  • Butternut sweet potato casserole
  • Organic green bean casserole
  • Macaroni and cheese

    All the trimmings!
    All the trimmings!

Yum!

And for $99, you can get a fully organic turkey dinner with a slightly  different selection of sides.

You schedule a time for pickup with your local Whole Foods store — they are even open Thanksgiving morning if that works for you!

Five Ways to Save Big on the Whole Foods Thanksgiving Package Deal

Top ten holiday wines
Top ten holiday wines

Fishing4Deals is all about the deals, so I am going to show you five ways to maximize your savings.

  1. Shop the sale
  2. Order online and get a $10 off coupon
  3. Get the Whole Foods App
  4. Seek out local specials
  5. Pay with Whole Foods Gift Cards purchased at a discount

Shop the Sale

Whole Foods is offering special deals on some other Thanksgiving basics.  For instance, you can order two bakery quality pumpkin pies for $15.  Fruit pies are $9.99 each.  The store is featuring a Cuvee Papale red wine for $10 off.

Order Online and Get a $10 Coupon

Save $10 if you order online

If you place your dinner order online before November 22, 2016, Whole Foods will email you a coupon for $10 off your next in-store purchase of $75 or more.

Get the Whole Foods App

Download the Whole Foods app for Apple or Android.  If you’re not using the app, you may be missing out on some pretty big discounts.

Every Wednesday, Whole Foods loads new deals that are only available by scanning a barcode on your phone when you check out.

The app also provides weekly coupon specials that are available to all shoppers.

Scan the barcode when you check out for savings
Scan the barcode when you check out for savings

Seek Out Local Specials

Pick up the weekly flyer of in-store sales and the bimonthly coupon book at the front of the store.  You may find some seasonal specials for your Thanksgiving table.

For instance (for my Northern Virginia friends) the Tysons Corner Whole Foods Market is offering 25 percent off a bottle of wine!

Pay with Whole Foods Gift Cards Purchased at a Discount

Here’s the real deal:  I never pay cash or credit at Whole Foods Market.

My trick is to buy Whole Foods gift cards at a discount.

For example, Staples sells Whole Foods gift cards.  There is no fee for the purchase of these gift cards in-store.  If you pay with a Chase Ink small business credit card, which earns five times points at office supply stores, that effectively amounts to five percent off the cost of groceries at Whole Foods.

Whole Foods Gift Card
Whole Foods Gift Card

Alternately, if you have an American Express card, check your AmexOffers for a deal at Staples.  My card has an active offer for a $20 statement credit for a $75 purchase at Staples. Purchases of Whole Foods and many other gift cards are eligible for this offer — which could bring the cost of your turkey dinner down to $69!

You may also be able to find Whole Foods gift cards at a drugstore like Walgreens.  The Chase Freedom credit card is offering five times points at drugstores this quarter.  If you purchase a Whole Foods gift card at a drugstore and pay with a Freedom card, you will earn five percent cash back.

If You’re Not Cooking, You Have Time to Decorate

Thanksgiving tableware by Williams-Sonoma
Thanksgiving tableware by Williams-Sonoma

Williams-Sonoma partnered with Whole Foods Market for the blogger meet up, and they provided two sample table settings to create a festive mood.

The first tablescape was designed for a formal dinner, complete with seasonal china and serving bowls.

The second casual tablescape featured porcelain dishes from William-Sonoma’s economical Provisions line, and modern serving pieces from the Open Kitchen line.

Economical porcelain dinnerware
Economical porcelain dinnerware by Williams-Sonoma

Do these designs give you any ideas for your own celebratory feast?

***

Cousins in New Jersey are hosting Thanksgiving this year, so I won’t be cooking.  Where will you be spending the holiday?

Disclosure:  I have a partnership with Whole Foods Market and was compensated for my work, but all words and opinions are my own.

Amex SPG Surprise Retention Bonus

Amex Retention Bonus
It never hurts to ask.

Amex has been bending over backwards lately to encourage me to keep my Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) business credit card open.

I had been set to cancel the card when the annual fee went up from $65 per year to $95.

But American Express has been wooing me back with special offers.

First, I received a targeted offer for 5,000 bonus points if I spent $5000 on the card, and 10,000 bonus points if I spend $10,000.

Ordinarily, those spending thresholds would be far out of reach.

But thanks to a number of concurrent Amex Offers, that provide statement credits for purchases at popular vendors, such as Staples and Home Depot, I hope to qualify for these bonus points.

Amex SPG Surprise Retention Bonus

Amex is reluctant to waive the annual fee on their SPG credit cards, but it never hurts to ask!

In my case, after talking to a customer service representative, I was transferred to a “loyalty representative.”

The second representative offered me a $25 statement credit if I agreed to keep my credit card account open.  That doesn’t bring the annual fee down to the original $65, but it is close.

I believe I can more than offset the $70 fee with rebates via “Amex Offers,” but it remains to be seen what the offers will be in the coming months.  I can usually take advantage of offers for pet food or groceries, and Amex has has been pushing a number of travel offers lately.

Have you snagged a retention bonus for an Amex card?

Remember, it never hurts to ask!

Hack My Wallet: Gift Card Edition

The anti-giftcard giftcard
The anti-giftcard giftcard

I hate gift cards.

I think gift cards make terrible presents — Cash is a much better gift!

  • The unspent balances and fees on gift cards make a tidy profit for the people selling them.
  • Spending gift cards causes delays at the checkout counter.
  • Returns are more difficult with gift card purchases.
  • Gift cards can be lost or stolen.

There are a million more reasons why I hate gift cards, but that is a topic for another post.

This post is about each of the gift cards I have in my wallet right now, and why.

Staples Visa Gift Card — Value $20

I got this card from Staples as a rebate for purchasing $300 in Visa gift cards during a promotion.  Every few weeks, Staples runs a promotion on Visa gift cards, with a rebate that offsets the card purchase fees.  Sometimes, the rebate is in the form of a Staples gift card that must be spent at Staples.  This Staples Visa gift card is a cash equivalent that can be spent anywhere.

Clydes Gift Cards — Value $50

Amex was running a special promotion where you could get a $5 credit for a $25 purchase at various Washington area restaurants.    I purchased two $25 gift cards at Clydes, one with my Amex SPG credit card, and one with my Amex Bluebird card.  Clydes is my favorite restaurant so I know these gift cards will be put to good use.

Tara Thai Gift Card — Value $45

Tara Thai is a fabulous restaurant that participates in the Rewards Dining Program. I purchased this gift card when United Mileage Plus Dining was running a special promotion.  The gift card gives me the flexibility to participate in the promotion offer, while delaying my actual dine until a more convenient time.  I ended up missing the deadline for meeting the terms of the promotion, so I just earned 5 times Ultimate Rewards Points on this.

Lonestar Steakhouse Gift Card — Value $40

Lonestar Steakhouse is another participant in the Rewards Dining Program.   I think when I picked up this gift card I had it confused with Texas Roadhouse.  Lonestar Steakhouse is pretty far from where we live so we’ll have to go out of our way to use this.

Whole Foods Gift Card — Value $6.70

Amex Offers was offering a $15 statement credit for a $75 purchase at Whole Foods.  By purchasing a gift card, I am able to earn the credit, while redeeming for small purchases at Whole Foods at my leisure.

Home Depot Gift Card — Value $100

I purchase Home Depot gift cards at Staples using a Chase Ink card that pays 5 times points on all purchases at office supply stores.  I give the gift cards to our contractor to purchase supplies for our home renovation.

Amazon Gift Cards — $100

I picked up an Amazon gift card at Office Depot recently, where I earn 5 times points on my Chase Ink card.  My daughter started college recently and we purchase some of her textbooks on Amazon.

Home Improvement Gift Card — $200

This is another Office Depot purchase.  Home Improvement Gift Cards are sold without a fee, and can be used at either Lowes or Home Depot, as well as a number of other stores.

Starbucks Gift Card — $32

I purchase Starbucks gift cards at Staples and load them to my iPhone.  I usually pick up something from Starbucks if there is an outlet in the airport.

Exxon Gift Cards — $100

Currently, I am putting my gas purchases on my Chase Freedom credit card because of the quarterly 5 times bonuses on gas purchases.  I purchased these  Exxon gift cards at Office Depot, but won’t use them until October when the Chase Freedom bonus categories change.

CVS — $10

Honestly I can’t remember where I obtained a paper gift card worth $10 at any CVS drugstore.  It will be a miracle if I remember to use it!  I do know that some Office Depot stores sell CVS gift cards.

What’s in My Wallet?  $700 Worth of Gift Cards

I totalled up these various gift cards and am appalled to report that I am carrying around $700 worth of gift cards.  That is overkill, for sure.

First off it is way too much cash equivalent to have in my purse.

Second, that is an awful lot of money to have tied up in gift cards rather than earning interest in the bank.

It is just as necessary to keep tabs on your gift cards as it is on your bank account or credit card balances.  It looks like I need to be more deliberate about slimming down my wallet!

Are Gift Card Purchases Worth It?

Let’s tote up the bonuses I earned on these gift cards.

  • Ultimate Reward points:  4,160 points
  • Amex statement credits:  $25
  • United Mileage Plus miles: 425 miles

This is pretty small potatoes.  After accounting for the time and gas spent driving around to purchase these gift cards, you might conclude that its not worth stuffing your wallet with gift cards, remembering to use them, and holding up the checkout line for such trivial bonuses.

On the other hand, you might find that small bonuses add up to big rewards if you consistently pursue all opportunities.

Where do you come down?  Are gift cards part of your miles and points strategy?