Use Caution When Offered Online Discount Purchase Coupons

I clicked the "continue" button to get my next discount and landed on a page titled "Complete Savings."

The Coupon and Call to Action

A large coupon showed up in the center and right center column on the page proclaiming "$ 20 Cash Back Incentive". In large letters it said below the heading, "Good for Your Next Ticketmaster.com Purchase."

In easy-to-miss smaller letters it read "Enjoy $20.00 cash back just for trying Complete Savings."

On the bottom left of the coupon was the sentence "click yes below to claim your discounts and activate your $20 Off Your Next Purchase." The words "click yes" were in red while the rest of the text was in the same color blue as the rest of the coupon.

There were four small thumbnail pictures below the text and as part of the coupon.

There were small text blocks to the left and below so my attention was directed to the bottom of the coupon.
Then there were brief descriptions of the attractions offered. Below on a white background were the text boxes to enter all contact information plus credit card information.

Below that was a large button that read, "Yes, Sign Me Up."

The Left Hand Column

On the left hand column of the coupon was the Offer and Billing Details with a series of bullet points. The first bullet point read "Sign up for Complete Savings FREE for the next 30 days and pay only $12 a month thereafter."
The second bullet point told the reader how to cancel at any time.

Call to Action Lesson

This was a well-designed coupon with a clear "Call to Action." It's good to study these for copywriters who want to direct traffic on a website, brochure, or other advertising or marketing piece. Study the calls to action and how well they're placed.

The Cost of Signing Up

In the first year, there would be a cost of $ 132 to be a member of Complete Savings. There is a cost to signing up and it's not worth the price.

My wife once had me sign up online for an offer to get 2 free tickets on Southwest Airlines. I had to go through a time-wasting exercise from one page to another promising me the tickets. But first, I had to choose an item to sign up for before moving on to the next page.

One option was getting four free Disney videos which I chose. Of course, I didn't read the fine print. I ended up with a monthly subscription to buy Disney Videos which I later called to cancel the balance of the agreement. We had already purchased several videos and spent about $70 and I never got to the free tickets.

I can't even remember the other items I had signed up for. But the cost of the free tickets I never received was at least $70.

Complete Savings Reviews

I won't say that Complete Savings is a scam in any way.

The coupon was well designed to get attention and lead the reader to take action. The monthly charge was not hidden. It just wasn't as obvious as the sign up portion.

Typing "complete savings" in to a search led me to the first three results which had complaints. One was from a shopper who went to a site and got his card number used to sign up for a subscription.

Complete Savings does have its own Web site which may be the best way to investigate before signing up. But watch out for unnecessary monthly fees.

Easy to Get Discounts

If you have a membership with the Auto Club you generally get a AAA discount of 10% at many amusement parks and concerts.

If you have American Express, you can use points to cover the cost of many entertainment options.

Then there are Costco, Sam's Club, and other ways to save where you don't have to pay steep monthly membership fees.
Your credit card may have easy to use discounts and even Chase bank has a debit card offering cash back.

Take the Initiative for Coupons

Rather than sign up for coupon discounts you weren't expecting, use the search engines to go online and type in the name of the item and use the word "discount" at the end.

Check the results and then pick and choose which sites to use or not use.

This way, you're in control of your online shopping and you can safely ignore other discount offers and avoid paying high monthly fees.