FORT LEE, Va. -- When it comes to getting more from your commissary benefit, Air Force Command Chief Master Sgt. Stuart M. Allison sees himself as a beacon of awareness.
“If you want to save more and maximize your commissary benefit, visit commissaries.com regularly, before you shop,” he said. “It will pay off at the cash register.”
That’s what Allison tells service members and their families during his travels as the Defense Commissary Agency’s senior enlisted advisor to the agency director.
Here’s how commissaries.com can get you more from your benefit:
GET SAVINGS
· Register your Commissary Rewards Card to open the door to thousands of digital coupons redeemable at any commissary. Mobile applications for both Apple and Android platforms allow customers access to their account, review and select coupons and find store information such as hours of operation and phone numbers.
· Find coupons and coupon links for hundreds of products.
· Look at the biweekly featured items and sales flyer. Authorized shoppers can login to see the biweekly featured items and sales flyer with discounted products; every two weeks it reflects products as they go on sale.
· Patrons can check individual commissary schedules for Guard/Reserve sales and other events, such as the Sidewalk Sales and Healthy Lifestyle Festivals.
· In the next few months a new feature will be available on commissaries.com. The upcoming Sales Pricing page will allow authorized patrons to check the price on any product in any store, making it easy to know what you will be spending before walking in the store.
GET SHOPPING
· Commissary shoppers can find their store based on location and can even select their default store with its address and hours appearing at the top of the home page. This offers customers a quick glance to see if their store is Open Now and get quick directions.
· Learn about Click2Go, the online shopping and curbside pickup service available at select locations.
· Special Order forms are available online to get case quantities of items carried by your local store or items that may only be found in larger stores.
· More and more commissary store brands are hitting the shelves offering patrons much more value for their dollar. Currently over 400 products are on store shelves offering patrons the same quality for a lower cost. Go to commissaries.com to get the latest on commissary store brands.
· Commissary gift cards are a great way to provide the gift of groceries to your military family and friends conveniently and quickly. Order them online in $25 and $50 denominations.
· Recipes can now be searched on the page by dish type, main ingredient or category, such as a “Holiday” recipe, “20-Minute Meal” or “Dietitian Approved” to make finding that essential part of your meal quick and easy. Make your grocery list by choosing recipes for the week online and then check to see if the ingredients are on sale.
· Scan the website for cooking tips from “How to Choose and Store Apples” and “Steak Cooking Guide” to “How Much Turkey to Buy” and “Iced Tea Basics” to help you make the most of your shopping trip.
GET HEALTHY
· Commissaries.com features a Healthy Habits section chock-full of ideas to help you reap the sweet benefits of healthy living while shopping your commissary aisles.
· Thinking Outside the Box recipes use items that are on sale to offer quick meal solutions for a busy lifestyle that are healthy and economical.
· Lots of healthy living resources and videos are available on the website to help you maintain healthy and safe meal planning.
· Get the low-down on the commissaries’ Nutrition Guide Program. Discover exactly what those color-coded shelf tags in your store are telling you to help in choosing healthy products.
GET INFORMED
· Stay abreast of commissary news and food safety recalls in the News Room at commissaries.com.
GET CONNECTED
· Links to the Defense Commissary Agency’s social media sites are integrated into the homepage. Follow DeCA on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and check out our videos on our YouTube channel.
· Subscribe to the Commissary Connection, the official DeCA blog, where our Consumer Advocate posts about your commissary and its connection to the military community. Featured content may range from human interest stories and shopping tips to videos, notifications about Commissary programs/events and more! Sign up for email alerts to make sure you don’t miss a thing.
· Access mobile-friendly commissaries.com from your smart-phone or tablet anywhere – even while shopping in the store using the free in-store Wi-Fi.
“It’s your benefit,” Allison said. “Take the time to use all available resources on commissaries.com to help you get more savings when you shop.”
About DeCA: The Defense Commissary Agency operates a worldwide chain of commissaries providing groceries to military personnel, retirees and their families in a safe and secure shopping environment. Commissaries provide a military benefit, saving authorized patrons thousands of dollars annually on their purchases compared to similar products at commercial retailers. The discounted prices include a 5-percent surcharge, which covers the costs of building new commissaries and modernizing existing ones. A core military family support element, and a valued part of military pay and benefits, commissaries contribute to family readiness, enhance the quality of life for America’s military and their families, and help recruit and retain the best and brightest men and women to serve their country.
Stay Connected to Your Commissary Benefit
COMMISSARIES.COM: Visit www.commissaries.com to learn more about the Defense Commissary Agency: check out the latest news, find a store near you, see what's on sale, create a shopping list, learn of food and product recalls, scan employment opportunities, read frequently asked questions, submit a customer comment form online through DeCA's Your Action Line and more.
COMMISSARY CONNECTION E-NEWSLETTER: Stay connected with the latest news about your most valued benefit, Hot Links to additional savings, shopping sprees, contests, commissary promotions, events and more, go to www.commissaries.com/subscribe.cfm and subscribe to the Commissary Connection newsletter.
COMMISSARY CONNECTION BLOG: To see regular posts about topics of interest to commissary customers, including commissary news, human interest stories, shopping tips, videos and notifications about programs or events, go to http://commissaryconnection.dodlive.mil/
You can also subscribe to this forum by going to www.commissaries.com/subscribe.cfm
FACEBOOK: Visit www.facebook.com/YourCommissary, DeCA’s Facebook page, where you can post comments and share news, photos and videos.
YOUTUBE: To see DeCA’s latest videos, visit www.youtube.com/DefenseCommissary
TWITTER: To see DeCA’s latest “tweets,” visit www.twitter.com/YourCommissary
PINTEREST: To see DeCA’s theme-based image collections, visit http://www.pinterest.com/YourCommissary
FLICKR: To see DeCA’s latest photographs, visit http://www.flickr.com/photos/commissary/
INSTAGRAM: To see DeCA’s latest photographs, visit https://www.instagram.com/YourCommissary/