No need to "go to Chicago"
 

There's no need to "go on and on" about anything.

I was just following the same scheme some others were using.
That is, letting friends and associates save up their coke product codes for my personal use. At the particular period there was no restriction on such doings, nor were there restriction upon the number of coke product codes one could enter, nor was there restriction upon the number of Delta Skymile rewards (when they were available) one could acquire in exchange for coke codes nor restriction upon the number of Priority Club point awards one could gather in exchange for coke codes (when they were available in huge quantity).

Others had more elaborate schemes to acquire multiple MCR rewards, of which there's no need to elaborate on for reasons that should be obvious.:mad:

Some of these schemes lead no doubt to many complaints from other participants in the MCR program that high value rewards were going so fast which eventually led to the overall dollar value of a reward being cutback to things like a $50 Nike gift card, and limiting the number of MCR codes one could submit within per week as well as restriction on the number of the better rewards one could acquire in exchange for MCR points. :p

I thought I'd make another attempt at PC redemption, that maybe the new month would open up some rewards. Still getting the ridiculous msg.:

We're sorry, you have redeemed the maximum quantity for this item

Oops, we seem to be having a problem. Please try back again later.

for me, only worthwhile redemption was 27 pts for a 20 ounce coke coupon

got my account back up to 27 points


coupons are up to 30 points and sold out

Does the latest batch of "classic Coke" taste "watered-down" and "flat" to you?
 

Lately, "classic Coke" has tasted somewhat "watered down" like a Pepsi....
could this be something to do with the current "Buy 2 and Get 3 Free" deals on the can 12 packs for the holiday promotion?


At least the Barq Root Beer still tastes like root beer but I'm not certain if
its taste is less than A&W or MUG . . . ?

Does this latest batch of "classic Coke" taste somewhat "watered-down" and on the "flat" side to you?

Man I totally forgot about the live nation codes, oh well $10 for a concert still isnt a bad deal. they must be desperate to get people into the shows.

They weren't all terrible shows either. Just off the top of my head some names that were offered via the $10 promo were Kiss, Aerosmith, Santana, John Mayer, Chicago, REO Speedwagon, and Crosby Stills & Nash. Most were general admission Lawn seats but some shows were actually halfway decent reserved seats.

Chances are the coke has been skunked,it is the same as beer, if the store keeps it in extremely hot condition, it changes the taste to be flat, it has a lower shelf life depending on the temp. Now I am the worst at science, but I THINK heat speeds up the molecules and it causes it to go flat faster, but there may be other reasons.

Now for Barqs, I prefer AW since it taste more like root beer should to me.
Barqs slogan "it has bite" means the difference is it is the only one with caffeine, so sometime I need the caffeine and will choose it based on that :D

"Chances are the coke has been skunked,it is the same as beer, if the store keeps it in extremely hot condition, it changes the taste to be flat, it has a lower shelf life depending on the temp. Now I am the worst at science, but I THINK heat speeds up the molecules and it causes it to go flat faster, but there may be other reasons."

I KNOW for certain (my dad had a retail store for 15 years and had the chance to drink all kinds of soft-drinks when they were stronger than today's) that carbonated soft-drinks tend to dull and fizz out after certain periods on the racks (confirmed years later by certain Consumer Reports facts):

* Carbonated soft-drink cans and bottles are designed to mantain their fizz for 180 days (6 months) after sealed at the plant.
* Cane/beet sugar and HFCS are designed to keep their sweetness for at least 180 days (6 months).
* Acid-enhanced flavors (with either citric/absorbiC acids and/or real fruit juices) are designed to NOT OXIDIZE (otherwise gives canny flavor) for 90 days (3 months).
* "Diet" sweeteners, like saccharin and aspartame are designed to NOT LOSE THEIR SWEETNESS for 90 days (3 months). Sucralose and stevia extracts haven't been tested for longer periods, though I suspect they may last llonger than 90 days).

Why do you think both Coke and Pepsi have expiration dates stamped on their cans and bottles for their carbonated soft-drinks (suspect a number of the smaller company and store brands have them stamped as well...)?

Maybe Coke and Pepsi has risen so much their prices lately that they're now dumping their expiring product before it stales on store racks and warehouses. As an example I've received an eBay purchase with recent California supermarket shoppers offering Coke 2lt. bottles on sale @ 3/$5 ($1.67@) + tax/deposit, for which I normally pay in PR $0.99 @ + tax REGULAR PRICE at chain supermarkets ($0.98 on Walmart SC's). They have gone earlier this year on sale as low as $0.50 @ (a cold 11.27 oz. can at a machine costs $0.75 here).

So stores and manufacturers have to do a whole lot more turnaround for carbonated soft-drinks than for almost all non-perishable items, hence the constant sales (you just have to know how to play the game...).

When I finally used my "$25" Publix card yesterday, my face showed my shock! The clerk asked, "What's wrong?" and I replied, "My gift card is worth 10 times the value that I thought it had!" I was staring at the screen that said, "215.37 remaining!" :eek:

Apparently, I won one of the 28 $250 grand prizes! ^

For those who are interested in the facts, I have an account in which I redeemed a 500-point PC reward from MCR in October 2009. Today, I cashed out another 500-point PC reward from MCR and added it to my PC account.

It seems that my "lifetime" is limited to when PC changed the rules as I thought might be the case and as other informed posters had previously postulated.

congratulations!!!:-:

I found your information fascinating, but I wasn't referencing letting it expire.
As I diet coke drinker, I always check the expiration dates and assume most people do also.

I was referencing Devildawg13 who said theirs lately tasted flat like pepsi. In optimal conditions away from the extreme elements, the coke should be good 6 months. Just like when you forget a coke in the freezer and it freezes .... the taste changes, If you heat a coke up, it will change the taste. I gave my very nonscientific opinion why. Currently temps are quiet high in most of the country, so after delivery which is refrigerated, the coke may have been kept outside by the store or in sunlight and that would change the taste.

I am sure your father was more responsible with his stock, but I have seen stores just stack it up wherever when it is on sale. Now is the store that Devildawg13 shops at selling stock that is close to expiration, I don't know, but it can taste "off" even if it isn't expired if it wasn't properly stored.

I will attempt to test this out tonight when I go out

Actually, JRM, if you've read my stats, I live in the tropics (near SJU) and almost all businesses (including chain supemarkets) storage their soft-drinks in interior storage (A/C'd in the case of supermarkets of any size) with the non-perishables. So climate in this month in most of the "Lower 48" is approaching the kind of hot/humid climate we have almost year-round.

Besides, flatness/bubbliness may vary by individual bottler (for years PR-bottled/canned carbonated soft-drinks have been bubblier [have more CO2] and sweeter [even in "diet" sodas] than most/all other bottlers Stateside, since the only FIXED item is the syrup (which Coke and Pepsi-owned plants make here in PR for a [25-50]% of Stateside bottlers).

Turnaround of soft-drinks has been always an issue in "my neck of the woods" and maybe in SoFla and the SW States, but this summer it might finally become an issue on more places Stateside, so youmight begin to see bigger price fluctuations (and more sale events) on carbonated soft-drinks.

PS: To me a good turnaround policy, such as done by supermarket and convenience store chains, is to put on sale soft-drinks when they expect to have still ~ 45 day "shelf-life" (before expiration date) left in their stock (dollar stores may cut a lot closer...).

Wal-Mart near my house has $5 24 packs and they are running about 60-75 days ahead of expiration each week.

I buy weekly and check the expirations to grab the latest dates of course

So W-M seems to be selling products with a longer shelf life; however Safeway Sales do seem to fall in the above cat (sometimes its less than that and you have to search for newer or longer lasting stuff)