Tuesdays on the Run: Dick's Sporting Goods App

The theme for this week's Tuesdays on the Run with Patty, Erika, and Marcia dives into the craziness that is Black Friday and the holiday shopping season.  While I am not someone who tends to have the "in" on where to find the best deals or discounts, I do stumble across the occasional awesome find when it comes to saving a few bucks.  In this regard, my secret weapon to cut down on the cost of our surprisingly expensive sport is the Dick's Sporting Goods (DSG) app.

In this day and age, every store seems to have its own app that is basically a clunky version of its website.  Because of this, I avoid cluttering my phone with unnecessary apps when I can just as easily open up Chrome to find what I need.  I was naturally hesitant then to download the DSG app, since I figured it was same old same old.  However, what made me willing to give up those precious megabytes of space was a feature I had yet to see offered by any other store.  It gave me points just for doing what I love - running!

Outside of the usual tabs advertising sales and promoting the rewards card, the DSG app has an additional feature called "Move."  For either hitting 10,000 steps in a day or running three miles using MapMyRun, three points are added to the DSG reward card.  Once 300 points are earned, a $10 gift certificate is given - it's that easy!  Once the app is set up, there is little maintenance that needs done on the user side of things.  And just like other reward programs, a point is also earned for every dollar spent at the store/online.

On top of the normal methods of earning points, twice so far (during the Olympics and the month of October) the DSG app has also offered step challenges.  By averaging about 15,000 steps a day, I earned an additional 600 points.  I like to think of all this as free money!

Now, there are a few caveats worth noting when using the app.  First, if you only ever just earn the three points a day, it will take a really long time to receive a certificate.  In addition, the $10 has an expiration date 60 days from when it is issued.  Third, you do need to sign up for the DSG rewards program, so make room for another card on your rewards tag key ring.  Another restriction is that you have to use one of the means for tracking, either a Garmin, Fitbit or Apple watch for steps, or MapMyRun for the three mile run.  Finally, the occasional day has occurred where it did not properly register my steps making for missed points.

At this point in using the app with only making a limited number of purchases here and there, I've received $40 in certificates.  That's $40 that will not be coming out of my bank account - score!  And with the prospect of doing some Christmas shopping at DSG in the coming weeks, I may hit that magical 300 points again soon.  I'll take it!

Happy running!
Sean