Old money and new money at play.

Old money and new are at war. In one corner we have old money which offers authentic experience and long time value. In the new money corner we have loyalty points.

Which side appeals most? It depends upon who you are.

The first photograph is a cigar shop in London clubland. The chair was used by Winston Churchill. All visitors are encouraged to take a selfie and enjoy a momentary old money experience.

The second is of a 'free' cup of coffee I had from Waitrose recently. Was it really free? I had to buy something to qualify and settled on a bag of pasta. Nothing is completely free.

One interesting thing about loyalty points is that old money is generally repelled by them. Old money believes that all schemes are paid for by the consumer eventually.  This is why the cigar shop has no scheme while most supermarkets do. Yes, it is true that even old money shops in supermarkets but it is interesting that old money generally favours those that have no schemes (ALDI, Lidl, Fortnum and Mason) or those that hide them well. Waitrose is a big old money favorite that wants some new money customers too. They created a loyalty program that does not issue points but instead treats the customer as an honored guest. The customer is invited to take the weight off their feet, have a coffee and read the papers. Old money loves to be a part of things but hates being sold to (this is one reason old money hates loyalty schemes). New money, on the other hand loves a bargain. New money loves the idea of buying a packet of pasta for a few pence and receiving a more expensive item free of charge. Waitrose has very cleverly found a way to hit the pleasure centers of both groups at the same time.