What Is plum Rewards?
plum is Indigo's free loyalty program — scan your card at any Indigo, Chapters, or Coles store and earn points on books, gifts, toys, and everything else they sell. You can redeem points for instant discounts at the register or online. The base return is a modest 1%, but a tiered redemption system rewards patient accumulators with up to 1.43%, and the paid plum PLUS tier adds a flat 10% discount that makes a real difference for regular shoppers.
When Is plum Rewards Worth It?
Without effort: $100/month at Indigo → 6,000 points/year → worth about $12
With the 3 moves: Save up for maximum redemption tiers and time purchases around bonus events → realistically $25-40/year
Recent changes: Indigo refreshed the plum branding in 2023 and launched plumTeacher for educators in 2024. The iRewards paid program was fully retired in favour of plum PLUS. Sign-up bonuses for plum PLUS change frequently — check the Indigo website for the current offer.
How It Works
Where it works: Indigo, Chapters, Coles, Indigospirit, and The Book Company stores across Canada, plus indigo.ca online.
What you earn: 5 plum points per $1 spent on most items (pre-tax). Gift cards, ebooks, electronics, cafe purchases, and shipping are excluded.
How you get it back: Redeem points for instant savings at checkout. Tiered system: 2,500 pts = $5, up to 35,000 pts = $100. Higher tiers give you more value per point — up to 42% more at the top.
What it costs: Free (plum). $39/year + tax for plum PLUS, which adds 10% off almost everything plus free shipping.
How to sign up: Free at the Indigo website or any store — takes 2 minutes. Card works digitally right away. You can scan your card into SuperCards via screenshot after registration.
Member perks: plum PLUS members get 20% off plus 2,500 bonus points during their birthday month. Free shipping with no minimum. VIP access to promotions and events.
Good to know: Online purchases earn points automatically when you're logged in. Points take a few days in-store and a few weeks online (held during the return window). If you forget to scan, bring your receipt to any store within 14 days to claim your points.
The 3 Moves That Actually Matter
1. Always Save Up for the Biggest Redemption
The single most impactful thing you can do: never redeem at the minimum tier. At 2,500 points ($5), each point is worth $0.002. At 35,000 points ($100), each point is worth $0.00286 — that's 42% more value for the same points. The intermediate tiers (4,500 = $10, 8,500 = $20, 20,000 = $50) also give progressively better rates. Patience literally pays.
2. Check Your Rewards Centre Before Big Purchases
Indigo runs 10x plum points events several times a year, typically on purchases over $30-$50. At 10x, your effective earn rate jumps from 1% to 10% on that purchase. They also run points top-up promotions that give you free points to reach the next redemption tier. Log into your plum account on the Indigo website and check the Rewards Centre for active bonus offers before you buy anything over $30.
3. Time Big Purchases Around Promotions
If you have a larger purchase planned (birthday gifts, holiday shopping, home decor), check the Indigo website for active bonus events first. Combining a 10x points event with your regular plum points can turn a $50 purchase into $5+ in rewards instead of $0.50. These events happen often enough to be worth waiting a few weeks.
Get Your Points Out (Best to Worst)
Redeem at the $100 tier (35,000 pts) — Best value per point (0.286 cents each). Use on a big purchase and effectively get 1.43% back.
Redeem at the $50 tier (20,000 pts) — Still solid value (0.25 cents per point). Good option if 35,000 feels like a long wait.
Indigo periodically runs bonus redemption events where your points are worth even more — see Pro Tips below.
Redeem at the $5 tier (2,500 pts) — Worst value per point. You're leaving 42% of your potential return on the table.
Watch Out For
- Points vanish after 12 months of inactivity. One purchase or redemption resets the clock. Keep your plum card in SuperCards so it's always ready to scan — one small purchase a year is all it takes.
- Not everything earns points. Gift cards, ebooks, electronics, cafe items, and shipping are all excluded. Don't assume every dollar at Indigo counts.
- Birthday discounts don't stack with sales. The plum PLUS 20% birthday offer can't be combined with other promotional discounts. Use it on full-price items only.
- Small redemptions are a bad deal. The tiered system rewards patience. Redeeming 2,500 points for $5 gives you significantly less per point than saving up.
When to Skip plum Rewards
- If you rarely shop at Indigo. At $50/month, your annual return is under $6 before optimization. The program only shines with regular spending.
- For price-sensitive online book purchases. Other online retailers frequently undercut Indigo's prices on books, even with the 1% plum return. Compare before buying.
- If you already use cashback portals. Cashback portals often offer higher percentages than plum's base 1% for online purchases at Indigo. Check whether a portal offers a better deal, though you can sometimes stack both.
🔥 Pro Tips — For the Optimization Nerds
Quick Reference
| Cost | Free (plum) / $39/year + tax (plum PLUS) |
| Earn rate | 5 points per $1 spent |
| Point value | $0.002 - $0.00286 per point (depends on tier) |
| Effective cashback | 1% (base) / 1.43% (at $100 tier) / 11%+ (with plum PLUS) |
| Points expire | 12 months of account inactivity |
| Best redemption | 35,000 points = $100 at checkout |
| Website | indigo.ca |
As of May 2026
