Customer loyalty programs are just a sneaky way for companies to gather personal data

I get where the skepticism is coming from, but I don't think all customer loyalty programs are just out to mine our data. I mean, I've been a member of a few and yeah, they track what I buy, but I also get sweet discounts and free stuff in return. It's more like a trade-off to me. And let's be real, companies can get our data in so many other ways these days, loyalty programs seem almost quaint in comparison.