What Price Loyalty?

     I am the proud owner of a Flash Foods loyalty card. I also have in my possession loyalty cards from Harvey's, Winn Dixie, Toys 'R' Us, and a few from merchants I can't recall at the moment. Why do I have these? I am told I receive special incentives every time I use the cards while shopping, and some of the businesses even claim to give a portion of the proceeds my purchases generate to education or some other needy institution; I can only assume their contribution amounts to about one tenth of one percent. I suppose the all-inclusive benefits are reason enough to use these cards--to show their appreciation for my loyalty--every time I go shopping, but truth be told I have an altogether different view of things.
     It really pisses me off that I must present a card to receive special pricing. I was in Harvey's just yesterday and saw a pack of beautiful ribeye steaks. Now, I could have paid $49.95 for these five steaks and been done with it, or I could have presented my "key card" which would have enabled me to make the purchase for $34.99. If I had done the latter, my receipt would have reflected that I had "saved" $15 on my purchase. Well, if Harvey's or any of these other businesses truly wanted to save me time and money, they would cut out the whole card thing and just pass the savings on to me, but they won't. Or is that can't?
     I am not what one would call a conspiracy theorist, but it does make an odd kind of sense that one cannot use these cards unless name and address--and in some cases phone number--are given first to validate the card(s). So then, what are we left with? Why, some agency's ability to keep track of everything we buy. I'm not saying Big Brother is watching us (I mean, let's face it: He's been doing that for quite some time now), but what other reason could these businesses have for doing this? We are pretty much at their mercy. In this bad economy, it is foolish to not take advantage of the discounts that the loyalty cards offer. I just wish I didn't have to symbolically kiss corporate ass everytime I needed to make a purchase.