A fair price.

• Author: Rundles, Jeff
• Position: RUNDLES - Viewpoint essay

My family and I stopped into one of those video game stores so my son could buy something for his Wii, and the clerk offered us a $14.95 membership that could be used for discounts throughout the year.

"It'll pay for itself in no time," the gamer told us.

We declined because we don't buy that many games, but also because we recently realized we were members of so many frequent-flier, frequent-buyer, buyer-reward, customer-loyalty programs and such that we need a file drawer to keep all the cards and offering literature, and even then there are so many we forget to use them.

We have your airline cards, cards from hardware stores and parking services, punch "get-one-free" cards at doughnut shops, coffee shops and hair salons, and loyalty rewards cards for dining, golf courses, grocery stores, book stores, record stores, hotels, and travel clubs. Heck, the cards from the grocers alone, carried in one's wallet, will make a man tilt while sitting and suffer lumbago. Chiropractors should advertise on the back of these cards.

My wife is an inveterate coupon-clipper, and it is rare when we are checking out or paying our tab not to have her digging in her purse for a discount certificate, so I get the whole save-a-little mentality. And it must work for the merchants since virtually all of them have a program. But enough already.

Just last month I was preparing for some air travel and searched around in my deck of discount cards for my symbol of membership at WallyPark; hey, I took the time a few years ago to sign up so I should get the 10 percent discount. Then, on the way out of the door my wife handed me a $2-a-day discount coupon for the same place. So for the several days I am on the trip I hang on to the card and the coupon, trying to save a couple of bucks.

I get on the WallyPark van upon my return, packed with returning travelers, and the driver hands everyone a WallyPark card and a discount coupon. Here I am, the prepared one with card and coupon in hand, and Mr. Oblivious next to me gets the same deal. I felt...