The competitive pressure and decreasing customer loyalty in traditional, service-oriented grocery retail are leading to an increasing importance of effective tools for customer retention. Favorable conditions following the repeal of the discount law in the summer of 2001 have prompted many retail companies to adopt a customer card system for customer loyalty. The success of such a measure depends on whether the commercial goals pursued by the program align with the added values for customers. An attractive mix of monetary and non-monetary benefits can encourage regular and intensive use of the card at the point of sale. Targeted analyses of card usage pave the way for the issuing retail company to manage its marketing activities more effectively and to strategically integrate the customer card into its overall marketing mix. The ways in which a customer card can be successfully positioned are illustrated using examples of well-known customer card programs. This is done within a theoretically comparative framework and based on a survey of top companies in the German grocery retail sector.