Owning shares of stock in a company makes you an owner of that company. For most companies, that simply means sharing in dividends and hoping that the stock price goes up over time.
However, some companies treat their shareholders like real owners – giving them discounts and rewards on products and services, just like their employees would get.
Here’s a list of companies that currently offer shareholders perks, discounts, and rewards for being an owner. Remember, these should be reasons alone to buy the stock, you need to do your fundamental research before buying a stock. But these are nice perks if you own these companies.
3M (MMM)
3M Company offers it’s shareholders giftboxes that include a wide variety of products the company makes. This year, the gift box has 18 different 3M products, and costs shareholders $26. This is very similar to what Kimberly-Clark offers their shareholders.
Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B)
Berkshire Hathaway is Warren Buffett’s company, and his key investment vehicle in acquiring various companies – roughly 60 companies at the time of this writing. And as a Berkshire Hathaway shareholder, you can get discounts at many of their various holdings.
The most popular perk is that GEICO customers can get an 8% discount if they are also Berkshire Hathaway shareholders. You can learn more about this discount here.
Also, Berkshire Hathaway shareholders can also get a ton of discounts, freebies, and special purchases at the annual shareholders’ meeting in Omaha each year. Some popular discounts include Sees Candy, furniture from Nebraska Furniture Mart, and special items that can only be purchases at the convention.
Carnival Cruise Lines (CCL)
Carnival Cruise Lines maintains shareholder benefits and rewards for all of it’s subsidiary companies. Shareholders can get an onboard credit per stateroom based on how long they sail.
For example, for 2015, you can get the following on-board credits:
- Cruises over 14 days: $250
- Cruises 7 to 13 days: $100
- Cruises under 6 days: $50
These perks apply to all of their cruise lines: Carnival Cruise Line, Princess Cruises, Holland America, Seabourn, Cunard, and Costa Cruises.
You can learn more about these shareholder perks here.
Churchill Downs (CHDN)
Churchill Downs offers all of their shareholders (as long as they own 100 or more shares) 2 free passes for general admission to any Churchill Downs-owned facility. To receive the offer, shareholders must own the 100 shares by December 31 of the year, and the passes will be provided in the first quarter of the following year.
The passes allow free general admission at all our racing and off-track betting facilities. They are valid for an unlimited number of visits during the year, as well as general admission for the Kentucky Oaks and the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs.
For more information, learn about Churchill Down’s perks here.
Ford (F)
Ford has always been known to reward it’s shareholders with a discount, but if you search their website, there is nothing to be found. So I reached out to their Investors Relations Department, and here’s what they said.
As a special “Thank You” to Ford Motor Company shareholders, the Investor Relations Department offers the opportunity to participate in the “Friends & Neighbors” Special Vehicle Pricing Privilege (also known as the X-Plan). In order to qualify, you:
- Must be a current shareholder of Ford Motor Company common stock (Ticker: F).
- Must own a minimum of one hundred (100) shares of Ford Motor Company common stock (Ticker: F).
- Need to have held the minimum number of shares of Ford Motor Company common stock for the past 6 months or longer.
If you meet all of the above criteria, you are more than welcome to contact Investor Relations via phone at: 1-800-555-5259; or email www.stockinf@ford.com for further information about available vehicle discounts for shareholders.
Intercontinental Hotels Group (IHG)
The Intercontinental Hotels Group offers shareholders discounts at their hotels if they book through a private website. For further details please contact the Company Secretariat department at companysecretariat@ihg.com.
Intercontinental Hotels includes the brands: Intercontinental, Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn, Staybridge Suites, Candlewood Suites, and Hotel Indigo.
International Business Machines (IBM)
IMB doesn’t sell much direct to consumers, but it does have a Shareholders Store where it sells computer equipment at up to 25% off. You can find refurbished desktop and laptop computers, accessories, and more, from manufacturers such as Lenovo.
Here is the link to the Lenovo IMB Shareholder Store.
Kimberly-Clark (KMB)
Kimberly-Clark offers shareholders a special gift box they can purchase from the company for $24.45 (add $7 for Alaska and Hawaii). The box comes with samples of many of the companies’ products, such as Kleenex and diaper wipes, and also has over $25 in coupons for the companies’ products.
Kimberly-Clark says that more than 3 million boxes have been shared since it started this program in 1957.
You can learn more about the Kimberly-Clark gift box program here.
Norwegian Cruise Lines (NCL)
Norwegian Cruise Lines provides similar benefits to the other cruise lines when it comes to rewarding their shareholders.
For 2015, Norwegian Cruise Lines is offering the following on-board credits:
- Cruises over 14 days: $250
- Cruises 7 to 13 days: $100
- Cruises under 6 days: $50
Norwegian owns the following brands that this can be applied to: Norwegian Cruise Lines, Oceania Cruises, and Regent Seven Seas Cruises.
Remember, you must submit paperwork to Investor Relations at least 15 days in advance of your cruise. Learn more about the benefit here.
Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines (RCL)
Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines offers the same benefits as the other cruise lines, but adds one additional tier for shareholders.
For 2015, Royal Caribbean is offering the following ob-board credits for shareholders:
- Cruises over 14 days: $250
- Cruises 10 to 13 days: $200
- Cruises 6 to 9 days: $100
- Cruises under 5 days: $50
Royal Caribbean owns the following brands: Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, and Azamara Club Cruises.
Willamette Valley Vineyards (WVVI)
Willamette Valley Vineyards is a small publicly traded company that owns several vineyards in Oregon. It offers shareholders several perks (really catered to wine lovers):
- Admissions to special events at the winery.
- Priority on the purchase of limited production wines, wine futures, and discounted items.
- Discounted pricing of selections purchased through the WVV Wine Club.
- Priority use of the Winery’s tasting and hospitality facilities for events (open dates only).
- Personalized winery business cards, the initial set is complementary.
You can learn more about these shareholder perks here.
Do you know of any other shareholder perks? Have you ever received a perk?
Robert Farrington is America’s Millennial Money Expert® and America’s Student Loan Debt Expert™, and the founder of The College Investor, a personal finance site dedicated to helping millennials escape student loan debt to start investing and building wealth for the future. You can learn more about him here.
He regularly writes about investing, student loan debt, and general personal finance topics geared towards anyone wanting to earn more, get out of debt, and start building wealth for the future.
He has been quoted in major publications including the New York Times, Washington Post, Fox, ABC, NBC, and more. He is also a regular contributor to Forbes.
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