4 Hannaford Rules That Cost New Yorkers at the Register

Buy only milk at Hannaford, and you won’t earn a thing in rewards.

Budget-savvy New Yorkers can lose money to rules like that.

Here are the Hannaford rules that cost shoppers at the register.

Note: This is general information, not financial or tax advice. Fees and program terms are subject to change.

1. Pickup Fees on Small Orders

Hannaford announced in January 2024 that To Go pickup orders under $125 would have a $1.99 service fee.

If you order $40 of groceries for pickup, that fee adds about 5% to your bill.

On a $20 order, the same fee runs nearly 10%.

We think a fee like that is easy to miss in a cart total, though no grocery chain gets every fee right.

Hannaford’s To Go page still advertises free pickup on orders over $125.

2. Flat Delivery Fees

Hannaford’s January 2024 terms put a $10 fee and a $30 minimum purchase on To Go delivery.

The fee was waived on a customer’s first delivery order.

Its To Go page still advertises free delivery on your first order.

On a $30 order, that $10 is a third of your bill.

At the January 2024 rates, the pickup fee costs far less than delivery’s $10.

3. Rewards That Expire

Hannaford rewards you haven’t used expire at the end of the calendar quarter in which they become available, according to the program’s terms.

Calendar quarters end March 31, June 30, September 30, and December 31.

Expired rewards, coupons, and points won’t be replaced.

Use them or lose them.

4. Milk, Prescriptions, and Gift Cards

Hannaford’s rewards terms exclude milk, prescriptions, and gift cards from rewards.

Buy only milk, and no reward comes with it.

You receive and redeem rewards only when your My Hannaford Rewards barcode is scanned.

How the Rewards Pay Out

Those are the four rules. What follows is background on rewards, pickup, and sales tax, not more rules to follow.

Hannaford launched My Hannaford Rewards in January 2018 with a 2 percent reward on every store-brand item.

Before that, Hannaford piloted the program with store associates at 11 locations near Burlington, Vermont, Grocery Dive reported.

The program then launched in all 181 of its stores across the Northeast.

The 2 percent reward applied to Hannaford, Taste of Inspirations, and Nature's Place products, among other store brands.

As of January 2024, Hannaford ran 187 supermarkets in Maine, Vermont, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and New York.

At launch, Hannaford said rewards would be redeemed quarterly, with the total earned deducted from your bill.

Personalized coupon offers for national and regional brands were promised, too.

Weighed Items at Pickup

When Hannaford prepares your To Go order, it weighs the items to determine the final price.

The average weight listed for an item is there to show the typical weight of a single item or package.

That means your final total can differ from your cart total.

You can modify your order up to a few hours before your pickup window starts.

Age Checks at Pickup

Hannaford requires suitable ID at pickup when a To Go order contains age-restricted items.

If an adult over 21 isn't picking up the age restricted items, Hannaford removes them from the order.

Say you send someone else to collect an order that includes alcohol or other age restricted items.

That person has to be over 21, or those items come out of the order.

Cakes, Platters, and Bulk Orders

Hannaford's To Go page says special occasion items like personalized cakes and platters require a 24-hour lead time before pickup.

Order a cake at 5 p.m., and it can't be ready before 5 p.m. the next day.

For a very large or bulk order, you call your home store 48 hours before placing it.

Ways to Cut a Pickup Bill

Hannaford's January 2024 announcement says To Go customers can redeem My Hannaford Rewards digital coupons.

You can also add items to your cart from the digital weekly flyer.

To Go shows the same prices and deals online as in the store.

Sales Tax on Platters and Sandwiches

Hannaford's Troy store page lists party platters among its services.

New York's tax department sets the sales tax rule, not Hannaford, but you pay it at the register.

A store-arranged platter of cold cuts, cookies, or relishes is taxable in New York.

Sandwiches are generally taxable too, hot or cold, and so is any food a store sells in a heated state.

Cold cuts that the deli slices and sells by weight are exempt.

Arrangement makes the difference.

Those same cold cuts are taxable once they're arranged on a platter.

Sales Tax on Candy and Soda

If you buy candy at Hannaford in New York, you pay sales tax because the state's food listings list candy and confectionery as taxable.

Soda is taxable too, since carbonated beverages are on that list.

Chocolate-coated pretzels and caramel-coated popcorn are taxable too.