Editor’s note, April 2026: This article was first published in January 2023 and reviews the Petco Vital Care loyalty program at the time of launch. Since then, Vital Care benefits and pricing have changed, and Petco has indicated plans for another loyalty relaunch in 2026. An update has been added below the original article.
Petco, the pet care giant
Petco Health and Wellness Company, Inc. is an American pet retailer that provides pet products, services, and advice to pet owners. It offers a wide range of products for dogs, cats, fish, birds, reptiles, and small animals, as well as grooming, training, and veterinary services.
To say it is huge is an understatement. The company operates more than 1,500 retail stores in the United States and owns brands such as Pet Coach, Vetco, PupBox and Petinsurancequotes.com.
Petco’s reported annual revenue at the end of January 2022 was a staggering $5.8 billion USD. They are listed on the NASDAQ and are estimated to be the 107th largest private company in the US.
The rise of Group Loyalty Programs
We are seeing a huge trend in the rise of Group Loyalty Programs globally. Parent brands who have multiple sub brands under their umbrella or holding companies who have a diverse set of businesses in their portfolios are all seeing the benefits that a combined Group Loyalty Programs can deliver to customers and to the bottom line.
Group Loyalty Programs offer greater rewards and benefits to members. They also give businesses a means to differentiate their loyalty programs from those of their competitors and keep customers buying within a suite of brands. Some noteworthy examples include IHG One Rewards, OnePass and most recently Expedia Group who have announced the launch of their One Key program some time in 2023. The programs are even more enticing when the brands have a strong synergy.
Petco Pals Rewards and Vital Care
Petco Pals Rewards was the loyalty program offered by Petco that launched in 1997. Members could earn rewards points for purchases made at Petco stores or online. Points could be redeemed for discounts on future purchases, as well as access to exclusive promotions, offers, and early access to sales.
Members also received special perks such as a birthday gift for their pet, a special offer on their anniversary, and access to Petco’s premium services, such as grooming and training. Enrolment in Petco Pals Rewards was free, and members could sign up online or in store.
Petco Vital Care was a veterinary care subscription service offered by Petco. It provided pet owners with access to comprehensive veterinary care at a lower cost compared to traditional veterinary services. With Vital Care, pet owners paid a monthly fee to receive benefits such as unlimited office visits, vaccines, routine testing, and preventive care services.
The subscription also included discounts on additional services such as surgery, dental care, and emergency care. By offering affordable access to veterinary care, Petco aimed to help pet owners keep their pets healthy and prevent costly health issues in the long term. The Vital Care subscription service was available at select Petco stores or online.
The best of both loyalty worlds: Pet co Vital Care Core and Premium
In January 2023, Petco announced that they would be combining both programs into a new iteration of Vital Care. The new program offers two subscription levels. Vital Care Core (which was Petco Pals Rewards) where members can join for free. Members can then upgrade to Vital Care Premier (which was previously Vital Care) for $19.99 per month.
The unified offering is very appealing and brings to life Petco’s brand proposition of looking after a pet’s whole health journey.
Vital Care Core still allows earning points on every purchase, from wellness services to products. Members can unlock nutrition and grooming perks, including getting a 10th bag of dry dog or cat food for free and an eighth groom for free. Membership also provides access to health and wellness tools and resources like a membership dashboard that allows pet owners to stay up to date with their pets’ care and access a monthly wellness checklist.
Upgrading to the paid tier, Vital Care Premier, helps customers to save even more and make the most of every health and wellness resource Petco offers including access to groomers and veterinarians. This tier also extends the rewards expiration on nutrition and supplies. You can tailor the plan based on the type of pet you own and if you have multiple pets you can access a bundle discount. Members unlock a fixed discount off a multitude of products and services as well as monthly rewards.
Petco Vital Care Pet peeves
The new program, benefits and rewards clearly deliver a lot of value but when researching the past program iterations, it does not take long to uncover a slew of customer frustrations in the form of app reviews and forum posts. The app has incredibly poor functionality, yet it is central to the experience and required to redeem rewards. Some customers even believe the app is designed badly on purpose to make redeeming rewards too tedious to pursue.
Customers are frustrated with the lack of support and knowledge provided by frontline retail staff. Duplicate accounts, fraudulent account sharing, fake accounts being created due to frontline staff being encouraged to stealth sign people up for the program by pretending to look for them on the system but enrolling them in the program instead. These are only a handful of the issues discussed online.
No matter how impressive the program is on the surface if issues like these are not addressed the program and businesses can only ride the wave so far before it crashes. It would be a real shame to see a program like this fail due to the poor customer experience and operational flaws. Hopefully, the launch of the new program means a renewed focus and a chance for Petco to also look after the “whole health” of their customer journey.
Update: Vital Care remains central, but another relaunch is coming
Since this article was first published in January 2023, Petco has continued to refine Vital Care. The program is clearly important to the business, with Petco stating in its 2024 Annual Report that Vital Care Core loyalty program members accounted for over 90% of transactions in fiscal 2024. That does not tell us how many paid Vital Care Premier members Petco has, but it does show just how much of the Petco shopping experience now runs through the loyalty program.
The benefits have also changed since launch, as has the price. Vital Care Premier for dogs and cats is now $24.99 per month, up from $19.99 at the time this article was first published. Today, Vital Care Premier includes monthly Vital Care Rewards, longer reward expiration, discounts across areas such as nutrition, grooming, litter and small-pet supplies, as well as routine veterinary exam benefits. This makes it difficult to compare today’s program directly with the 2023 launch version, but the broad strategy remains the same. Petco is still trying to bring products, services and veterinary care together under one member relationship.
Customer experience remains the test
The more interesting development is that Petco is not finished. The company has indicated that it plans to relaunch its loyalty program in 2026, with a stronger focus on personalisation and app integration. That makes the customer experience questions raised in the original article worth revisiting. If points, rewards and benefits sit inside a digital account, then app usability, clear terms and smooth reward redemption are not side issues. They are central to whether members actually feel the value.
Recent customer reviews and online discussions still show some examples of friction around the Vital Care experience, including reward loading, discount application, benefit changes and access to vet and grooming appointments. These examples do not necessarily reflect the average member experience, especially given the Petco app’s strong overall App Store rating, but they do show the kind of operational issues that can weaken a loyalty program built around subscriptions, rewards and digital redemption.
For Petco, the opportunity remains significant. Vital Care gives the company a way to connect repeat retail purchases, grooming, veterinary services and personalised pet care. The challenge is making the experience feel as simple and trustworthy as the benefits sound on paper.
Do Loyalty Programs Work?
Looking for examples of best-practice loyalty programs from around the world that have delivered outstanding results? Check out our ‘Do Loyalty Programs Work?’ series.
