Her disbelief was further heightened when she learned that one of the reasons for this price was a rather unexpected promotion outside the realm of her imagination.
If you possess a Victorian Seniors’ Card and spend $4, you’re entitled to a small hot beverage, soft drink, or orange fruit drink in any Victorian McDonald’s store.
For those over 60, this means getting a cappuccino and a hash brown breakfast, a vanilla sundae with a shot of espresso to make a Frappuccino for morning tea, a burger and juice for lunch and dinner or coffee and cake for afternoon tea, each time for $4.
For total transparency, I’m not the one in the household who is old enough to have a Seniors’ Card, but the other half in the next room yelling at his computer is and has.
When we are on a road trip to visit a hospital specialist in the big smoke, we flash the Seniors’ Card at the rest stop, and there is a large coffee for him and a small latte for me, all for 25¢ over the $4.
It is Victorian Seniors Festival month, and living with a Victorian Seniors’ Card holder, it was time to determine what other senior discounts he is entitled to.
The Victorian Seniors Card program is free and encourages people over 60 to stay active and engaged in the community.
You will need to be a permanent resident of Australia and residing in Victoria to get one.
It comes in two types: a Seniors Card for seniors working less than 35 hours a week and a Seniors Business Discount Card for seniors working more than 35 hours a week.
On both cards, you will get various Victorian business discounts and access to free or discounted events as part of this month’s Seniors’ Festival.
Sadly, people with Seniors Business Discount Cards miss out on many benefits compared to those with a Seniors Card.
Applying for and receiving your Seniors’ Card should include a free Seniors Myki card giving you concession public transport fares, free weekend travel in two consecutive Myki zones, free off-peak travel vouchers.
And who doesn't love paying just over $5 to get from Echuca to Melbourne?
Lastly, a Victorian Seniors’ Cardholder is exempt from a fishing licence in Victorian waters.
However, it is still a good idea to have a free fishers card for over 70-year-olds or a Seniors Card on you when you drop a line, and this doesn’t count for the Murray River, as someone before us put it in NSW.
Some of the Seniors’ Card discounts you can get around Campaspe are:
• 4¢ a litre discount at United Petroleum (for this, you need a United Petroleum discount card, which the other half has applied for);
• Discounts on Pride of the Murray or PS Canberra cruises with Murray River Paddlesteamers;
• Seniors’ entry to Kyabram Fauna Park; and
• A discount at Rich River Chiropractic in both Echuca and Rochester.
Other Seniors’ Card discounts around Campaspe include hotel stays, massages, furniture stores, accountants, lawyers, car care and cameras.
To apply for or to search the full range of discounts and benefits you get with a Victorian Seniors Card, go to www.seniorsonline.vic.gov.au/
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