2 The 2012 Planner Review

Well, its the time of the year again in where people are going crazy getting those stickers from their coffee to get their free planners. I can say, I am one of those crazy people. Haha. Coffee everyday, anyone?

This year, me and my husband managed to get 3 free planners from our coffee dates and 1 which I bought for myself. 2 Starbucks planners, 1 Seattle's Best and 1 Belle de Jour planner. These three are far different from each other. I think, there's no points of comparison in terms of their contents and pages aside from they're only getting their popularity on the first quarter of the year. Let's review: 

Let's start with their looks. Their box, to start it off. See box of Starbucks' - nice. That white, blank, crappy box in the middle is Seattle's Best and last is the Belle de Jour which does not come in box. Not sure why Seattle's Best did or chose that way, but this definitely a two-thumbs down for them. 

Starbucks - 3 stars ; Seattle's Best - 0 star ; BDJ - 1 star

Let's open the box.. Starbucks are okay. They really smell like a tree! lol The planners also have their own bags, same color, same smell as the planner itself. Left - Oak ; Right - Spruce. See the difference? 

Here is the Seattle's Best planner. Nice. The cover is somewhat rubbery and feels good when you touch it. Not obvious that we love brown, right? Oh, by the way, I got this one on a 50% off I can say. Because last December 25-27 they gave double stickers for every drinks that you will buy from them. 

And now, here's the Belle de Jour planner. I have been using this for almost 4 years now. But, last year, 2011, it got out of stock and I was never able to get one. See this in colorful cover with the girl on its flirty pink dress. 

Starbucks - 3 stars ; Seattle's Best - 3 stars ; BDJ - 1 star

Lets open them now. Left is the Starbucks planner. I can say, this is really a planner. Got small spaces per date to just put summary of everyday happenings and plans. Middle is the Seattle's Best. See, this is not a planner. This is a notebook. It doesn't even have dates to begin with. All pages are notebook-like to write down everything. Its up to the owner to put his/her own dates. lol. Right is the Belle de Jour planner. Coupons will welcome your eyes once you open it. This one is flooded with coupons and discount cards. Everything is girly. 

Starbucks - 3 stars ; Seattle's Best - 1 star ; BDJ - 3 stars

Here are some unique selling points of these planners. 

For Starbucks, when you got this, you'll have you full bragging rights. Culture, errr.. And a few discounts coupons. You'll get this once you buy this only available in the specified months of the year. I'd say, duh! And there's also this bookmark. 

For the Seattle's Best, I'd say, I'm happy with what it has inside. A cd with songs, post-it, Seattle's Best  & Philippines stickers and the from their name Seattle's Best - The BEST things in life are FREE!! Yes, all coupons here are for free drinks and everything from their warmer. 

Now off to Belle de Jour freebies. Well, this has everything a woman can ask for a planner - that's why its called power planner. A space to write down your letter to your self, events, vacations, important happenings, menstrual tracker, everything. What I'd like the most here, aside from gazillions of discount coupons, is their 2012 Belle de Jour Lifestyle Card. You just have to register on their website, fill up the form, submit and then just wait for your card at your doorstep. You can use this card to their participating partners to avail discounts and this also entitles you to join any BDJ events for 2012 - free! Not to mention that you can use this card for discount on top on the coupons inside the planner. So, double discounts, eh?!

Then just have to keep all the coupons you used along with their official receipts, you can get your 2013 BDJ planner for free!! 

Starbucks - 1 star ; Seattle's Best - 3 stars ; BDJ - 3 stars

To top it all, here's the summary of our review based on the total number of their stars: 

Starbucks : 10 stars

Seattle's Best : 7 stars

Belle de Jour : 8 stars

So, here you go. This is my own review. Currently, I am using the Belle de Jour planner. How about you?