Which supermarket loyalty card takes the biscuit for big savings?
As prices soar, many stores are beefing up reward schemes. Here’s our guide to the tastiest deals...
AS the price of food continues to rocket, keeping the cost of the weekly shop from spiralling out of control is a top priority for cashstrapped families. Almost every week, there’s more bad news: be it a tub of Lurpak hitting nearly £10 or the price of heinz favourites soaring by up to 55 pc. It’s no wonder, then, that shoppers are flocking to join supermarket loyalty schemes as retailers beef up perks to attract customers.
Achille traore, chief executive of customer retention firm White Label Loyalty, says: ‘More than half of British consumers are already signed up to at least one supermarket loyalty programme and we expect this percentage to grow as inflation permeates the supermarket shelves.’
But with firms increasingly prioritising smartphone apps over physical cards and paper coupons, elderly and vulnerable customers are at risk of being left behind.
Dennis Reed, of senior citizens campaign group Silver Voices, says: ‘there is complete disregard for the fact that many older people do not own a smartphone or, if they do, use it only for telephone calls. We want to ensure older people are not denied access to benefits and offers.’
to help make sure you don’t miss out on vital savings, here we explain the schemes on offer, how to make the most out of them and sneaky pitfalls to watch out for . .
. WHAT’S ON OFFER? Asda’s Rewards programme is being trialled in 300 stores before a nationwide roll-out. Members get 10 pc back when buying star products or completing ‘missions’. Right now, shoppers will get £2 back when spending £10 on Kellogg’s cereal. Savings can be put towards shopping bills, or they can be traded later for vouchers.
Customers can earn extra when meeting spending targets. Initially you get 50p for spending £50, another 50p when you’ve spent £100, and then an extra £1 when you hit £200, £1.50 at £300, £2.50 at £500, £4 at £750, £5 at £1,000 and £10 at £1,400.
LESSER-KNOWN PERKS: Also offers discounts on George clothing.
TIPS: Look out for Boost vouchers, which can increase the value of your cash pot. Check the Spend section of the app to see these. the new Asda Money Credit Card offers 1 pc cashback at its stores.
PITFALLS: One mum complained online that the spending targets were difficult. the challenge also ends on August 10, but a new one is expected for pre-Christmas.
SMARTPHONE NEEDED? Yes. You can find this in your phone’s App Store (iPhone) or Play Store (Android) by searching the name of the retailer. Most apps have a digital version of your loyalty card, which looks like a barcode. Just scan this at the checkout.
WHAT’S ON OFFER? With Clubcard, collect one point for every £1 spent in- store and online or £2 on fuel and swap your points for vouchers. One point is worth 1p in tesco. there are also cheaper prices.
Families who do a big weekly shop should consider the Clubcard Plus subscription, costing £7.99 a month for perks including 10 pc off two shops of up to £200 each, and 10 pc off F&F clothing.
LESSER-KNOWN PERKS: there are lots of partners to redeem vouchers with, including english heritage, eurotunnel, Alton towers, Fitbit, SpaSeekers and Zizzi.
TIPS: Increase the value of vouchers with tesco’s Rewards partners, so £10 of vouchers would buy you a Senior Railcard worth £30, or £6 of vouchers can buy you three months of Disney+ access, worth £24. earn extra points with a tesco Clubcard credit card, a tesco Mobile contract or Clubcard Pay+, a prepaid debit card.
PITFALLS: Vouchers expire after two years.
SMARTPHONE NEEDED? Download the app or have a traditional card and vouchers through the post.
WHAT’S ON OFFER? Save money by collecting points with Nectar, with one point per £1 in stores and online, and a point for every litre of fuel at its petrol stations. One point is worth 0.5p in Sainsbury’s. You also receive bonus points for certain products, with one recent offer giving 30 points for buying a Sainsbury’s New York cheesecake. You can get cheaper Nectar prices by using the self-scanning SmartShop app to buy in-store.
LESSER-KNOWN PERKS: Customers can collect points from more than 400 partner brands, such as Just eat, esso and Debenhams, and spend them at some 17 companies, including Sainsbury’s, Argos, British Airways and eBay.
TIPS: Download the Nectar Notifier tool to remind you to collect points when shopping online with certain brands, such as Asos and Just eat. there’s also the new ‘ Nectar Connect’ scheme to link your account to a debit or credit card
and earn bonus points with certain partners, such as Costa Coffee and Interflora. PITFALLS: My Nectar Prices are only available to in-store shoppers.
SMARTPHONE NEEDED? No, but customers who use the app collect three times more points than those who don’t, according to Nectar.
WHAT’S ON OFFER? My Morrisons offers money off certain products and percentages off a particular category, such as 15 pc off soft drinks or £1 off baby or pet products. Scheme now revamped to include more meat and dairy discounts. Card holders can ‘bag a bonus’, such as £5 off your next shop.
LESSER-KNOWN PERKS: Members can join a range of clubs for parents, teachers, NHS workers and students to get discounts or freebies for events such as Mother’s Day. TIPS: My Morrisons is running a six-week scheme giving members a discount at the end of August if they have met spending targets.
PITFALLS: Shoppers have baulked at targets set by the summer scheme, with one asked to spend £60 weekly for four of six weeks to save £23.
SMARTPHONE NEEDED? No. Customers can receive a plastic card plus paper vouchers.
WHAT’S ON OFFER? My Waitrose offers a selection of personalised vouchers each week, including discounts on your frequently purchased items. For example, you might get £3.50 off steak, £2 off strawberries, and £1 off a loaf of bread. There’s also 20 pc off at the meat and cheese counters every day, and 20 pc off at the fish counter every Friday.
LESSER-KNOWN PERKS: Members get free copies of Waitrose food and drink magazines and 5 pc off dry cleaning and laundry in- store from Johnsons Cleaners.
TIPS: Check the app on Wednesdays, when offers are updated.
PITFALLS: No more free newspapers, while free coffees have been paused. Complaints about irrelevant offers, such as bald men offered discounts on hair masks and vegetarian women receiving chicken soup discounts.
SMARTPHONE NEEDED? No. Physical cards are available. Customers can access vouchers online, print them at home, request they are posted or have them printed in-store.
WHAT’S ON OFFER? Lidl Plus offers money- off coupons, with recent offers including 10 pc off strawberries and 30 pc off bakery goods.
You can unlock further vouchers when you reach spending targets during a month. In July you got a free in-store bakery item when you spent £50.
LESSER-KNOWN PERKS: Discounts and benefits from Lidl’s partners such as £150 off bookings with Loveholidays, 40 pc off cinema tickets with The Cinema Society and a £25 coupon for uSwitch broadband. TIPS: Shoppers can store digital receipts on the app.
PITFALLS: Activate offers on the app before buying them.
SMARTPHONE NEEDED? Yes.
WHAT’S ON OFFER?
Shoppers can save as much as they like on to Bonus cards instore, online or via the app. For each £20 added, £1 will be added to their balance. They get exclusive prices. A four-pack of Mars Chocolate Caramel Ice Cream Bars is £1.50, down from £2.25.
LESSER-KNOWN PERKS: Prize draws. Up until today, if you spent more than £30 in store with your Bonus Card you would be in with a chance to win more than 50,000 prizes, including £50 Sports Direct gift cards, £20 Primark vouchers and laptops worth up to £400. It’s not known when the next draw is.
TIPS: Look out for Bonus Card savings events with occasional £2 bonuses for every £20 added. PITFALLS: Bonus Cards expire 24 months after last being used. Remaining balance not retrievable.
SMARTPHONE NEEDED? No. Physical card available in stores. It needs to be registered online, but Iceland say staff will help with this.
WHAT’S ON OFFER? Register for Co- op membership for £1. You get 2p for every £ 1 spent on selected Co- op products and 40p for every £20 spent on branded food. The rewards go to your Co- op account for spending in- store. Choose two weekly personalised offers each week via the smartphone app.
LESSER-KNOWN PERKS: Members also get discounts on other Co- op services, such as £125 off a funeral plan, £2 off every £100 they spend when buying a will and 5 pc off life insurance. Until the end of the year, members who buy or renew their Co-op Car Insurance will get £50. TIPS: New offers on Mondays.
PITFALLS: There has been a lot of upset that the Co- op’s Food magazine — aimed at members — is being trialled as online-only for the next four issues.
SMARTPHONE NEEDED? No. If you don’t have a smartphone, sign up for membership by calling 0800 023 4708. You can get coupons and personalised offers from the till area.
WHAT’S ON OFFER? One Sparks card customer in every store gets their entire shopping basket for free each week.
There are new tailored Sparks offers on the app every week or so, from money off to free items, with recent offers including 20 pc off homeware, £1 off Count On Us meals, 50p off bagged salad or a free loaf of bread. LESSER-KNOWN PERKS: M&S food magazines, usually £2, are free for Sparks members.
TIPS: Spend £35 on clothing and homeware and get three months of free access to Sparks days out, giving you discounts on family trips, such as 50 pc off English Heritage day tickets.
PITFALLS: You might win a free shop — but it won’t make much difference if you are just buying a pint of milk. SMARTPHONE NEEDED? Yes, unless you have an old Sparks card. M&S moved to being a smartphone-based loyalty scheme two years ago.