Get MORE bean for your buck!
. . . and why it takes at least £55 to claim ONE free coffee on Costa’s loyalty scheme
HIGH streets today are full of coffee shops, and almost every one has a loyalty scheme.
But while some entitle you to a free cappuccino after spending just £7, others require you to fork out at least £55. Here, we look at what’s on offer at some popular coffee spots.
CAFFE NERO
HOW DOES IT WORK? You get a stamp every time you buy a coffee. Nine stamps will earn you a tenth drink
for free. For example, if you buy nine medium cappuccinos at a total cost of £23.85, you can have a free drink worth up to £3.95.
WHAT ELSE SHOULD I KNOW? You will get a bonus stamp if you bring in your own reusable cup. Customers with the Caffe Nero mobile phone app get four bonus stamps if they make four transactions in the first week.
If you do both and buy the cheapest drink, an espresso, at £1.80, you could get a free beverage after only a £7.20 spend.
O2 Priority customers can often claim a free drink each week. There are 665 Caffe Neros in the UK.
COSTA
HOW DOES IT WORK? You can activate a plastic card in store or download the app.
Costa Coffee Club awards customers five points (worth 5p) for every £1 they spend in store. But you only gain the points for every full £1, so a bill of £5.50 (e.g. two medium, or ‘medio’, cappuccinos, at £2.75 each) would amount to just 25 points (25p).
You would have to spend at least £55 to qualify for a free medium cappuccino — or £77 if you were buying just one £2.75 cappuccino per transaction. WHAT ELSE SHOULD I KNOW? App users can collect points on coffees bought from Costa Express machines. There are more than 2,400 Costa stores across the UK and Ireland.
COFFEE#1
HOW DOES IT WORK? Once you’ve registered your card online, you can collect a virtual stamp for every drink you buy. To get one for free, you need to buy ten. Ten regular cappuccinos will set you back £25.50. WHAT ELSE SHOULD I KNOW? You can collect points for any drink, except bottled beverages and baby drinks. If you are not online, baristas may be able to register cards through the till, or call 029 2040 2068. There are 91 Coffee#1 stores in the UK.
COFFEE REPUBLIC
HOW DOES IT WORK? You receive a stamp every time you buy a hot drink and need nine stamps for a free one. Nine regular cappuccinos would cost £23.40. WHAT ELSE SHOULD I KNOW? The chain offers only paper cards. You may still be charged for extras, such as cream or marshmallows, even if the drink itself is free. There are 23 Coffee Republics in the UK.
GREGGS
HOW DOES IT WORK? With the Greggs coffee collector card and the bakery chain’s Rewards mobile phone app, you will receive a stamp when you buy a hot drink of any size. You need seven to get a free beverage.
At £1, a cup of tea is the cheapest drink, but prices may vary in different branches. If you bought seven regular cappuccinos, you would spend £13.30.
WHAT ELSE SHOULD I KNOW? If you download the Greggs Rewards mobile phone app you will receive a free cake on your birthday. There are 1,950 Greggs stores across the UK.
McDONALD’S
HOW DOES IT WORK? All regular or large hot drinks come with a McCafe loyalty card and sticker attached to the outside of the cup. When you have six stickers, you get a free drink.
If you download the mobile app and register a debit card to pay for drinks, you’ll get a virtual stamp. Six regular cappuccinos would cost £11.34. WHAT ELSE SHOULD I KNOW? You can fill your paper card and use the mobile app at the same time. So you could get two free drinks after buying six. There are 1,300 of the restaurants in the UK and Ireland.
STARBUCKS
HOW DOES IT WORK? You can ask a barista in store for a My Starbucks Reward card or download a digital one through the Starbucks app. You need to preload at least £5 on to your card to get to the Green level of the rewards programme.
You then receive one star for every transaction. This means that if you paid for three drinks in one transaction, you would only get one star. You need to collect 15 stars to get a free drink.
In one Starbucks Money Mail visited, a grande cappuccino was £3.15. So 15 would cost you £47.25. WHAT ELSE SHOULD I KNOW? Reward accounts are upgraded to the Gold level once you make 50 transactions within a 12month period. Gold-level members’ benefits include free syrups and extra shots of espresso. There are around 355 Starbucks cafes in the UK.
WATERSTONES
HOW DOES IT WORK? You receive a stamp with every hot drink, and can receive a free drink after collecting nine stamps.
A cappuccino costs £2.50. If you buy nine cappuccinos you can complete your card for £22.50. You can claim a further 50p discount per drink for using a reusable cup. WHAT ELSE SHOULD I KNOW? The loyalty scheme does not have a mobile app. There are 76 cafes in Waterstones stores across the UK.