Best and worst supermarket loyalty schemes revealed including Lidl, Morrisons and Tesco
FROM Tesco to Lidl, we reveal how supermarket loyalty schemes compare and where you can make the most money.
It comes as Morrisons is rolling out a massive shake-up to its More loyalty card scheme from today.
At the moment, customers who are signed up to the Morrisons More programme can build up points which can be turned into vouchers.
These vouchers can then be used to get money off future shops at Morrisons.
But from today, customers will no longer be able to collect points - and will instead receive digital coupons.
Unhappy shoppers have been threatening to boycott the supermarket over as a result.
So to help you work out which supermarket scheme gives the best value for money, we've looked at how each one stacks up.
We've also weighed up how much you'd make from a £60 shop, based on the Office of National Statistics latest figures that show Brits spend on average £63.70 on their weekly shop.
Here’s what you need to know.
Iceland's Bonus Card
In 2012, Iceland launched its Bonus Card loyalty scheme.
Unlike other stores, it is a prepaid card which you load money on to and then spend in a store or on your online shop.
Each time you load £20 on to your card, you’ll receive £1 from Iceland.
It's unclear if there's a limit on how much you can load up and earn cashback on - we'll update this story as soon as we know more.
But once you have put money onto the card, you can't withdraw it and it can only be spent in Iceland.
Money saved onto the bonus card isn't protected by the Financial Service Compensation Scheme were Iceland to go bust.
But the supermarket has said other protections are in place - we've asked for more information on this and will update this story when we hear back.
Lidl Plus
Lidl launched a loyalty app in September last year, which shoppers can use to get discounts on groceries and more.
How it works is you scan your card as you shop in store (Lidl currently doesn’t offer an online shopping service), which sees you earn points.
Once you’ve earned a certain amount of points, Lidl will give you money off your shopping.
You'll get a £2 coupon when you spend £100 in store, or a £10 coupon when you spend £200 in store.
Each time you spend there's also a one in five chance of winning a prize with a digital scratchcard. Prizes range from 25p to £20 off your weekly shop.
You have seven days to use your coupons before they expire.
Morrisons More
Morrisons More was launched in 2016, which replaced its existing store loyalty card.
At the moment, shoppers get five points for every £1 spent in store, and a £5 voucher to spend at Morrisons for every 5,000 points accumulated.
But shoppers will no longer be able to collect points through the loyalty scheme from today, May 10.
Instead of getting points, shoppers will receive digital coupons that can be used for instant savings in stores.
So you won't be able to earn anything on your shopping, but you'll get "personalised offers" and coupons to get money off your groceries, Morrisons said.
Any points on your account after the changes to the scheme are made will remain valid until August 9, 2021.
M&S Sparks card
In July last year, M&S and now offers a rewards scheme for its shoppers.
Each time you shop at M&S in a store or online, you could get a reward.
As the Sparks card reward scheme is tailored to what each shopper buys, it’s tricky to predict what rewards everyone will receive.
Each week, 1,000 Sparks card customers will be picked at random to get their shopping for free under the scheme's perks.
M&S has said other rewards include:
- Giveaways worth “thousands of pounds” for customers to spend with M&S online or in store
- Smaller “thank yous and treats” such as free packs of Percy Pigs and Apothecary candles
MyWaitrose
In 2011, Waitrose launched its MyWaitrose loyalty scheme.
Like M&S’s Sparks card, you don’t collect points with the MyWaitrose card.
Instead you receive rewards when you spend money at Waitrose online or in store.
Some of the rewards include discounts on certain brands or free coffees.
On Fridays, MyWaitrose members get 20% off selected fish from the fish counter in store.
Sainsbury's Nectar Card
One of the longest-running loyalty card schemes, the Nectar Card was launched in 2002 after Sainsbury’s, Debenhams, BP and Barclaycard all combined their loyalty schemes under one brand.
Sainsbury’s then bought Nectar in 2018 and revamped the loyalty scheme in 2019.
Sainsbury’s customers receive a range of points-boosting offers based on their shopping habits every week.
Customers would be able to see the deals on the website or app each week, then collect the extra points if they buy the item in store or online.
How it works is shoppers earn points when they spend money at Sainsbury’s, Sainsbury’s petrol stations and also at other retailers such as Ebay and Dulux Decorator Centres.
To get one Nectar point you need to spend £1 in Sainsbury’s store, or you get one Nectar point for every litre of fuel purchased in Sainsbury’s fuel stations.
At most of Nectar’s online partner stores, you'll collect two points for each £1 you spend.
One Nectar Card point is then worth 0.5p, so you need 200 Nectar points to save £1 to spend.
Once you have enough points you can turn them into vouchers to buy your next food shop at Sainsbury's or to buy things such as plane tickets at Expedia, train tickets from Eurostar or cinema tickets for Vue cinemas.
Just bear in mind some retailers have a minimum threshold before you can turn points into vouchers; so at Ebay, for example, you need 500 points.
Tesco
Tesco’s Clubcard was launched in 1995 and, like Sainsbury’s, shoppers can earn points as they shop which can then be used to turn into vouchers for money off food or other partner schemes.
Each time you spend £1 in store and online, you get one point when you scan your card or app.
You also get one point for every £2 spent on fuel.
One point equals 1p, so 150 points gets you £1.50, for example.
You have to have a minimum of 150 points to request a voucher.
Once you have enough points, you can turn them into vouchers worth the face value to spend in store at Tesco, or you can triple their worth to spend at reward partners, including restaurants, and on days out.
You can request and receive vouchers within 24 hours on your Clubcard account online or on the Clubcard app.
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