POT LUCK
Asda issues message to customers with Christmas cashpot warning as shoppers risk losing cash rewards
Scroll to find a crucial deadline
ASDA has issued a warning to customers using its Christmas cashpots to save this festive season as they may be at risk losing cash rewards.
The Christmas Saver Cashpot feature allows customers to save money for spending over the Christmas period.
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While many shoppers have been accumulating rewards via the supermarket giant's app, the deadline for spending these rewards is fast approaching.
Cashpots work by allowing customers to convert savings into vouchers that can be redeemed online or in store.
Normally, any value within the cashpot that has not been converted to a voucher expires after six months.
However, when it comes to the Christmas Cashpots, there's a hard deadline of December 31 - by this point, customers need to have both converted and spent their cashpot savings.
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In an email, the Asda Rewards team informed its customers that their cashpot "pounds" could be redeemed from now - and urged them to act quickly.
It clarified that online orders will also need to be placed before December 31 - and not changed after that date.
The email added: "Your Christmas Saver is now available to spend.
"You can convert your Christmas Saver Cashpot into a Voucher(s) and scan on your Christmas shopping.
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"If you're shopping online, a converted voucher will automatically be taken off – so make sure you only convert it when you need it.
"Your Voucher can be used at the same time as a regular Cashpot Voucher."
"Your Christmas Cashpot Savings will expire at 11.59pm on 31/12/2024.
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"Online orders must be placed before 31/12/2024 and not amended after this date."
How do Asda cashpots work?
Asda cashpots work by accumulating "pounds rather than points".
Customers can earn these pounds by buying particular items in store and online - or by completing "missions".
These can then be converted into vouchers to spend at Asda.
Pounds not converted to vouchers will expire after six months of being accrued - with no way of extending this deadline.
Vouchers are automatically applied to your next online shop.
Or, if you're shopping in-store, you can scan the voucher at checkout to redeem it.
You have 90 days to spend the voucher after it has been generated.
More supermarket Christmas saving schemes
Iceland’s "Bonus Pounds" scheme isn’t technically a Christmas saver - but you could use it as one.
The supermarket will give you a £1 bonus for every £20 you top-up, which works out as a 5% return.
There’s no limit to the amount you can save and spend on the card throughout a year, but the most you can have loaded at any one time is £1,000 including bonuses.
If you managed to save £20 a week, you’d have £52 in free cash over the course of 12 months.
If you’re topping up whilst at the shop, just let the cashier know how much you want to add and they will load it to your card.
The Morrisons Christmas saver scheme pays you a bonus for any money you save. To get the extra cash, you need to have the savings in your account on October 31.
The more you have saved, the higher the reward amount – and the rate of return improves too. For instance, you get £1 if you have £49 saved, which works out as a 2% increase. But if you save £109, you get £6, which works out at 3%.
The rate of return is lower than you’ll get in many savings accounts, so it makes sense to save elsewhere and transfer the cash in before the deadline to get the rewards.
The different reward levels are:
- £49 = £1 total bonus
- £97 = £3 total bonus
- £149 = £4 total bonus
- £197 = £6 total bonus
You can continue to save after reaching £197 however you will not receive any further bonus cash from Morrisons.
The cut-off point to buy stamps is October 31. If you buy Christmas Saver stamps after this point, they will go towards your Christmas 2025 balance.
The total saved and bonus added is then converted into a voucher that you can use to shop use in-store or online.
Sainsbury’s pays its Christmas Club members a 5% bonus on any savings made up until 23:59 on November 1st.
You get £2.50 for each £50 you save, however, the maximum bonus you can be paid in a year is £25.
That means if you put more than £500 on the card, your rate of return gets significantly less competitive. However, you can load any amount from £1 to £1,975.
The Sainsbury’s Christmas Club card can be activated and reloaded at a Sainsbury's in-store checkout and self-service till only - it cannot be activated or reloaded at an Argos till.
But the money can then be used at Sainsbury's in-store, Argos in-store, Sainsburys.co.uk and Argos.co.uk.
The full list of bonus levels are:
- £0.00 - £49.99 - £0 bonus
- £50 - £99.99 - £2.50 bonus
- £100 - £149.99 - £5 bonus
- £150 - £199.99 - £7.50 bonus
- £200 - £249.99 - £10 bonus
- £250 – £299.99 - £12.50 bonus
- £300 - £349.99 - £15 bonus
- £350 - £399.99 - £17.50 bonus
- £400 - £449.99 - £20 bonus
- £450-£499.99 - £22.50 bonus
- £500 and over - £25 bonus
To redeem your savings, present your Christmas Club Card at the checkout.
Tesco’s Clubcard Christmas Saver lets customers earn a bonus worth up to £12 for their savings.
To get the full amount, you need to save at £200, which works out as return of 6%. The maximum you can save is £360, but the rate of return will be lower.
The full list of reward levels are:
- Top up your savings over £25 and get a £1.50 bonus voucher
- Top up your savings over £50 and get a £3 bonus voucher
- Top up your savings over £100 and get a £6 bonus voucher
- Top up your savings over £200 and get a £12 bonus voucher
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In November, Tesco sends customers vouchers for the value of what they save – including any bonuses, which they can spend over the Christmas period.
You can spend your Clubcard, top-up and bonus vouchers in-store, online and in the Tesco Grocery & Clubcard app. You can also spend them on fuel at a Tesco petrol filling station or Esso sites with a Tesco Express.
How to save at Asda
Shop the budget range
Savvy shopper Eilish Stout-Cairns recommends that shoppers grab items from Asda's Just Essentials range.
She said: "Asda's budget range is easy to spot as it's bright yellow! Keep your eyes peeled for yellow and you'll find their Just Essentials range.
"It's great value and I've found it has a much wider selection of budget items compared to other supermarkets.
Sign up to Asda Rewards
The savvy-saver also presses on the importance of signing up to Asda's reward scheme.
She said: "Asda Rewards is free to join and if you shop at Asda you should absolutely sign up.
"As an Asda Rewards member, you'll get exclusive discounts and offers, and you’ll also be able to earn 10% cashback on Star Products.
"This will go straight into your cashpot, and once you've earned at least £1, you can transfer the money in your cashpot into ASDA vouchers.
We've previously rounded up the best supermarket loyalty schemes - including the ones that will save you the most money.
Look out for booze deals
Eilish always suggests that shoppers looking to buy booze look out for bargain deals.
She said: "Asda often has an alcohol offer on: buy six bottles and save 25%.
"The offer includes selected bottles with red, white and rose options, as well as prosecco. There are usually lots of popular bottles included, for example, Oyster Bay Hawkes Bay Merlot, Oyster Bay Hawkes Bay Merlot and Freixenet Prosecco D.O.C.
"Obviously, the more expensive the bottles you choose, the more you save."
Join Facebook groups
The savvy saver also recommends that fans of Asda join Facebook groups to keep in the know about the latest bargains in-store.
Eilish said: "I recommend joining the Latest Deals Facebook Group to find out about the latest deals and new launches in store.
"Every day, more than 250,000 deal hunters share their latest bargain finds and new releases.
"For example, recently a member shared a picture of Asda's new Barbie range spotted in store.
"Another member shared the bargain outdoor plants she picked up, including roses for 47p, blackcurrant bushes for 14p and topiary trees for 14p."
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