Is your loyalty card worth it? You need to spend a whopping £100 in Beefeater to get just FIVE crispy chicken wings worth £4.99
LOYALTY cards are supposed to reward the most faithful customers and encourage them to keep coming back to their favourite restaurants.
Nine out of ten Brits have at least one reward card and most of us will have two or three.
So how much are YOU really forking out for a freebie? We looked at eight different restaurants to compare their offers...
Beefeater: Spend £100 for a plate of chicken wings worth £4.99
Diners must spend £100 to get 500 points and qualify for a £5 voucher at family-friendly grill chain Beefeater.
This is the equivalent of a plate of five crispy chicken wings - worth £4.99 - or nearly 20 times the value of the complimentary item.
The chain claims that customers can upgrade points to get a voucher to exchange for a bottle of wine or two puddings but it's not clear if they have to spend extra.
The value of the bottle of wine and the puddings are also not known.
Also, you can't use these vouchers at Beefeater's Bar + Block - the restaurant’s posher food outlet.
But loyalty card users do get a £10 voucher for a free birthday meal every year.
Subway: Spend £100 to get a free six-inch sub worth £5.50
High-street chain Subway offers a similar deal to Beefeater.
Loyal customers get 10 point for every £1 spent, but they'll need an enormous 1,000 points for a regular sandwich.
In practice, it means you would have to spend £100 to get your regular free sandwich worth £5.50.
Toby Carvery: Spend £99.99 for a Sunday roast
Toby Carvery's tasty rewards give you one stamp for per main meal.
Children's meal and breakfast are not included and just one stamp per account can be claimed each day.
Based on a £9.99 Sunday carvery roast, this would mean customers would have to fork out nearly £100 to get their freebie.
As a consolation prize though, you'll get a free pudding just for downloading their tasty rewards app.
Papa John's: Spend £48 for a giant chocolate chip cookie or £100 for a free large pizza
Papa John's rewards will give you 1 point for every £4 you spend and 25 points nabs you a free large pizza.
This means you would need to spend a staggering £100 on a pizza.
Once again you would need less points for sides or desserts as Papa John's allows you to get ten jalapeno peppers for 8 points - the equivalent of spending £32 - or a giant chocolate chip cookie for 12 points, which requires a £48 spend.
Your points are valid for just three months from your last orders. This means that if you want to make them count you'll need to keep ordering from the restaurant on a regular basis.
Pizza Hut: Spend £60 for a free pizza
At Pizza Hut – where you get 1 point for every £10 spent – customers have to shell out £60 for a pizza or a mac'n'cheese.
For 3 points or £30 you'll be able to get one side - such as fries or garlic bread - usually worth between £3.25 to £4.75.
KFC: Spend £32 to get £5 off your meal
KFC’s Colonel’s Club offers free food and exclusive deals to its members.
the good news is that you get three stamps just for registering - an automatic free side - and you then earn one stamp after spending £3 on food and drink and a maximum of two per day if you splash out £15 in a single transaction.
Seven stamps bag you a free snack and 11 - worth £33 - gets you £5 off your KFC meal.. This is the equivalent of a entire main such as a burger or a burrito.
Nando's: Spend £70 for a whole chicken
Nando's loyalty scheme is based on collecting "chillis" each time that you visit.
Depending on how much chicken you really want to eat, 3 points - equivalent to £9 - will get a quarter of a chicken or a firestarter, while 6 points (£21) will give you a half chicken or any single wrap, burger or pita.
Of course, if you want the whole chicken or single combo meal with a regular side, you'll still need to shell out about £70.
Again it will very much depends on how much you like Nando's but if you are a peri-peri fan and visit the restaurant several times a week, the deal might be worth it.
What do the restaurants say?
A spokesperson for Beefeater confirmed a £100 spends would convert to 500 points with 5 points given to every £1 spent.
She added: “Customers are also able to redeem their points so they receive food or drink to a greater value than £5. For example they can convert 500 points for 2 free desserts and they can also convert 500 points for a bottle of wine.
A spokesperson for Subway said Subcard members collect points every time they make a purchase and earn double points when they visit at least once a week, which equates to 20 points for every £1 spent.
There are also additional benefits to being a Subcard member including receiving a free cookie on your birthday, surprise and seasonal bonus points offers as well as being the first to hear about new product launches and members-only benefits and competitions.
What you need to know before signing up to a reward scheme
HERE's what you should remember before signing up for a reward scheme.
- By signing up for a loyalty card, a retailer will get a lot of information about you and your shopping habits. The data might be shared within its group of companies to target you with offers and advertising.
- If a firm goes bust, you will lose your points, which have no cash value. Hoarding points also means you risk losing them if a retailer or restaurant shuts your account after a long period of inaction.
- Read the terms and conditions carefullly some retailers and restaurant will have expiration dates on certain offers (for example you might have limited amount of time to spend your extra points).
- Don’t choose where to shop or where to eat based on a store’s loyalty scheme. If there is a particular item you want, shop around rather than head straight for the retailer where you have a loyalty card. In a restaurant check some of the special deals or menus - they might be better value than the loyalty scheme.
- Beware of spending more simply because you have a loyalty card and don’t buy something just for any bonus points there may be.
A spokesperson for Toby Carvery said the restaurant aims to reward its regular customers with savings from their first meal, so when customers first download the Toby Carvery app, they'll receive 33 per cent off when they spend £15 or more. Guests will also receive a 25 per cent off voucher for use on another visit, valid until Friday 22 September.
"Our app brings our offers together in a digital promotions wallet called "Toby’s Treats", which provides frequent special offers to be redeemed on future visits. The Toby app also features a digital stamp card "Rewards for Roast Lovers" designed to reward customers with a pudding midway through their stamp card completion and with a main meal at the end, while enjoying our all day carvery, which is available Monday to Saturday from just £5.99.”
Papa John's confirmed customers would need to spend £100 to get a free pizza.
We contact Pizza Hut but they have declined to comment.
FINGER LICKIN' FREEBIE This is how you can get free KFC fries every Friday until November
Hannah Maundrell, editor-in-chief of money.co.uk told the Sun Online: “Loyalty schemes can trick us into thinking we are getting a good deal, however if you if you spend an extra £20 to get £5 worth of points you are wasting a lot of money.”
She pointed out that many restaurants have set deals which can work out to be cheaper than the actual rewards. Compare prices before thinking you’re making a saving.
She said: “These are a nice extra if you eat somewhere regularly anyway. The big thing is making sure you cash these points in rather than forgetting about them.
If you want to de-clutter your purse, there's a free app that will store all of your loyalty cards in one place.
Whether you have a Tesco Clubcard, Sainsbury's Nectar card, Costa Coffee Club card or myWaitrose card, the app will hold them all in a virtual wallet.
One of the UK's most popular loyalty schemes is Sainsbury’s Nectar card, which lets customers earn and spend points at over 500 brands.
Here's where to find which stores you can spend your points in and any current Nectar point deals.
More about the latest meal deals and freebies
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