We’ve all seen supermarkets offering discounts to members of their loyalty schemes – Tesco Clubcard and Sainsbury’s Nectar to name but two.
But not all rewards cards are created equal, and they don’t always end up saving you money on your shop.
Take the Clubcard, for example. To celebrate its 30th anniversary, Tesco is doubling the value of its vouchers when exchanged at over 100 different Reward Partners, which sounds like a great deal.
Since a point has a standard valuation of 1p, it effectively means you’ll get 2p per £1 spent, so 2% back. Say you’re spending £400 this month on groceries, that’s a total of £8 if you spend at the likes of Pizza Express, Cineworld, or Hotels.com – £4 more than normal.
This beats the equivalent loyalty and points offerings at the other supermarkets. But I don’t think this promotion, or any loyalty scheme, can justify switching supermarkets.
Instead you’re better off focusing on price when choosing where to shop.
When consumer groups such as Which? track prices across the big chains, they often find discounters such as Aldi and Lidl around £10 cheaper than Tesco on smaller baskets, while Asda and Morrisons are potentially £20 to £30 less on bigger trolleys.
That’s much more of a saving than getting the usual Clubcard points, let alone when they’re doubled.
Since these comparisons are looking at a set list of products, your own shopping needs will offer up different price variations, and indeed Tesco (or one of the others) could still work out the cheapest for you.
What the research really highlights though, is that while points are a nice extra, the key driver to reducing your spend is the actual price.
UK supermarket loyalty schemes at a glance
Every scheme is different, with only a handful offering points. Most offer extra savings via the app, so make sure you check these before heading out to shop.
Here are the key benefits each supermarket offers it members:
Asda Rewards
Variable cashback on selected products and ‘missions’
Co-op Member
Coupons in app and member prices
Iceland Bonus Card
£1 back for every £20 you load onto your card and member prices
Lidl Plus
Coupons in app
M&S Sparks
Coupons in app and the chance to win your shop
Morrisons More
Points on selected products and member prices
Sainsbury’s Nectar
One point per £1 spent with extra points available on selected products via app and member prices
Tesco Clubcard
One point per £1 spent and member prices
MyWaitrose
Coupons in app and free hot drink
There are a few tools to help you work out whether you can get your groceries for less elsewhere.
Comparison sites Trolley.co.uk and Supermarket Wizard are good ways to see if the items you buy cost less at alternative shops, and are particularly useful when looking for pricier items on promotion.
You can also get better discounts than loyalty scheme offerings by using cut-price gift cards (available from sites like Cardyard) at the checkout. And you’re generally looking at 2% to 4% cashback on your spend via sites such as HyperJar and JamDoughnut.
Better still, you can use these alongside your Clubcard, Nectar and other cards to stack the offers.
However, something that does make loyalty cards an essential part of your shop is being able to take advantage of exclusive prices for members.
Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Morrisons and Iceland all offer this, while Co-op joined them by ditching 2% back on own-brand items in favour of similar price cuts.
In many cases these have replaced special offers for all, and mean if you don’t have a card – or if you have one but don’t swipe it – you’ll miss out.
This can be a pain if you are mixing and matching the supermarkets you visit. But to make life easier, you can add most loyalty cards to your phone’s digital wallet or an app such as Stocard, so there’s no need to carry them all in your real wallet or purse, or on your keyring.
Follow Andy – an award-winning blogger and podcaster from Be Clever With Your Cash – on Instagram and YouTube via @becleverwithyourcash.
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