Two types of Loyalty Card. Those that give and those that take.

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There are two types of Loyalty Card. Those that give and those that take.

The first type is the one those take were they will ask you to put money on the card for Christmas or for a rainy day. You lend your money to big business. You have to go back to them to buy things even if you find you can buy cheaper elsewhere. If they close down you lose your money.

I used to think that all loyalty cards were like that. I didn’t want anything to do with loyalty cards. I want the money in my bank account earning interest for me not in their bank earning interest for them.

Some loyalty cards can be a great, free and an easy way of saving money.

The ones that I regularly use are Morrison’s, Tesco, Costa, and Subway. I also have an Asda Credit Card that I use like a loyalty card.

I was introduced to proper loyalty cards somewhere about 5 or 6 years ago. I bought 3 coffees, one for my wife, one for my daughter, and one for myself. My daughter handed over her Costa loyalty card and I only had to pay for 2 cups. Because I am always looking to save money, this really made my day. 3 cups of coffee for the price of 2. I was pleased to say the least.

While we were drinking the coffee, my daughter explained that each time she bought a drink in Costa, points were added to her loyalty card. When she reached a certain number of points she could get a free drink.

Now I knew that there was a proper type of loyalty card. One where the business thanked you for going back. One where they appreciated your custom and gave you something in return. I was straight back to the till to get my first ever loyalty card.

Although in this article I am talking about cards, and my first card was a physical card, I now mostly use virtual cards in the form of apps on my smartphone.

It is important to remember that loyalty cards should be a bonus. Don’t shop there because you have a loyalty card. Shop there because it is the cheapest or because the quality is better and get the bonus as well.

Costa

The way that Costa loyalty card works is that for every £1 you spend, they give you 5 points. Every point is worth 1p so 5 points for each £1 means they give you 5% back to spend at a later date. There are some restrictions but they are not a problem. You can not go in next time and ask for your 5p off the next cup (well it will actually be over 10p because coffees cost more than £2). You have to save up your points until you have enough for a drink. The other restriction is that you have to register your card to spend the points. This is not a real problem either. Yes you have to give them your address and email address so that they can send you advertising material. But you don’t get inundated with junk mail. On the whole they do send you details of some very good, time limited, deals. They even give you 100 points just for registering (just under half a cup of coffee).

If you download the app, in some locations, you can even order on the app before you get there and so jump the queue. If you register a credit card you can even pay on the app.

Subway

Subway works similar to Costa but is better. For every £1 you spend you get 10 points. Each time you go they send you an email thanking you for your visit. In it they will remind you that if you return within 7 days you will receive double points on the second purchase.

100 points will get you a free drink. 200 points is a free side. 500 points is a free 6 inch sub. 1000 points is a free foot long sub.

Again you can order and pay on the app. Something Subway gives you that Costa doesn’t is a birthday present, usually only a cookie but much appreciated nonetheless.

Pizza Hut app

If you regularly visit Pizza Hut, the app is well worth downloading. For every £10 you spend, a slice is added to the rewards in the app. The more slices you have the bigger the reward. When you have collected 5 slices you can exchange them for a free side; 7 slices can be exchanged for a free medium pizza; and 10 slices can be exchanged for a free large Pizza.

Morrison’s More Card

The Morrison’s More Card started out as the Match & More Card. They guaranteed to match the price of any other major supermarket. They couldn’t cope with people wanting to match Aldi and Lidl prices so it became just the More card.

The More Card is still good, just not as good as the Match & More Card. You get 5 points for every £1 you spend online, in the shop, even in the cafe. You also get 5 points for every litre of fuel you buy. When you get to 5,000 points you get a five pound voucher.

Tesco Clubcard

The rewards for Tesco Clubcard is not as good as the Morrison’s equivalent. For every £1 you spend in-store and online you only get 1 point. For fuel it’s 1 point for every £2 you spend. Remember what I said before, shop where you get the best price or quality then use loyalty card as a bonus.

Boots Advantage Card

I do not shop in Boots that often, just usually for their good quality cheap Meal Deals so I do not have a physical Boots Advantage Card. My wife does so I downloaded the app put my wife’s details in and every time I get a Meal Deal my wife gets the points. I also got 200 points for registering the card on the app.

The Boots Advantage Card gives 4 points for every £1 spent. Every point is worth 1p. Just tell the cashier that you want to pay with points. You can not pay part of the bill with points. If your bill is £5 and you have 499 points you can not use the points. If you have 501 points then you can.

If you are aged over 60 remember to join Over 60s Rewards, then you will get 10 points for every £1 spent.

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