How to save money by using supermarket loyalty cards

How many supermarket loyalty cards do you have? And do you use them?

There are so many different cards around that most of us have a whole collection without really using them. Whether they are physical or online cards, it’s easy to lose track of what you have got, and forget to use them. To the point where if you are offered yet another new card you’ll probably say no.

And does it really matter anyway? Are loyalty cards really worth bothering with?

Certainly if you go back a few years, the rewards on various loyalty cards sometimes didn’t seem particularly enticing. It felt as if you had to spend a lot of money before getting anything back at all. But things have changed, and loyalty cards are now a really good way to save money.

So in this article we explain the kind of benefits you can get from a loyalty card, and how to use different loyalty cards to save money. We will look at:

• What is a loyalty card?
• Four of the main supermarket loyalty cards.
• Five ways to save money using a loyalty card.

What is a loyalty card?

A loyalty card is part of a reward program operated by a store to encourage customers to shop there rather than elsewhere, and to buy more when they are in the store.

For every penny spent, loyalty card customers will receive either special prices on goods, points towards gift or shopping vouchers, or other exclusive deals.

Most loyalty cards are valid both in-store and online, and many supermarket loyalty cards extend to other products such as fuel, electrical items, mobile contracts and insurance as well as groceries.

Four of the main supermarket loyalty cards

Most retailers now offer some kind of loyalty card scheme. But how do they compare? Here are details of four of the main supermarket loyalty schemes:

Tesco Clubcard

Tesco Clubcard is one of the most popular loyalty cards. Its two main benefits are:

• Points towards shopping vouchers. Clubcard customers get one point for every £1 they spend on groceries at Tesco. Each Clubcard point is usually worth 1p, so 100 points would result in a £1 shopping voucher. Clubcard points can also be put towards deals with other companies such as Eurotunnel, Pizza Express, Alton Towers deals, often at more than the normal value of the points.
• Special Clubcard prices on many goods, which can be a significant way to save money on your food shopping.

Sainsbury’s Nectar card

Sainsbury’s Nectar loyalty scheme is one of the most far-reaching loyalty programs in the UK. As well as Sainsbury’s, it extends to a range of other retailers including Ebay, Argos, Asos, Sky and Esso. 

The two main benefits are similar to Tesco Clubcard:

• Points towards shopping vouchers. Nectar card customers get one point for every £1 they spend at Sainsbury’s or an associated Nectar company. Each point is worth 0.5p, so 200 points would result in a £1 shopping voucher. 
• Special Nectar card prices through Nectar Prices. There are also personalised deals based on customer’s previous shopping habits.

Asda Rewards

The Asda Rewards loyalty scheme is a little different from the rest, its mantra being “Earn pounds, not points”. Its three main features are:

• It is only available digitally, there is no plastic card. To use it you need to download the Asda Rewards app and scan this at the till. 
• Shoppers earn “Asda pounds” by buying specific products, known as Star or Superstar products. If you purchase any of these products you can receive 10% or more of the product’s price back in Asda pounds. Asda pounds are stored in your Asda cashpot and can then be converted to shopping vouchers for use in Asda stores or online. 
• Additional Asda pounds can be earned by completing missions such as buying a certain number of a specific item or spending over a certain amount on particular products or ranges. Missions change regularly and details appear in the Asda Rewards app.

ASDA Rewards does not apply to the George range of products but there is a separate George Rewards scheme for buying George products online.

Morrisons More card

The Morrisons More loyalty scheme is available as a card or app along similar lines to Tesco Clubcard and Sainsbury’s Nectar card. The two main benefits are:

• Points towards shopping vouchers. More card customers get one point for every £1 they spend in store, online, buying fuel or food at Morrisons’ Café. Each point is worth 1p, so 100 points would result in a £1 shopping voucher. 
• In September 2023, Morrisons also started offering More card users exclusive deals to save money – an estimated 30% – on the price of cupboard staples.

Five ways to save money using a loyalty card

We have seen that the major supermarkets all have a loyalty scheme, and it makes sense to use these schemes to save money on your food shopping. Here are five quick tips to help you do that:

• Sign up for loyalty cards for all the stores you regularly shop at. Every little helps, as they say.
• Always have your loyalty card with you. Whether you have a physical card or an app, make sure it is readily available when you go shopping. It’s easy to forget, and you then lose the points.
• Look out for special loyalty card prices, and use the opportunity to stock up on items that you use regularly. 
• Also look out for offers that give you more points than usual, for example triple points if you purchase a particular item. 
• Do your research as to other affiliated companies where you can either get loyalty points added to your card or you can use points towards purchases. This could help you to save money on a variety of other purchases such as electronic goods, theme parks, holidays, air miles etc.

We hope that the information in this article inspires you to start using loyalty cards to save money on your food shopping in 2024.

Do check back here soon for more financial and lifestyle tips from Loans 2 Go.