If you want to save money on your shopping, meals out, travel and more then it’s worth signing up to loyalty and rewards cards.
You may be wondering which are the best loyalty cards and apps you can sign up for in the UK, so this article is going to take you through dozens that offer genuine rewards.
As long as you are happy to share your contact details and shopping data, it’s well worth signing up to a loyalty scheme for a shop or brand you visit/purchase from regularly.
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Top 10 Loyalty & Reward Cards
Here are the top loyalty cards and apps that are worth signing up to.
| LOYALTY SCHEME | BEST FOR… |
|---|---|
| Nectar | Range of ways to collect points plus unlocks cheaper prices at Sainsbury’s |
| Tesco Clubcard | Range of ways to double your points with reward partners |
| Asda | Giving pounds not points |
| Co-Op Membership | Giving a greater rate of return in rewards on your shopping |
| Caffe Nero | Extra ways to save for coffee fans |
| Costa Club | Free drinks |
| Nando’s | Hot rewards on chicken |
| BPMe and Texaco Star Rewards | Rewards on your fuel (non-supermarket) |
| Boots Advantage Card | Beauty and family essentials rewards |
Best loyalty cards and apps
Let’s take a closer look at the greatest loyalty schemes and what kind of rewards you can earn.
Tesco Clubcard
With Tesco Clubcard you can collect reward points and save money on your shopping with Clubcard Prices.
Although the Clubcard Prices have come under fire from organisations such as Which?, it is not worth shopping at Tesco without your rewards card to unlock those special prices.
What do you get?
You earn one point for every £1 you spend. One Clubcard point is worth one penny.
- 1 Clubcard point = 1p
- 2 Clubcard points = 2p
- 100 Clubcard points = £1
- 200 Clubcard points = £2
- 500 Clubcard points = £5
- 1,000 Clubcard points = £10
- 2,500 Clubcard points = £25
- 5,000 Clubcard points = £50
You can also earn points with Tesco Mobile, Tesco Bank Credit Card, Tesco Pay+, Tesco surveys and when filling up at Esso petrol stations.
You can swap your points for a voucher once you reach 250 points. Your vouchers will expire, so make sure you use them!
You can use the vouchers to spend on food at Tesco or double the value of your points by spending them with certain Tesco Reward Partners.
So £25 worth of Clubcard points increases to £50 if you spend them with Reward Partners instead of in store or online at Tesco.
Deals change so check what’s available, but recent deals include redeeming your points towards tickets to Chessington World of Adventures.
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Nectar
Like with Tesco’s Clubcard, it’s not worth shopping at Sainsbury’s without a Nectar card as it unlocks Nectar Prices discounts on your groceries.
Plus you can earn Nectar points.
The Nectar scheme has more opportunities to collect Nectar points with other retailers, such as Argos, Expedia, B&Q and eBay, than Tesco.
Plus you get points for filling up your car at Esso garages.
But like Tesco, you can also spend the points with other retailers, you do not have to spend them in Sainsbury’s.
What do you get?
You can earn one point for every £1 you spend. One Nectar point is worth 0.5p, so it’s worth less than a Clubcard point.
- 1 Nectar point = 0.5p
- 2 Nectar points = 1p
- 100 Nectar points = 50p
- 200 Nectar points = £1
- 500 Nectar points = £2.50
- 1,000 Nectar points = £5
- 2,500 Nectar points = £12.50
- 5,000 Nectar points = £25
You can spend your Nectar points in Sainsbury’s or partner stores like Argos, eBay and Caffe Nero.
You can sometimes boost the value of your Nectar points by spending them with partner retailers, but you need to keep an eye out for special offers.
Asda Rewards
Asda is trying to set itself ahead of the pack for supermarket loyalty schemes by offering pounds not points for your custom.
Your Asda Rewards account will display a Cashpot which shows how much money you have earned to redeem in store.
What do you get?
Pounds not points.
You earn pounds by purchasing Star Products – you’ll get 10% of the value for each Star Product you buy.
The app also has opportunities to earn extra pounds by shopping a certain number of times over the course of a month.
myWaitrose
The myWaitrose scheme does not lead the pack in terms of perks.
However like with any other loyalty schemes, if you shop there then it’s worth having the card to unlock the offers.
What do you get?
You cannot earn points by using your myWaitrose card but you will get a few discounts on your shopping and freebies:
- Free Waitrose magazine
- Free hot drink from self-serve machines
- 20% off selected fish from the fish counter on a Friday
- 20% off selected meat from the counter every Saturday
- 5% off dry cleaning and laundry
Co-Op Membership
You need to pay to sign up to a Co-Op Membership card – it’s a £1 fee so it won’t break the bank.
The reason the Co-Op charges you a £1 is because you become a shareholder in the business by signing up.
In exchange you get access to exclusive offers and you can earn points.
What do you get?
For every £1 you spend with Co-Op you will receive 2p.
You can then redeem whatever money you have collected on your membership card in store at Co-Op. There are no options to redeem the money you earn elsewhere.
Morrisons More
The Morrisons chain recently relaunched its loyalty scheme with a rebrand to Morrisons More.
It’s not as generous as the Tesco or Sainsbury’s schemes, but if you shop with Morrisons or fill up at their fuel stations it’s well worth having a rewards card.
What do you get?
You can earn Morrisons More points by purchasing select items in store, as well as by filling up at Morrisons petrol stations.
You will get £5 for every 5,000 points you earn. This money can be redeemed in store on future purchases.
Lidl Plus
You won’t get a physical card with Lidl Plus, you need to download their app.
Once you’ve registered then you can access exclusive discounts on your shopping.
What do you get?
Shoppers can unlock coupons once they have hit spending targets set by Lidl Plus.
These include:
- Free in-store bakery item coupon when you spend £50 in a month.
- Free product coupon when your qualifying spend reaches £100 in a month.
- Free product coupon when your qualifying spend reaches £150 in a month.
- 10% off your next shop coupon when your qualifying spend reaches £250.
Iceland Bonus Card
This supermarket rewards card works a little differently to the others.
Rather than allowing you to earn points, you need to add cash to the Iceland Bonus Card. So you’ll need to preload the card with the amount of money you plan to spend in store.
You will receive £1 for every £20 you add to the Iceland Bonus Card.
The scheme also offers additional exclusive member discounts and offers.
Caffe Nero
Coffee fans can earn free drinks with Caffe Nero’s loyalty scheme.
When you buy a drink you will be given a stamp in your Caffe Nero app. Once you have nine stamps then your next drink is free.
There are other ways to get freebies with Caffe Nero. If you have a Nectar card then you can get a free hot drink of any size in exchange for 400 points.
And when you link your myWaitrose account to your Caffe Nero account you will be awarded with a free coffee.
Plus Compare the Market’s Meetkat app offers 25% off at Caffe Nero when you order through their app.
Costa Club
The Costa Club scheme works in a similar way to Nero, allowing you to earn a “bean” for every drink you buy from Costa.
Once you have eight beans you get a free drink.
And club members can get a free cake on their birthday.
Starbucks Card
The Starbucks rewards scheme is not as good as Costa and Caffe Nero.
For every £1 you spend you will receive three stars. When you reach 150 stars you get a free drink.
Beefeater Reward Club
You get 300 bonus points just for signing up to Beefeater’s loyalty scheme.
Then you get five points for every £1 you spend on qualifying food and drink purchases.
When you reach 500 points you can turn those into vouchers. 500 points is worth £5, a free bottle or wine or two starters or desserts.
Nando’s
Chicken fans can spice up the value of their cash with a Nando’s Rewards card.
Rewards are referred to as Chillis. You earn a Chilli every day you spend £7 or more on eat-in or takeaway with the Nando’s app or website.
The rewards get bigger as you earn more Chillis and you will get your first reward after just three Chillis. Rewards are specific food items from Nando’s, not cash.
BPMe
If you ever fill up at BP garages then it’s worth having the BPMe reward card. You earn £2.50 of points just for registering your card.
Then you collect points every time you spend. £1 spent is worth 1 point. 1,000 points are worth £5 – the threshold you need to reach to cashout.
You can swap your points for vouchers such as Amazon.
Texaco Star Rewards
The Texaco scheme will give you one point for every one litre of fuel you buy. Each point is worth 1p and you can redeem your points once you reach 500 (500 points are worth £5).
Those points can be used for money off your fuel or to purchase a Love2shop reward. With Love2shop you can get vouchers for shops such as Argos and Next.
Shell Go+
The Shell rewards card gets you 10% off hot drinks and food at Shell garages, plus you get money off your fuel on every 10th visit.
H&M Membership
Fashionistas can get money off their next shop at H&M with the popular brand’s membership card.
When you sign up you’ll be immediately rewarded with 10% off when you spend £20 or more.
Then use the card to collect 1 point for every £1 you spend.
You will receive vouchers worth £3 for every 100 points you collect. So you need to spend £100 to get £3 off.
Not the most generous of all loyalty schemes but it does offer 25% off your favourite item on your birthday.
Boots Advantage Card
Boots shoppers can earn 3 points for every £1 spent in store or online. And the shop holds occasional events that boost your point.
One point is worth 1p, so 1000 points are worth £10.
The Advantage Card also unlocks special prices in store and online on certain selected products.
Boots Advantage Card holders can sign up to the Boots Parenting Club which offers freebies and a bonus rate of 8 points per £1 spent on baby products.
Superdrug Health & Beauty Card
You will earn 1 points for every £1 you spend at Superdrug. Every 100 points is worth £1, so it’s the same value as Boots.
Other loyalty schemes worth checking out
Those are my top picks for the best loyalty schemes, but there are some more worth being aware of if you shop at these places.
- B&Q Club – When you sign up you get £5 off when you spend £30 or more. B&Q will send you further vouchers for shopping throughout the year when you scan your card at checkout.
- The Body Shop Love Your Body Club – Receive 10 points for every £1 spent and you’ll get a £5 voucher when you reach 500 points.
- Your Burger King App – Receive 200 points for signing up and exchange those for free food, such as a cheeseburger. Earn 10 points for every £1 spent, then exchange those for food. For example you get a regular fries in exchange for 150 points.
- Dobbies Club – The garden centre chain offers a free and paid-for membership costing £15 a year. The free membership gives you 1 point for every £1 spent in store.
- Greggs Rewards – Collect 9 stamps in your Greggs app and the 10th item will be free.
- Holland & Barrett Rewards for Life – Collect 4 points for every £1 spent.
- John Lewis – Receive personalised offers and special discounts.
- KFC Rewards Arcade – Play for freebies from KFC, but you are not guaranteed a win. You need to spend £3 or more in store to qualify to play for a reward. Then you will be invited to play a game in the app.
- Krispy Kreme Rewards – Earn 10 points (known as Smiles) for every £1 spent in store and online. 100 smiles is worth one doughnut.
- My McDonald’s App – Earn 1 point for every penny spent in McDonald’s. Once you reach 1500 points you can redeem your first reward – money off food in store.
- Pets at Home VIP – Get 10% off when you sign up.
- Pret Perks – You’ll need to pay a regular coffee subscription to be part of Pret Perks. You get up to five hot drinks a day and 20% off everything. The cost is £30, so only worth it if you visit Pret regularly.
- Subway Rewards – Earn 10 points on every 10p you spend. 100 points can be a redeemed for a regular hot drink.
- Waterstones Plus – The big downside to the Waterstones scheme is that while you will be able to collect points to earn some money off, you’ll have to pay Waterstones prices to do it. I often find I can get books far cheaper from elsewhere, such as online retailers. Earn a Plus Stamp for every £10 you spend. 10 stamps give you £10 to spend.
- YO! Rewards – Earn one stamp for every £10 spent at Yo!. You can then redeem these when you reach at least three stamps. Similar system to the Nando’s rewards scheme.
Loyalty scheme tips for boosting rewards
If you shop there, it’s worth having the reward card
Signing up to a rewards card or scheme for anywhere you shop regularly is a bit of a no-brainer.
They’re not all created equally, with some schemes offering far better perks or rewards on your cash than others.
It’s worth doing the maths on purchases before allowing a reward scheme to sway you on where you do your regular shopping.
If their prices are more overall – which you will find for example with BP and Shell garages when compared to many supermarket-based pumps – then it’s more worthwhile shopping at the cheaper shop or garage.
Check the app
When you signed up for a loyalty scheme it may have only offered a physical card, or you’ve only ever bothered with the card since signing up.
But many of the loyalty schemes now have their own app and sometimes these apps are a key to unlocking additional rewards and special offers.
For example Nectar has a Christmas bonus challenge you need to unlock in the app to take part in, enabling you to earn extra points. And it also offers an occasional Power Up offer to double the value of points.
So download the app and keep an eye out for extra rewards and offers!
Check for bonus offers
Many reward schemes have special offers occasionally that will either boost the value of your points or give you special discounts on specific items.
They will generally advertise these offers in their apps or on their social media.
However remember that it’s only a deal if you were going to buy the item on offer anyway. Do not allow the special offers to convince you to buy stuff that you do not actually need.
