Boots' major advantage (Boots Advantage Card)

Member Name: mrsgladwin

Product:	Boots Advantage Card
Date:	19/07/09 (199 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Easy to rack up points, especially with offers

Disadvantages: Cant redeem online or as part payment

Like most people I like a bit of something for nothing and the Boots Advantage Card is great for that. It's one of many loyalty cards out there but in my opinion, it's head and shoulders above the rest.

The Advantage Card is free to sign up for and this can be done either by getting a form in store or applying online. Every time you shop in Boots you simply hand the card in and your points are applied. For every £1 you spend you earn 4 points, and each point is worth 1p, so you're basically getting 4p back for every pound you spend. This is like getting a 4% discount, which is pretty great in my opinion. As far as I am aware this is the most generous reward offered for a free loyalty card.

Even if you are not a regular shopper at Boots it's still worth getting one of these cards for the odd time you do. The points don't get deleted over time and so you will gradually get points building up. As I work in a pharmacy I'm not exactly a regular at Boots as I can usually get products for cheaper from work, but despite this I have still racked up quite a lot of points over the years.

4p in a pound may not seem like a lot but it really will add up. As well as your basic 4 points per pound, there are also other ways to earn bonus points -

1) Extra offers kiosk

These tend to only be available in larger Boots store. They are really easy to use, pretty self explanatory when you follow the on screen instructions. On here they have special offers you can print out, some offering savings, others offering extra bonus points such as 150 extra points when you spend £15 in store, or 100 extra points when you buy a particular product.

2) Special offers in store

Occasionally Boots have in store campaigns offering extra bonus points when you buy certain products or spend a certain amount. For example at the moment they have 750 extra points when you buy any three items from the premium beauty ranges such as Lancôme, Clinique and Clarins.

3) Parenting club

I signed up to the parenting club when I was pregnant and have received a variety of money off and extra points vouchers through the post. They often have special offers where you can gain extra points when you buy any baby products such as nappies and wipes. The last one I had was for triple the points, meaning I was getting 12p per pound which soon adds up, especially on large purchases.

4) Vouchers through the post

When you sign up for the card you also receive special offers through the post including bonus point vouchers. These can also be found in the in store magazine which is free to Advantage card holders.

I personally made the most of these offers when I went in store yesterday. I bought a Clinique moisturiser, soap and clarifying lotion which came to £41 in total (also got a free gift that Clinique were offering with any two skin care purchases, whoop!) and went to get my Advantage Card out to claim my 750 points. I also had vouchers in my purse that had been sent to me through the post. The lovely Clinique lady had a look at them for me and used the 150 extra points one, and the one for double the points on any spend. I didn't think I'd be able to use them with the special offer but she put them through and gave me £16.50 worth of bonus points. Result!

Another good thing about this card is that you can still earn points if you have forgotten your card. Simply tell the cashier that you have forgotten it and they will activate your receipt meaning you can go back with your card to add them on. Similarly, this can be done by friends and family who don't have their own card, another little bonus! I think you have about 30 days after your original transaction to add the points to your card.

You can also earn points when you shop on Boots.com but rather annoyingly they are not automatically credited to your card. After shopping online you have to go to one of the special Advantage Card kiosks in store to get your points. It's very easy to do but a bit of a pain as it kind of defeats the point of the convenience of shopping online.

An added little bonus of the card comes when you buy a meal deal from Boots. The meal deals themselves are a good deal but for every 5 meals you buy within one calendar month you get an extra one free. This offer is only valid if you hand in your Advantage card

So, you've racked up some points, how do you spend them? It's really simple. Just go to the checkout as normal but state to the staff member that you wish to pay with your points. The points are then knocked off your card corresponding with the amount you have spent. Your receipt should then tell you how many points you have remaining.

The bad side is that you can't use your points as part payment; you must have enough points to cover the full amount as you can't make the difference up in cash. This seems a bit odd to me and extra annoying when you're only a few points off the full amount. You also can't use your points to pay for gift vouchers or phone cards and cannot redeem them online.

I personally think the Advantage Card is fab, a great little way of earning a bit of money to treat yourself. The trick is to be clever and get as many points as you can using the bonuses available. It's also important to not to get sucked into buying things from Boots just for the 4 points per pound, as the products may still work out cheaper elsewhere.

Summary: Best loyalty card there is