Fantastic and worthy loyalty card scheme (Boots Advantage Card)

Member Name: cerys82

Product:	Boots Advantage Card
Date:	27/07/09 (43 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: generous, easy to clock up points

Disadvantages: none that I can think of

Boots Advantage Card

Boots are very proud of proclaiming this loyalty scheme as the most generous one in the UK. This certainly stands up, as the points value amounts to 4p in the pound compared to, say, Tesco's Clubcard which is generally 1p in the pound on an average purchase.

It is easy to apply for a card. There are generally lots of leaflets floating around the tills in-store by which you can register for one.

You can claim Advantage Card points on most products instore, and the items that you can pay for with your points has increased greatly since I started using the card when it first came out 10 or so years ago. It is easy to identify which products you can pay for with your points as their price label will generally be marked with a large asterisk. The only condition of paying with your points is that your points must cover the whole cost of the purchase.

On top of this you also get regular mailings from the Advantage Card team with vouchers. These are generally shaped around what you would normally buy anyway, and include point bonuses that may amount to 1 or 2 pounds when you buy certain products. Especially useful are the double points vouchers which come with them, which are either double points on any purchases (which generally can be used twice), or double points when you spend above a certain amount (in my partner's last mailing - he received both!). Careful planning can mean that you can be well and truly 'points in'. For example, we used our most recent ones for our summer supply of suncream and other summer necessities, which can easily be quite costly.

I love and buy quite a lot of skincare and cosmetics, and I do like to use some of the more expensive ranges such as Ruby & Millie and Benefit. These brands, and quite a few other of the higher end ones in Boots' larger stores, have bonus points available which can amount to up to five pounds worth of points, when you buy two or more of their products. Ranges such as No7 and Maxfactor may also do bonus points on purchasing some of their newly released products, particularly new mascaras and foundations I have found.

One thing which is especially good is that you can claim loyalty points on things such as topping up your Pay As You Go phone. This is highly recommended by Martin Lewis, money saving guru of TV and moneysavingexpert.com. Even if you spend £10 a month on topping up, that's a saving of a fiver a year on something which is a necessity anyway!

There are special Advantage Card machines instore, where you can enter your card. When you do this, you can opt to change some of your personal details, such as your contact information or to see what offers are available to you which are not advertised instore. These are split into categories and you can then view all additional offers available, with your card - these are generally bonus points on selected products. If you find any that are appropriate to you as you scan through you can have vouchers printed off which can be used at the till. This is a good thing to do if you have time as you may get a bonus on something that you were going to purchase on that visit anyway!

Another way of getting points which I believe has started relatively recently is use Boots to recycle mobile phones. To do this you need to pick up a special envelope from the shop which looks like a photo-developing one. You then need to enquire either by phone or online as to how many points your model of mobile phone will gain you. You can then choose to send it off to them and claim the points, or not as the case may be!

If you buy products from Boots.com, the process for collecting points is slightly different as the points don't just automatically go on your registered card. You have to go to the Advantage Card machines in-store, submit your card and then the points will be added.

Using your Advantage card you can also pick up free copies of the Boots instore magazine "Health and Beauty", which costs £1 without a card. As free magazines go this is fine, but as you would expect advertises Boots products quite heavily. However, this is some merit in the health and beauty advice given within it, and ultimately it's a free read!

Boots stores also used to hold special events where everything you purchase could award you double points. These generally used to be over bank holiday weekends, but I haven't come across any of these this year yet. However, I do see that they have been having similar events for baby products which I would imagine would be really useful to new or expectant parents with all the stuff that they have to buy.

In the past, I have also known larger Boots stores to give you 10 pounds worth of points if you spend something £50 on special late night shopping events these are generally during the summer or in the lead up to Christmas.

It is really very surprising how quickly you can accumulate a lot of points, especially when you consider the frequency that the average person buys things like shower gel, shampoo, vitamins and as I mentioned before, topping up your phone if you are Pay As You Go. However, I suppose this is a way of keeping the store competitive in an age where supermarkets are diversifying more into their area Also, Boots has so many stores that you don't have to go out of your way to make the most of this scheme.

Summary: Essential