* Free Points! * (Boots Advantage Card)

Member Name: xd-o-n-z-x

Product:	Boots Advantage Card
Date:	22/08/09 (134 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Generous!

Disadvantages: Not Many!

What a wonderful little invention ; everytime you shop , you get something back , which you can spend whichever way you want. Now I know that there are many mixed views concerning this little card (more of which I will come to later on). However , first of all , let me explain exactly what this little card is all about.

The Boots Advantage card allows Boots' customers to 'get something back' in return for shopping at Boots , hence it's name , 'advantage Card'. In fact , this particular card is so good , it's considered the 'UK's most generous loyalty card' giving shoppers a big 4 points back for every £1 they spend in store. Each point you receive is worth 1p which you can use to 'buy' more goods from boots. So in other words , every £1 you spend , you get 4 points (4p). It doesn't sound that much, I mean what can you get for a few pence these days , but I can assure you , these points do mount up!

Now , I bet your wondering how can you get your hands on one these advantage cards. Well , quite easily actually. One of the ways you can get one is just by popping into your local Boots store and asking for one. The card is such a 'big' thing at Boots , that when you will be at the counter buying your goods , they will ask you if you have a card , and if not they will ask you if you would like one. They will then simply give you a 'form' to fill in , which will then need to be posted. Within a couple of weeks , you'll receive your very own Boots Advantage card with your name 'e.g Mr H Potter' (that was the first name that came to my head! hehe)(The card is the same size as a credit card which means it fits in your purse easily!) You will then be able to use your card whenever you shop at Boots.

I was never someone who shopped at Boots reguarly. It was only until recently that I've been shopping there! Now , I never go shopping without a visit to Boots , especially now I've got my advantage card!

Using your card is simple. Just go and do your shopping as normal , then at the counter , they will ask you if you have a Boots card. I think it's good that they ask you , because sometimes I forget about using my card until they tell me. They'll then insert your card into the 'chip and pin' card machine , and once your goods have been scanned , the computer will then 'count' how many points you've made. On your receipt it will also tell you , how many points you made and how many you now have in total on your card.

One good thing , is that if you happen to forget your Boots card , then they will 'keep' the points for you ; you then have 45 days to go back to Boots (with the receipt) and they will then put the points you earned last time on your card. Just make sure you tell them at the time that you havn't got your card with you as they put a little message on the receipt sayin you have points to add to your card. You must have your card with you to add the points.

There are also some wicked offers if you have a good look around in Boots. My favourite definately has to be the 'double' and 'triple' points offers , although these are only usually done around Christmas time. This means you can double your points and sometimes , triple them which I think is even better ; as this means you can get 12 points (12p ) for every £1 you spend in store. Boots also have a wide selection of gifts around Christmas time , so it's perfect.

I have heard many people say , 'I save my points all year around , and then when Christmas comes , I use my points to 'pay' for all my presents'. At first , I thought that this was a great idea , as we all know how expensive Christmas can be. But then I thought , in fact this is quite silly, because when you pay with your points , you aren't getting any points back , however if you pay with cash then you will be getting points back and a lot of the time around Christmas you will be able to get double/ triple the points , which means you are getting more for your money!

I have recently booked a two week cruise around the Mediteranean next year! (I'm so excited as I have never been on a cruise before!) , so beings as I've still got about nine months left before I go , I have decided to buy things that I normally buy , from Boots so that I will get lots of points , which I can then use to buy my holiday things , for example sun cream and sunglasses etc. This means that when the time comes , and I'll need the sun cream etc , then I can use my points to 'buy' them rather than go into the money which I will have saved up to use as my spending money. So that I can get loads of points , I've also decided to buy most of my Christmas presents from Boots so that I can take advantage of the double/triple points scheme.

Many people think that because Boots is so over-priced , the points you get in return for shopping there , are simply Boots giving you points for what you've already overspent. For example , say you bought shampoo for £2 in Boots , and you can get the same shampoo for £1 in the supermarket , Boots will give you the points , but you'd have saved a £1 if you'd have bought the shampoo from the supermarket. At first , I did question whether the advantage card was that good , when you can find products a lot cheaper in places such as supermarkets. However , I think you need to be crafty. I buy loads of magazines , women's ones , celebrity ones etc. Magazine prices are exactly the same whether you buy them in the supermarket or W H Smiths , because they have the price printed on them. Boots also sell magazines. So what I do is , buy all my magazines from Boots , because I can get 4p back for every £1 that I spend if I buy them there , whereas if I bought them from the supermarket or W H Smiths , I would be paying the same price for a magazine yet I wouldn't be getting anything back , which is where this is an advantage if you buy them in Boots. I think this card is an advantage if your clever about how you use it , you can make it work.

You can use your card when buying most things at Boots ; products which you can buy will have a * on the price ticket on the shelf. However , there are some products which you cannot use your card to buy. Such products include mobile phone top up and medications.

If you lose your card , all you have to do is phone them up and they will cancel your lost card and replace it with a new one , and transfer the points you had on your old card onto your new one , which I think is good!

I have heard that Boots store certain details on your card acount. For example , they have a look at what you buy so that they can send you offers etc on those products. I know some people who disagree with this and consider it to be an invasion of privacy. However , I have no problem with it all. I mean if they're going to send you offers through the post anyway , I'd much rather them be offers of things I'm actually interested in and buy reguarly rather than something that doesn't concern me , e.g men's aftershave. Having said that , I can't remember receiving any 'offers' through the post , so I wouldn't say they send you a lot of 'junk mail'.

Another thing I like about this card , is the fact that you can 'collect' points online , if your buying online as it means your not missing out on any points , just because your shopping at home rather than physically going to a shop. On the downside though , you can't 'spend' your points online. Talking of spending the points , you can only use your points to 'buy' a product(s) if you have enough points to cover the whole cost. You can't pay some cash and some points , you can only use one or the other.

Boots have a monthly (actually I think it might come out every 2 months ?) magazine all about health and beauty. The cost of this magazine is £1 , however if you have an advantage card its.....FREE!! yeah :) Bonus! I must say I do enjoy this magazine ; it covers a lot of the topics I find in magazines that I pay for , and it's free of charge! Hooray!

I use this card a lot as I shop in Boots a lot! I am hoping that by June next year I will have enough points on it to buy most of my holiday things! Wish me luck!

Thanks For Reading!
August 22nd 2009
xd-o-n-z-x

Summary: The BEST advantage card!