The 'advantages' of being loyal... (Boots Advantage Card)

Member Name: louiseypees

Product:	Boots Advantage Card
Date:	04/08/02 (999 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Free stuff!, Easy to collect points, Easy to redeem points

Disadvantages: Not signature protected

I'm one of those people who has a loyalty card for absolutely everything. I'm a total non-believer in store cards (don't even get me *started* on what topshop has done to my friends with their cards!), but give me a loyalty card and I'm sold. I'm the kind of person who has a selection of starbucks' frappuccino loyalty cards... and lives in a town without a starbucks - you get the idea. So it will come as no surprise to you that my purse contains a boots advantage card. I've had the thing for years, but always used to forget to take it with me when I was shopping, or forget to get it out at the checkout when buying really expensive items, and so I never seemed to have enough points to get anything back. Recently, however, my attitude to my advantage card has changed. I've started buying all of my toiletries from boots, getting the points on my card, and have become the model "loyal customer". So how does the advantage card encourage us to be loyal to the high street giant that is BOOTS?

For a start, the advantage card gives you a huge amount back on everything you spend. In general, you get 4 points for every £1 you spend in boots (apart from money spent on prescriptions, medicines and a few other exceptions), and with 1 point being worth 1p, it doesn't take a genius to work out that you're actually getting 4% back on everything you spend.

Boots are a great company for special offers, which helps their advantage card program greatly. Recently, I fancied treating myself to some of that fancy barefoot doctor stuff. I got two items, costing £6 each (so that would be £12 in total...) and I got 400 extra advantage card points - that's the equivalent of a third off of my purchase! Now, for me, this was altogether more appealing than a 3 for the price of 2 offer, as I didn't actually *want* more than 2 items on that day. Instead, I got £4 to put towards something I really did want. I tend to find th
is quite often in Boots stores - they always seem to have bonus points offers! Another thing Boots do on quite a regular basis is have a weekend where they give you double points, or even 10 points for every £1 spent. All of these special offers mean that it's actually quite easy to gain points (hehe...).

Spending advantage card points is also remarkably easy. There is no sending off for vouchers, or hours waiting at the till while the checkout girl sits looking distinctly worried at the prospect of giving you what is essentially something for nothing. All you have to do to redeem your points is choose something you can afford with the points you have, take it to the till, hand it over with your advantage card and ask to pay for it with your points. It takes less time than paying with real money, in fact, as there is no frantic stuffing-money-into-purse-really-quickly-so-as-not -to-hold-up-already-irritated-pe ople-behind-you action.

Well I suppose you're all thinking "so what are the disadvantages to this seemingly well-titled 'advantage card'?" Well, firstly, you need it with you *every* time you're in boots - they used to be able to put the points on your account at a later date if you kept your receipt, but I have been told that this has been stopped. Secondly, they do take a while to actually send you the thing. You have to apply for it by post and it does tend to take its time. Thirdly, if someone else takes your card and decides to use it for their own purposes, they can easily use your points and you have no way of getting them back. The card, despite the fact it has a signature space on the back, does not require the user to sign for the purchases.

All in all, however, the 'advantages' far outweigh the disadvantages, and Boots provide one of the best loyalty schemes around - yay! (And I can vouch for this personally - today Boots treated me to a benefit "bad gal" eyeliner!!)

T
hanks for the read!

Louise
xx

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