They take with one hand, but give with the other (Sainsbury's Reward Card)

Member Name: Boriski

Product:	Sainsbury's Reward Card
Date:	06/09/01 (216 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: No real cost, easy to obtain vouchers

Disadvantages: Could do to get a few more companies on board especially high street outlets since Burton group offer was recinded

Sainsbury's rewards points are an excellent promotion for several reasons. Firstly you really can amass a reasonable amount of points in a very short period. Under normal conditions you only get 2 points for every pound you spend but as a result of the large number of products they have points offers on, you usually leave the supermarket with a much larger tally.

One of the best things is the fact that the sort of products they put points on are often exactly the sort of products you would normally buy. Many schemes use such incentives to shift poor sellers or just things you wouldn't normally consider bu Sainsburys reward scheme incorporates many well known brands on a weekly rotation. Best of all, quite often they tie the points schemes in with BOGOF or 2for1 offers so the customer gets to benefit twice!

Once you have collected 500 points you can collect a voucher from the checkout which can either be redeemed against the shopping (it is worth £2.50, not a lot but it all adds up!) you have just bought or saved for later shopping or for many other uses listed in just a minutes. This saves you having to send away to receive the vouchers which in my experience can take weeks and it also means that you don't have to keep track. If you are keeping an eye however it is easy to know how many points you have collected, as every time you use your card it is printed at the bottom of your till receipt. This is the only way of utilising your points however, denominations of less than 500 points are not useable until you can get a voucher. (bit like Ciao really)

The 500 points vouchers do not have to be redeemed at Sainsbury's;

- Each Voucher is worth 40 Air Miles. Given how many credit cards and other offers can also be redeemed in this way collating them all together could get you quite a few of these. To exchange in this way the airmiles website can help you.

- For each voucher you can get a free rental from
Blockbuster Video (or xtra-vision in northern ireland)

- Each Voucher gets you a fiver off two! adult meals at TGI Fridays, Brewsters, Beefeater or Brewers fayre or 2 Fish and chips for one at a Harry Ramsdens restaurant.

- For those of you in the south or indeed anyone going on holiday there a reward voucher is worth a fiver off a ferry trip to the Isle of Wight (provided it costs £30+)

- You can denote £2.50 to charity via the Voucher. The charities included are the NSPCC and the Blue Cross.

There tend to be new things all the time and plenty of leaflets about in the stores so it's worth keeping an eye out.

All in all I recommend this promotion because you get your vouchers without hastle (I save mine up each year for a big Xmas shop) and although they have an expiry date it is usually a pretty long one so it is not too inconveniancing. It is really easy to sign out as you just pick up a form from customer services and then hand it back filled in either then or later. Bottom Line you are getting money off or cheap stuff merely for doing your food shopping. A necessary evil with a little reward :)

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