Tesco Clubcard (Tesco Clubcard)

Member Name: HairyGodmother

Product:	Tesco Clubcard
Date:	26/06/07 (405 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Unlimited Earning Potential, Fantastic Offers and freshing outlook

Disadvantages: none

TESCO CLUBCARD


I am not a big fan of loyalty schemes, often they appear to be too good to be true, or you reap little reward for spending a lot of money. I have found that Tesco’s clubcard is different however. I first got my clubcard around 6 years ago and I reckon I have got back at least £200 in rewards since then. Not a lot for 6 years work, but in essence the vouchers always arrive at the right time of the month for me (just before payday when I’m skint) and they always come in very handy.



THE CARD ITSELF


The clubcard has advanced a lot since it was first introduced. As well as the standard credit card sized clubcard, Tesco also give you a couple of handy little key fobs which you can attach to your keyring so you need never be without it. The advantage of them giving you more than one is that you can share them with your family whilst still collecting clubcard points on only one account. The clubcard is easily recognisable by its blue and red Tesco design with the word CLUBCARD, and Tesco’s motto, Every Little Helps written across the front.



HOW TO COLLECT POINTS


When the clubcard first came out you could only collect points in Tesco stores. Nowadays things have moved on significantly. As before, you can still collect points when you shop in Tesco (1 point for every pound you spend) but now there is a whole host of other ways to collect points as well. These include:

Tesco and www.tesco.com
Green Clubcard Points (see below)
Tesco Petrol
Tesco Direct
Tesco Home Phone
Tesco Mobile
Tesco Internet Access
Tesco Internet Phone
www.tescodiets.com
AVIS
Johnsons the Cleaners
Marriott Hotels
National Tyres and Autocare
Nationwide Autocentre
The Nutricentre (@ Tesco)
Powergen

So you can see that it is now easily possible to rack up points at a host of other places as well as when you do your food shopping. In addition, you also receive points for shopping with your:



Tesco Credit Card


Collecting points couldn’t be easier, simply hand over your clubcard when you are paying for your goods and your clubcard points will be awarded. If you are buying online, simply enter your clubcard number when prompted to take advantage of the clubcard points on offer.



THE STATEMENT


Every quarter you are sent a clubcard statement detailing how many points you have collected in the last quarter, together with a breakdown of where the points have been accumulated from. Attached to the statement will be a money off voucher if you have reached the threshold of 150 points. Bear in mind that for each point you collect this equates to one penny, so 150 points will give you a £1.50 voucher. Points above 150 are converted into vouchers in increments of 50p and any remaining points are carried over to the following quarter. For example, in my last clubcard statement:

Points collected this Quarter: 536

Points carried over from previous statement: 22

Clubcard points total to 29/04/07: 558

Voucher Total: £5.50

Carried forward to next statement: 8

The layout of the statement is designed such that it is very easy to understand and very pleasing on the eye.



THE EXTRA COUPONS


Attached to the bottom of the statement is always a selection of coupons that can be used when you are shopping, either to achieve further money off or to earn extra clubcard points when you buy a certain product. I always use these regardless or not of whether it is for a product that I don’t usually buy because the way I see it is that it gives me an opportunity to try new things.

Tesco do seem to use information from your past purchase in order to determine what coupons they send you and they are very good in that if you are a vegetarian for example, they will not send you any coupons relating to purchases of meat.

To put this into a bit of perspective, below I have listed a few examples of the most recent coupons I have received:

£3.00 off when you spend over £20.00 in Tesco
30 extra clubcard points when you spend over £1.00 on salad
75 extra clubcard points when you spend over £2.00 on fresh beef
45 extra clubcard points when you buy Bertolli Olive Spread
20 extra clubcard points when you spend over 70p on baked beans.

The coupons that you receive are different every month, which makes Tesco clubcard quite refreshing.



Occasionally they will send you a few interesting leaflets with your clubcard statements, and recently these have been very much focused on recycling….

Which brings me on to green clubcard points.



GREEN CLUBCARD POINTS


Green clubcard points have only been introduced in the last few months, however Tesco have taken a very simple idea and turned it into something that is beneficial to each and every one of us and the planet as a whole.

The idea of green clubcard points is that you receive 1 green clubcard point whenever you re-use a bag. This can be a Tesco carrier bag, a Sainsbury carrier bag, a straw basket or a handbag, in fact anything that saves you using a new carrier bag.

I am a big fan of green clubcard points and it is my firm belief that more retailers should follow suit and introduce similar policies of their own.



HOW TO GET YOUR CLUBCARD


Getting your clubcard is a piece of cake. The next time you are in Tesco, simply pick up a copy of their clubcard leaflet which has everything you need to get you started, including a temporary clubcard which you can use until your personalised one (and key fobs) are sent to you.

You can also register your clubcard online or by telephone.

Simply send the form off, or hand it in at your local Tesco store and sit back and wait until your new card is delivered. Don’t forget that you can still enjoy collecting clubcard points with your temporary card and once your new card has been sent, any points you have collected will automatically be transferred.



CLUBCARD DEALS


As well as spending your clubcard voucher in Tesco, you can also redeem it for one of their clubcard deals. By doing this you get 4 x their value in other things, such as a trip to Alton Towers.

This is not something that I have taken advantage of as yet, but it is certainly something that I am considering doing for the future.



CONCLUSION


The Tesco Clubcard is one of the best loyalty schemes on the market. I am a huge fan and would not hesitate to recommend it to anyone. Although the rewards may not be massive, it is always nice to receive a little something extra once a quarter and of course the rewards are not limited so if perhaps you spend £7,500 in Tesco per quarter, you would receive £75 of vouchers to spend at your leisure.

Definitely recommended and I hope to see you all flashing your clubcards sometime soon.

Summary: Earn money whilst you shop! Now theres an offer I cant refuse!