My plastic friend (Tesco Clubcard)

Member Name: anwar7

Product:	Tesco Clubcard
Date:	16/10/07 (1210 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: see review

Disadvantages: see review

Tesco club card is one loyalty scheme it is really worth signing up to. Basically the club card is a scheme that rewards you for shopping at Tesco or its partners. The more you spend the more points you are awarded. Tesco receives valuable information about you and your buying habits so everyone is happy!

How do you sign up?
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There are several ways to join the club card scheme and all are very easy. You can sign up at the customer service desk in any Tesco store. Fill in the form and post it in the provided box free post. You can join on line or by phoning the card helpline-0800-591688. Alternatively you can join online via the Tesco website.

You will then receive a personalised club card, the same size as a credit card. In addition you will receive a personalised key fob. Whenever you shop in Tesco or with any of their partners simply hand over your card or key fob for scanning and your points will be added to your account. Your till receipt gives you a running total of the points you have earned to date.

How to earn points
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Each time you shop in Tesco stores you will be awarded 1 point for each pound you spend. Points are also awarded at the same rate for buying Tesco petrol and for all purchases from Tesco.com and Tesco direct. You will also get points for buying top up cards for your mobile phone.

I have a Tesco credit card and get 5 points for every pound spent in Tesco and 1 point for each pound spent elsewhere. Using my credit card to shop in Tesco is a great way to get lots of points quickly. However I always pay my balance in full each month otherwise I would end up paying interest –ouch!

Tesco have a number of partners who participate in the club card scheme including Avis, Johnson’s dry cleaners, national tyres and auto care to name a few. There is a full list of all partners on the Tesco web site. When you shop with Tesco partners you will also be awarded 1 point for each pound spent.

Occasionally Tesco award extra points in store for buying certain products. However this is a rarity in my experience but worth looking out for. Sometimes I have been given a voucher at the check out offering me extra points for buying certain products.

What are your points worth?
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Every quarter you will be sent a club card statement. There are usually vouchers included giving you the opportunity to earn extra points. For example I recently had a voucher giving me an extra 100 points for spending £5 on fruit and veg.

You will receive vouchers for the amount you have earned. These can be spent in Tesco stores for their face value. However a much better option is to exchange the vouchers for rewards or airmiles.

If you opt to exchange your points for airmiles then you will receive 60 airmiles for every £2.50 earned. You simply let Tesco know that this is what you wish to do with your points and the points will automatically be credited to your airmiles account.

Probably the best option is to exchange your points for Tesco club card deals. Your points are then worth 4 times as much as they would be if you exchanged them in store.

There are numerous deals on offer for example-activity days, days out, hotels, holidays, club membership, magazine subscriptions and driving lessons. The list of possibilities is endless. To see all that is on offer go to the Tesco website or pick up a club card deals brochure in store.

As I have said your club card points will be worth 4 times their face value when you exchange them for a deal. You can use your point’s vouchers to pay for part of your reward if you don’t have enough. A friend recently used her vouchers for a virgin holiday. For each £2.50 voucher she was awarded £10,not a bad rate of exchange.

To exchange your vouchers for deals simply go to the Tesco web site and select the deal you fancy. Then go to the checkout and type in the code printed at the bottom of your voucher. You will then be sent your deal tokens with full instructions of how to use them. Alternatively you can order via the postal system.

I should add that you will need to have a minimum of 150 points to be able to exchange then for vouchers. If you haven’t acquired enough points in a quarter they will be carried over to the next quarter so you wont lose out.

Although I am always suspicious of giving personal information I think this is a good scheme. I enjoy seeing my points mount up and think the range of deals on offer is excellent. I wish that vouchers could be awarded as son as you have enough as sometimes waiting for a quarterly statement can be tedious.

If you ever shop in Tesco or with any of its partners then I would highly recommend the club card scheme to you.

Summary: Loyality scheme run by Tesco