Easy to rack up points to use on shopping (or clubcard deals) (Tesco Clubcard)

Member Name: MrsLim

Product:	Tesco Clubcard
Date:	01/06/09 (10 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Easy to use

Disadvantages: Tesco will know exactly what you buy every week!

I always do my grocery shopping at Tesco and found that collecting the points was an added bonus. The points rack up to quite bit every quarter and once the card is registered with Tesco, they send out the vouchers to you (as in-store money-off vouchers). It was only recently that they introduced ClubCard deals. This provides the opportunity for the consumer to "swap" the money-off vouchers online (or by telephone - although I haven't tried this so I don't know how good their call centres are) for other things such as restaurant money-off vouchers, days out activities and theme park tickets. As an added incentive, the money-off vouchers are usually worth more in terms of their monetary value for these ClubCard deals than their in-store counterparts.

Added points boosts:
You can find many in-store offers to boost the points such as special deals for particular items and additional "green clubcard points" if you re-use a bag and do not accept a new plastic bag at the counter. Other ways of boosting your points include signing up for their various clubs. I'm with the Food Club and every quarter receive a magazine along with additional points boosting vouchers. Finally, you can also sign up for their Tesco Credit Card which gives you 5 points for every £4 spent and when used to pay for your Tesco shopping, you get even more points.

Ease of use:
The card is easy to use enough - it has a bar code at the back so no more problems with the black bar not being read (an advantage if you're using the self service machines). The points collected in store are then converted at the end of the quarter.

Big Brother:
The only thing that I'm concerned about is Tesco knows exactly what you buy and how often. This could be an added bonus as Tesco uses that information as part of their marketing ploy by sending you more points boosting vouchers for all your favourite groceries. So joining this scheme depends on how comfortable you are with Big Brother knowing what you eat versus the benefits of saving you a bit of cash.

Summary: Great way to save money on your shopping!