Not a fun club to be in (Boots Parenting Club)

Member Name: Mrs-LT

Product:	Boots Parenting Club
Date:	23/02/09 (123 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Free bag, double points on delected baby products

Disadvantages: Does not offsett Boots' hiked up prices on baby stuff

Well, I joined Boots Parenting Club but I don't think I have really enjoyed any tangible benefit from being a member. You sign up online, and you have to have a Boots Advantage Card first or sign up for one at the same time.

The two main Parenting Club benefits are the free changing bag (apparently worth £29.99) and the opportunity to register your Advantage Card to receive double points on certain baby products (primarily Pampers and Boots own brand).

However, the free changing bag is tiny and not too great really (not worth anywhere near £29.99 anyway!) although you get it just for buying one pack of Pampers Newborn nappies which cost just over £3 for 27 from Boots so that is not bad really. I took advantage of the 2 packs of size 1s for £6 offer that they regularly have on, and as this is (unusually for Boots) on a par with Asda's prices anyway, it did make the bag a genuine freebie which I then gave to charity. For further details on the bag, you can see my separate review if you really want to know more about it!

As for the double points (which makes it 8p worth for every £1 you spend), that is all well and good but it does nothing to counteract the fact that for almost everything Boots are far more expensive than other shops - certainly by more than 8p in every pound! A bottle of Woodwards Gripe Water cost me £2.59 from Boots but £1.55 from Asda. 16p worth of points does not make up for this cost difference I'm afraid!

To get the double points activated and to receive your free bag with a nappy purchase, you get vouchers with a scannable barcode on through the post. You take the changing bag voucher to the till with the changing bag and your pack of nappies and all you need to activate the double points is the voucher.

You will receive regular email newsletters from Parenting Club about your baby's development, tailored to their age. However they clearly do not check DOBs properly, as my last one announced to me that my baby is now 7 months old...erm no, he is 9 months!

You also receive Parenting Club magazines which are OK for a quick flick although they do mainly promote the largely overpriced Boots baby products. They have articles in them as well as vouchers and special offers.

I also get vouchers through the post although I rarely find them useful if I am honest. One that is good though is the half price of Boots Baby Expert products which makes them £1 each.

Overall, I have found no benefit from joining this club and I would not recommend it unless you plan to buy lots of Boots baby toiletries (and ignore the fact that they over charge for them!) or you particularly fancy the changing bag.

Summary: Decide for yourself about this one!