Money
Getting the best deal
Save £100s on...loyalty cards
British wallets bulge with 27 million loyalty cards. The average home has at least two and seven per cent of us have more than 20. But, with an estimated £2 billion in unclaimed goods and discounts, how can you make the most out of your plastic, asks Teena Lyons
Critics claim loyalty cards are a waste of time and lower prices would be better, but millions of shoppers still love the idea of something for nothing. Yet, with terms and conditions varying wildly, it is hard to spot the best deals.
Boots' Advantage card is widely accepted as the best on the market. The health and beauty giant's scheme awards four points for every pound spent - that is an effective four per cent discount and seems very generous indeed.
Just imagine for a moment though, that product X costs £30 to buy in, say, Boots. With the Advantage card's four per cent discount, the price is effectively £28.80. But if you can buy it for £27 in Tesco, the loyalty card points simply don't add up to a bargain.
* The golden rule of loyalty is never let it dictate where you shop or what you buy - yet, if you shop somewhere with a scheme, use it. To maximise points on most of the major schemes use these top tips:
* Avoid redeeming vouchers in-store. Well-known supermarket cards, such as Tesco Clubcard and Sainsbury's Nectar card, for example, offer incentives from video vouchers to theme park trips and they all come out at considerably better value per point than redeeming vouchers in member stores.
* Look for any promotion offering extra points. For example, Tesco offered 999 Clubcard bonus points with its iPod Shuffles which were selling at £49. These points are worth £42 in Clubcard deals - by spending them on something you'd have bought anyway the Ipod effectively cost the bargain price of £7.
* Play the numbers game. A little careful planning and you could double or triple your points every trip. Boots makes this very easy for shoppers with an ATM-style unit in every store, which prints out discount vouchers for specific products or general discounts. The chain, like other loyalty retailers, also has double or triple point days.
* Most importantly, when it comes to loyalty cards, use those points. It is, quite simply pointless, to end up with a pile of never-used points. When you consider how much valuable market research about your shopping habits, what you buy and how often, that you have provided the retailer, it seems only fair that you should see the fullest benefit.
* Teena Lyons is the former consumer editor of the Sunday Mirror. Teena's views represent her own opinions and are for general information only. Always seek independent financial advice.
