Loyalty schemes compared - Clubcard, Nectar and the rest
Almost every British retailer of any size runs a loyalty scheme, and almost all of them are described in the same enthusiastic terms. What separates them is arithmetic. A scheme paying one penny per pound and a scheme paying four pence per pound are not variations on a theme; one is worth four times the other, and a third kind pays nothing in points at all but changes the shelf price you are charged. Working out which sort you are holding takes a minute and decides whether the card is worth carrying.
The two kinds of scheme
The traditional model collects points and converts them into money off later. You spend, points accrue, and at some threshold they become a voucher or a balance. The value is straightforward to calculate once you know two things: how many points a pound earns, and what one point is worth when redeemed.
The newer model skips the points and simply charges members a lower price at the shelf. Member pricing has spread rapidly across British grocery and now covers a substantial share of promoted lines in the big supermarkets. It pays out immediately rather than eventually, which suits people who never get round to redeeming, but it makes price comparison harder because the advertised price now depends on who is standing at the till.
A few schemes do both, and several add a third layer of personalised offers based on what you buy. Those targeted offers can be the most valuable part of a scheme for a regular shopper, and they are also the part that makes people uneasy about the data, which is a fair thing to weigh.
What each scheme pays
The table below gives the base earning rate, expressed as the percentage of your spending you get back in points. Rates and redemption partners change, sometimes substantially, so treat this as the shape of the market rather than a permanent record and check the current terms before choosing.
| Scheme | Typical base rate | Also offers | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tesco Clubcard | Around 1% in points | Member pricing, higher-value reward partners | Regular grocery shoppers who redeem with partners |
| Nectar | Around 0.5% in points | Member pricing, bonus point offers | Households using several Nectar partners |
| Boots Advantage Card | Around 4% in points | Member offers, seasonal events | Anyone buying health and beauty regularly |
| Superdrug Health and Beautycard | Around 1% in points | Member pricing, birthday offers | Frequent smaller purchases |
| Co-op Membership | Member rewards on own-brand | Member pricing | Convenience shopping |
| Lidl Plus | Coupons and spend-based rewards | Scratchcards, targeted vouchers | Predictable weekly shops |
| Iceland Bonus Card | Bonus on saved amounts | Seasonal boosts | Saving towards Christmas |
| M&S Sparks | No points | Personalised offers, occasional treats | Existing regular customers |
Two things stand out. The pharmacy and beauty schemes pay several times what the grocery schemes do, which reflects the margins in those categories, and the highest-value grocery play is usually not the base rate at all but the reward partner multiplier, where points exchanged for days out, meals or attraction tickets can be worth more than their cash value.
Base rate back in points
- Boots Advantage 4%
- Tesco Clubcard 1%
- Superdrug 1%
- Nectar 0.5%
Getting more out of the one you have
The most common mistake is holding points indefinitely. Points are a liability on the retailer’s balance sheet, and schemes periodically change conversion rates, shorten expiry windows or narrow their partner lists. A balance sitting untouched for three years has already lost value once and may lose it again, so redeem on a sensible cycle rather than saving for a mythical large purchase.
The second is failing to match the card to the shop. Carrying eight cards and using each occasionally produces eight balances too small to redeem. Two or three schemes, at the shops you actually use weekly, produce balances that reach useful thresholds. Everything else is better handled by not signing up.
The third is treating a scheme as a reason to shop somewhere. One per cent back is worth having, and it is comfortably smaller than the difference between brand tiers on the same shelf, which our guide to unit pricing covers. A scheme is a small bonus on a decision you should make on price and convenience, not a factor that should decide it.
Stacking, properly
Loyalty points are usually compatible with other savings, and combining them is where the numbers become interesting. A voucher code applied at the checkout, points earned on the discounted total, a member price on the promoted lines, and a card that pays cashback on the transaction can all operate on the same purchase.
Order matters slightly. Points are generally earned on what you actually pay after a discount code, so codes reduce the points earned, which is almost always the right trade because a percentage off now beats a smaller percentage back later. Member pricing usually applies before other discounts and often cannot be combined with an additional promotion on the same item.
Check the terms once for the schemes you actually use and you will know for the year. Then start from the deals we list, add the card, and let the two run together.
Summary
Work out what your scheme pays per pound, redeem regularly rather than hoarding, and carry cards only for shops you use weekly. Beauty and pharmacy schemes pay the highest base rates, grocery schemes pay more through reward partners and member pricing than through points, and no scheme pays enough to justify shopping somewhere you would not otherwise shop. Browse the stores we track, or see the categories for where your points are worth most.