Which is the best supermarket loyalty card?

Families spend thousands of pounds each year on food shopping, so it's no surprise to see popular supermarkets such as Tesco, Sainsbury's, and Lidl offering incentives to keep you coming back.

Loyalty points, coupons, and vouchers are just a few ways that supermarkets reward you for giving them your custom. Loyalty cards can now be downloaded as digital cards to your smartphone so the process of collecting points and earning rewards is even easier than before. Whether it’s your weekly shopping place or somewhere you visit only once a month, you should collect your points as they can quickly add up to a decent amount of money

In this article, we look at the best supermarket loyalty cards and reveal how much you can earn by using them.

What is a supermarket loyalty card?

After signing up for a loyalty card scheme, you will usually be given a card (or digital card), which you can use to collect points or get discounts every time you shop. You can sometimes exchange the points you have collected, either for vouchers to spend in the supermarket or simply to provide money off at the till. Additionally, your loyalty card may reward you with personalised discounts on items that you regularly buy and you may benefit from exclusive pricing for rewards members.

Despite the name "loyalty card", you don’t have to be loyal to supermarkets to make money from them. There are plenty of other perks to each scheme which get you coupons and money off your shopping - even if you don’t shop there each week, although you are likely to see better vouchers if you are a regular shopper. As with everything, some loyalty schemes are better than others but if you don’t fancy using your points to pay for your weekly shop, some loyalty cards allow you to trade the points for double or triple the value with various partner retailers. With others, you can earn money-off coupons very quickly for a much smaller spend.

What are the top supermarket loyalty cards?

Each supermarket loyalty card/app has different pros and cons, but if you make sure that you sign up for each loyalty card/app scheme, you'll start to earn rewards no matter where you shop.

In the below table, we compare the loyalty card/apps provided by supermarkets that allow you to earn money or points when you spend. For a more in-depth explanation as to how each of the schemes work, see below the table.

Supermarket loyalty card comparison - earn points for spending

	ASDA	Iceland	Lidl	Morrisons	Sainsbury's	Tesco
Reward scheme	ASDA Rewards	Iceland Bonus card	Lidl Plus	Morrisons More	Nectar Card	Clubcard
Free to sign up	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Rewards	Complete missions and milestones for rewards	Get £1 for every £20 loaded onto the card	Earn 1 point per £1 spent and get in-store discounts	Earn 5 points for every product purchased in-store and online (exclusions apply)	Earn 1 point per £1 spent and get in-store discounts	Earn 1 point per £1 spent and get in-store discounts
Exclusive member deals	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Points earnt on fuel	Only when using an ASDA credit card	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
Amount earnt if you spend £500	Varies	£25	500 points	Varies	£2.50	£5
Trade up points for better rewards	From time to time with "Boost Vouchers"	No	Use points for free products or money-off vouchers	Turn 5000 points into a £5 voucher	Yes	Yes
Option to have physical card	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes

ASDA Rewards

Unlike Sainsbury's and Tesco which offer points on every purchase, the ASDA Rewards app rewards customers with "Asda Pounds" for completing certain missions and reaching milestones.

How do you earn ASDA Rewards?

Customers can earn ASDA Pounds by completing 'Missions' via the ASDA Rewards app. Missions include shopping a certain number of times and spending a certain amount.  You also earn Rewards for completing milestones based on your total spend. ASDA Pounds are stored in a Cashpot within the app that can be exchanged for vouchers to be spent in-store or online. You cannot spend them at ASDA George.You need to convert your "Asda Pounds" into a voucher within 6 months of earning them. You then have 90 days to spend that voucher.

Any extras for owning the ASDA Rewards app?

Customers who have the ASDA Money credit card can earn 0.75% on all ASDA spending plus 0.2% cashback on everything else, which will be transferred into their ASDA Rewards Cashpot. You can also earn "ASDA Pounds" with an ASDA mobile contract (2% of your monthly paid bill for 12 month contracts and 5% of your monthly bill for 24 month contracts). There will occasionally be opportunities to "boost" your Cashpot where you can increase the value of your Cashpot when converting into certain vouchers.

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Iceland Bonus Card

Iceland's Bonus Card allows you to save on your Iceland shop by rewarding you with £1 for every £20 you load onto your Iceland Bonus Card. You can sign up online or via the Iceland Bonus Card app.

How do you earn with your Iceland Bonus Card?

Customers can earn £1 for every £20 they load onto their Iceland Bonus Card. The balance saved on the Bonus Card can then be used to spend on their Iceland shop, either in-store or online. From time to time, Bonus Card holders will also receive discounts, coupons and selected customers can be offered promotional bonuses.

Any extras for owning the Iceland Rewards app?

If you spend £40 in-store or online, you qualify for free delivery with your Bonus Card. Over 60's get 10% off their shopping in-store every Tuesday when they scan their Bonus Card and provide proof of age. Iceland have also started offering exclusive deals with external partners with their rewards scheme.

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Lidl Plus

Lidl Plus has undergone a major overhaul and is now similar to Tesco and Sainsbury's giving customers 1 point for every £1 spent in-store.

How do you earn Lidl Plus points?

For every £1 spent at Lidl you will receive 1 Lidl Plus point. You can then use these points to claim free items in-store or money-off vouchers. For example collect 300 points and you can exchange them in your Lidl Plus app for £3 off your shopping, or 70 points will get you a free pain au chocolat from the fresh in-store bakery. As the scheme has just launched there is a welcome offer of 100 points for free. Lidl also run promotions allowing you to earn extra points and will round up your spending to the nearest pound. You have 2 years to spend your points once you have earnt them.

Any extras for owning the Lidl Plus card?

As a Lidl Plus app member you will receive Lidl Plus For You coupons that are personalised, simply activate them in the app to use them. Members also benefit from Lidl Plus offers, where they can take advantage of discounted prices in-store by simply scanning their app at the check out. Lidl also have partner offers which currently include money off Jet2holidays. There is now the option for Lidl Plus members to have Lidl Pay which allows you to pay using your Lidl Plus card.

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Morrisons More

If you regularly shop at Morrisons it is worth signing up for their loyalty scheme to benefit from points, personalised offers and money off your next shop.

How do you earn Morrisons points?

By signing up for the Morrisons More loyalty scheme you can receive points when shopping in-store, online (including Morrisons groceries via Amazon) and in selected Morrisons Daily stores. Additionally, you can earn 5 points for every litre of fuel you purchase at a Morrisons petrol station and on every £1 you spend on EV power charging. Once you earn 5,000 points you can convert them to a £5 voucher (Fivers) to spend in-store or online or keep them on the app and save them for a larger purchase. Alternatively once you have earned 1000 points you can you can choose to donate them to the charity, Marie Curie. You must convert your points into Fivers (£5 vouchers) within 12 months of earning them or they will expire, you will then have a further 12 months to spend your Fivers.

Any extras for owning the My Morrisons card?

Get exclusive discounts in-store, known as More Card prices, personalised offers via your More Card App and "My Points Boosters" which earn you points on products based on your shopping history. Earn "More Card Stamps" and receive free items, for every £10 you spend, you will receive one stamp. You can also earn More Points with More Partner retailers including Sephora, Ticketmaster, Dunelm and Travelodge.

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 Sainsbury’s Nectar Card

With a Sainsbury's Nectar Card collecting points isn't just limited to Sainsbury's; there are plenty of other shops where you can earn Nectar points which can help supercharge your rewards.

How much is a Sainsbury's Nectar Card point worth?

When shopping in Sainsbury's supermarkets either in-store or online, you earn one point for every £1 spent, but the value is 0.5p per point. To get to the minimum reward of £2.50, you'll need to collect 500 points - which is a £500 spend. However, Sainsbury's isn't the only place where you can collect points. Linking your Nectar Card to Argos, having a Sainsbury's Energy Tariff, being a Woodland Trust member and more can earn you points. You can also convert your British Airways Avios points into Nectar points. You get 1 Nectar point for every litre you spend on fuel at Esso and 2 points for every £1 spent in participating Esso petrol stations. When shopping online, it’s worth looking out for the Nectar logo to see if you can earn more.

What can you trade Sainsbury's Nectar Card points for?

It's slimmer pickings for what you can redeem rewards for with your Nectar points than for a Tesco Clubcard. The standard one is redeeming off your Sainsbury's shopping, which gets you £2.50 off for 500 points collected, this is also the case for Argos. You could also convert them to Avios points to spend with British Airways (400 Nectar points converts to 250 Avios points), or get an Uber voucher to spend on an Uber ride or Uber Eats (500 points converts to a £2.50 voucher). There is also the option to donate your points to charities such as FareShare.

Any extras for owning a Sainsbury's Nectar card?

As part of owning the Nectar card, you can add coupons to your card via the Nectar app, which gives you extra points when buying specific food items at Sainsbury’s and using your card. These offers change roughly every week and, if it's for an item that you usually buy, your rewards can mount up quickly. Nectar users can also take advantage of 'Your Nectar Prices' which are additional discounted products that Sainsbury's thinks you will like. These are updated every Friday and are available in the Nectar app. Sainsbury's also have Nectar Prices on products throughout the store and online that only Nectar card holders can take advantage of.

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Tesco Clubcard

Probably the best-known loyalty card, the Tesco Clubcard is something you should definitely have. It's free to download and use and you get access to a lot of exclusive Tesco offers including Clubcard deals, personalised coupons, and a trade-up system to make better use of the points you collect.

How much is a Tesco Clubcard point worth?

For every £1 you spend in-store or online at Tesco, you earn 1 Clubcard point. If you fill up at a Tesco petrol station you will get 1 point for every 2 litres of fuel and at Esso stations with a Tesco Express you can earn 1 point for every £3 you spend. You can earn Clubcard points for other Tesco products, such as Tesco Mobile, Tesco credit cards as well as on purchases on Tesco Marketplace. For every point you earn, it’s added to your Clubcard balance and you'll earn vouchers that total the value of points you've collected. The minimum voucher you can get is £1.50, which you’ll receive for collecting 150 points. This means at £1 per point, you need to spend £150 to get £1.50 back. You can either spend the vouchers in-store or online on your everyday shopping or you can hold onto them to get a discount on something else.

What can you trade Tesco Clubcard points for?

Although rewards are only worth 1% if used on your shopping, there is an option to trade your vouchers up for another retailer. Tesco offers you the chance to trade in money accrued through Clubcard and receive vouchers for restaurants, theme parks, online retailers, and more. Your vouchers are worth 2 x their value when spent at Tesco Reward Partners, with some partners such as Pizza Express and Las Iguanas offering 3x the value. Like Sainsbury's and Morrisons you can choose to donate your points to charity. Tesco have a range to choose from including Cancer Research UK and WWF.

Any extras for owning a Tesco Clubcard?

Tesco Clubcard members can also receive coupons via the app to save extra money. These coupons are usually personalised as Tesco tracks what you regularly buy in-store/online. For example, if you have a cat and keep buying cat food, it might incentivise you to come back by sending you a cat food coupon. You'll also get money-off coupons to use on your next shop and double points coupons on occasion - which, in turn, means you can earn more rewards. Additionally, Tesco Clubcard users can unlock exclusive deals in-store on selected items, just look for items marked 'Clubcard price'.

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Supermarket loyalty card comparison - get discounts on your spending

In the below table, we compare the loyalty card/apps provided by supermarkets that allow you to earn rewards or discounts based on your personalised spending. For a more in-depth explanation as to how each of the loyalty cards works, see below the table.

	Co-op	M&S	Waitrose
Reward scheme	Co-op Membership	Sparks	myWaitrose
Free to sign up	No	Yes	Yes
Rewards	In-store discounts	Earn money in your Sparks Wallet on personalised offers & 1 free hot drink for every 6 hot drinks you buy in M&S Cafés	Personalised vouchers, free hot drinks & "Little Treats" when you spend qualifying amounts
Exclusive member deals	Yes	Yes	Yes
Points earnt on fuel	No	No	No
Trade up points for better rewards	No	No	No
Option to have physical card	Yes	No	Yes

Co-op Membership

The Co-op stopped it's Member Rewards loyalty scheme on 24th January 2024 and in it's place are now running a loyalty scheme which awards members with "Member Prices", personalised offers and more. It costs £1 to join the scheme but you can claim this back through your personalised offers on your first shop.

How does the Co-op loyalty scheme work?

With Co-op Membership you can benefit from discounted items in-store an online and personalised offers.

Any extras for owning the Co-op Membership card?

Co-op members can benefit from discounts at other Co-op services such as their Funeralcare, Legal Services and Insurance. You can also gain early access to Co-op Live events and help choose which local cause should be supported by the Co-op's Local Community Fund.

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M&S Sparks

Marks and Spencer has revamped the M&S Sparks rewards scheme and now regular M&S shoppers can earn money from their shopping when scanning their M&S Sparks card.

How does the M&S Sparks loyalty scheme work?

Within the M&S Sparks app you get personalised offers which allow you to earn money back when shopping at M&S, you will need to activate the offers in your Sparks account to take advantage of them. For example, spend £30 on bedding and you will earn £6 in your Sparks wallet. Some of the offers are valid over multiple shops and others you need to spend the amount in one visit. M&S have partnered with Virgin allowing you to earn money in your Sparks wallet when you join a Virgin gym, purchase a Virgin Voyage or a Virgin Experience Day, you will need to sign up to Virgin Red to take advantage of these deals.

Any extras for owning the M&S Sparks card?

M&S Sparks card holders will receive a free birthday treat and if you buy 6 hot drinks in M&S cafes you can get one for free. You can also obtain "preferential" rates on M&S Travel Money as well as discounts on M&S travel and pet insurance. (terms apply). You can also join the M&S baby club called "the parenthood" which gives you 10% off baby grows until your child is 2 years old plus a free slice of cake, pastry or fruit pot once a week when you buy a hot drink. You can also select a charity within the app that M&S donates money to every time you shop at Marks & Spencer.

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myWaitrose

Waitrose's loyalty scheme rewards regular shoppers with personalised weekly vouchers, free hot drinks and discounts on meat, cheese and fish in-store on select days.

How does the myWaitrose loyalty scheme work?

Regularly scanning your myWaitrose card or adding it to your online shop means you can benefit from personalised vouchers based on your spending. myWaitrose members can earn "Little Treats" each month when they spend £50, £100 and £250. "Little Treats" could be money-off vouchers, free bakery items or free flowers.

Any extras for owning the myWaitrose card?

myWaitrose customers can also benefit from one free self-serve hot drink per day at selected stores as long as they bring a reusable cup with them. There are also exclusive rewards with Caffè Nero, 5% off dry cleaning and laundry at Johnsons the Cleaners service, 20% discount on selected cheese, fish and meat from the counters in-store on Thursdays, Fridays or Saturdays and free Waitrose magazines. There are also exclusive in-store and online discounts for myWaitrose members.

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Summary

Supermarket loyalty cards are probably one of the easiest ways to benefit from rewards on your everyday spending with most of us regularly shopping at supermarkets each week either online or in person. There are more ways to earn money back on your everyday spending with cashback apps and cashback credit cards which means that you can maximise the number of rewards you get on one purchase. Just ensure that you remember to scan those apps/cards each time you’re at the checkout. It may not seem like you’re earning much, but the savings can and do add up.