Idiot's guide to making the most out of clubcard/nectar points

[AlexaShutUp]

I'm ashamed to say that I have never really used these and don't really know how to make the most of them. Assuming my knowledge is currently at zero, please could people explain how they actually use them and how to get the best value from them? I have tons of unspent nectar points and now shop regularly at Tesco.

I have a vague idea that I can spend the points on groceries, and that would be fine if I knew how to do it, but I also suspect that I could get more out of them if I used them for other things.

Please advise! Thank you so much.

Tesco will send you vouchers which you can spend in store but if you login online you can triple the value of these vouchers and use them in certain shops/restaurants etc... I saved them for the year and used them to buy a bike for a Christmas present and also to buy a new dinner services from Denby.

I have Sainsbury points which i collect on
Shopping at Sainsburys
Buying fuel at Sainsburys
Shopping on ebay (link card)
Occasionally Buying fuel in BP garages.
I do online shopping and save my points until Christmas then either shop instore for shopping & bargains or add points as a coupon to reduce my Christmas bill. Just this past Christmas i had around £250 .
If you go instore, for the easiest option ask customer services how much you have and just tell the cashier you want to use your points and they will deduct it from your bill. (Not sure you can buy alcohol but could be wrong)
There are other place to collect & spend I believe.

I have wondered about optimal way to use them, too. I just cash them out sometimes when in Sainsbo's. I don't buy the other types of services that seems like NPs can be used towards.

I guess Tesco Club card points can go towards holidays... but they seem like rather overpriced holidays, so not the hols I would have chosen if not using points, iyswim.

I use my Nectar points at Argos. You just hand your nectar card over instead of your credit card. From memory, they can only take bocks of (might be?) £2.50 or £5.00 or something so they sometimes give you a credit voucher with the change on.
I like Nectar because you just keep the points until you want to use them - like a savings account.
We've bought all sorts from Argos over the years, that, in effect, has been 'free'. Tescos aren't so goo in that they send out vouchers and they have (long) expiry dates on them. Then you lose them. OTOH, Tesco are better if you are savvy, as you can, as explained by pp, exchange them for 3 x the value for certain offers - like days out, etc - which can be a really good saving.
I just found out the robbing b**ds at The Works, wipe your point clean off your card if you don't spend them in that 3 month window

I use my Clubcard points to get money off my delivery saver, also DH gets his Runners World magazine with them.

With Nectar points we wait until they do the double up promotions, but thats as good as it gets

Delivery saver is 3x the value off so good if you regularly get an online grocery delivery from them

Most of the time all you can do with Nectar points is spend them in store, but once a year, usually in late November, they have a 'double up' event where you get double the usual value on certain categories, including toys and Taste the Difference wine (there are a few others but they are the only 2 I can remember).

For the last 2 years I've exchanged mine for TTD sparkling wine and got a good few bottles of cava to drink at Christmas - I don't shop at Sainsburys much so never have a huge amount of points.

So if you're not in a hurry, I'd just do that. I don't think Nectar points expire, but I think that Tesco points get turned into vouchers that expire after 2 years, so keep an eye on that.

Tesco do triple value vouchers but they keep making noises about stopping the scheme.

Both the nectar and clubcard websites have all the info about what's available, so good to have a nosy at those.

They have done a double up event every November where you get double value for your points. I save mine up and use them for this every year.
It's not on food but on loads of other stuff.

you used to be able to buy ebay vouchers with nectar points (and you get nectar points if you link with your ebay account)

This site is all about the clubcard and nectar points
www.shopperpoints.co.uk/

I use Tesco vouchers to get free entry to theme parks but there are loads of other days out available.

Nectar you have to send about a million pounds before you get about 10 pence back. A year's worth of food shopping doesn't give me enough points to cover my Christmas shop. Very stingy.

I use my Tesco vouchers to get railcards for me and DH - £15 of vouchers gets you a railcard that otherwise costs £30. We get Senior Railcards, but you can also get 16-24, Friends & Family or Two Together cards.

We use tesco points to go away for a couple of nights at nice hotels

I don't think nectar is as good. I can't find anything to spend my nectar points on.

We use Clubcard points to get vouchers for Pizza Express, Ask Italian etc whenever we are away from home. Free dinner!

I triple up Tesco points and use them for a slap up dinner at Cafe Rouge.

We saved ours for ages and then used them for free entry on a holiday to a local attraction.

Ooh, lots of responses - thank you so much for all of the tips. I'm going to read through carefully and take notes!

I dislike all these reward point schemes. Just give me somewhere like Lidl where the regular price I see is good one, and no games to play, no vouchers to track or promotion periods to remember.

I know exactly what you mean lljkk. The reward schemes are no good for people like me who just aren't organised enough to use them. I suspect I've wasted hundreds of pounds of unused vouchers.

I still shop a fair bit in aldi and appreciate the simplicity, but I do go to Tesco too, so I'm determined to make better use of my points. Have got some really good ideas from this thread and I've just downloaded the nectar/clubcard apps.

You can just use the vouchers at face value for shopping in store but the partner deals at 3 times the value are good. We use them a lot, especially in London - have used them for free entry to the Tower of London, London Bridge exhibition, Madame Tussauds, Sea Life centre, tourist hop-on buses, we've used them in Paris (they don't do this any more unfortunately) and previously I've used them for magazine subscriptions (not sure if they still do this either).

Nectar points - not so useful tbh. We got a lot of points when we bought some furniture and it bought a kettle and toaster from Sainsburys. Tesco rewards are more useful to us.

I appear to have around £300 worth of nectar points, so that isn't to be sniffed at - especially as I now know I can use them at Argos.

The Tesco triple value things are good too! I just need to start using them!

Nectar is not as good as it has been I'm afraid. We used to spend our points on easyjet flights and days out to Warwick castle, Chessington and legoland. All gone now. Now we use them on eBay (£10 minimum spend to use points, but still useful for somethings). Although we don't now rack up as much points as we used to due to a) Sainsbury's slashing the points earned from 2 to 1 per £1 and b) buying a lot of stuff in Lidl instead of Sainsbury's.

We bought our lawn mower with Nectar points. That was years ago so we must have zillions now.