Loyalty cards that are actually worth getting?

[GunpowderGelatine]

I seem to have about 25 loyalty cards in my purse but the only ones I think are worth having are Boots and Body Shop where you actually get money/vouchers to spend in store, and Subway where it's very easy and quick to get enough points for a free sandwich (I only buy 2 or 3 before getting a free sub).

M&S Sparks card is useless - 15p off a donut? Wow. Thanks and I'm not even sure what a Matalan card is for because I've never seen any points or offers from it.

What other cards are worth/not worth getting?

I had a Monsoon card and got rid of it when they restricted redeeming the points to a period which coincided with their sale and said you couldn't redeem the points on sale items. Well that's pretty useless then isn't it? But that was years ago, no idea what it's like now.

I do get a lot of use, and benefits from NECTAR, and also BOOTS cards. Went to get petrol yesterday, and it was £33, and I knew I hadn't got much in my current account, (maybe £50,) and I needed a bit of food shopping. So I pulled out my nectar card to see if anything was on it, and there was £7.50 on it. Doesn't seem log since I last used the points either! Soon builds up. Same with Boots.

I like my Boots card and Co Op one. I also have a Nectar card but think its a bit shit really - too many rules about what you can and cant get for the points.

One of my Co-op cards (a blue one) is great as they give 5% of own brand products to you & 1% to a local good cause. You can use that money whenever you want, so I tend to use it to get bread/milk when I'm feeling skint (which is very often). The other Co-op card I have (with like a yellow honeycomb pattern), from the other Co-op in the same village, but from a different chain is not so good, you can't spend the points I don't think.

John Lewis is great for free drink & cake every few months.

Tesco is good for days out etc.

Nectar is good as I don't shop there very much, so often get coupons offering bonus points for a £1 spend etc, then I use Nectar points to pay as soon as I have enough. I often do this during TU 25% off.

Tesco, boots, nectar, Costa
But my fave is Cafe Nero - 1 stamp for every coffee you buy. 10 stamps = a free coffee. but you get an extra stamp if you use your own cup so I get a free coffee after every 5th cup I buy!
And you can send the free voucher to a friend so I regularly send free cups if coffee to my student godchildren.

Only really use my Tesco club card points. Have paid for ferries and camping abroad before now. Have bought rail cards with them too. I have just booked a cheap Hoseason's lodge for 4 night and only paid £29 for the whole break!
Never use them in store as you don't get as much back.

Waterstones used to be better value before they switched the paper stamp cards for a combined loyalty card. The basic rule of 10 pounds spent = one stamp was the same, but it was applied by humans rather than the automatic machine system, so you used to get the stamp when you spend 9.99 (or even 8.99). Nowadays that only gets you half a stamp, because the one penny short is important to the machine in a way humans weren't so pedantic over, so in practice the reward is smaller.

Waitrose free coffee is good in principle, but the Waitrose that's now local to me doesn't have its own little cafe where you could use a permanent mug and it doesn't allow for disposable cups, so in practice it's no use to me. Free newspaper once you've spent 10 pounds is good. No other offers seem to be coming my way; perhaps my shopping there is too small to be noticed.

The best value one I have is for a bookshop chain abroad which gets you -10% on every purchase.

Boots, I save up the points and treat myself occasionally.
Morrisons, get £5 off vouchers.

I use my Amex in addition to store specific cards like Nectar and Tesco = double points

ShopperPoints is a good site to find the best reward deals

I also use Top Cashback and quidco

The Tesco card brings tangible benefits but I don't get much out of my M&S card - I don't really understand how it works but produce it dutifully each time.

Tescos as we use vouchers for eating out/cinema. If you're signed up online with Boots, you can also get extra points offers and they give out extra vouchers on tills for points.

I shop in Tesco daily,newspapers, top ups, yet, dontvery often receive vouchers, and they arent very much, they tend to be a couple of quid off a spend of £20 or £30, which I rarely make. Nectar, there are certain items I have to go there for, DH can only have A2 milk. I give my DSs Sainsbury vouchers for their Birthdays, as they both shop there. I dont shop in Boots very often, so usualy save the points for a year. Dont shop in Morrisons anymore.Shame you dont still get nactar points in Homebase. I have a B & Q Diamond Card, which used to be 10% off a lot of goods on Wdnesdays. Great when we purchased large ammounts of laminate, and carpet, but they craftily only have the discount on gardening now. I have a garden centre card for Wyevale, but I only buy the "specials" if it is something I was actually going to buy.

Tesco is the best - getting £800 off a cruise!

The Boots app is really good. It lets you load points offers onto your advantage card and they are applied automatically when you shop. I don’t use Boots that much because it’s more expensive than other places but there are some things I can only get from there. I have about £25 worth of points at the moment and it wasn’t long ago I cashed in my last lot.

Paperchase. I go there a few times a year and got a £5 off my last purchase (which made it free which was even better.)

The Works card is great - I just popped in there this morning and I had accumulated £4.15 just buying Christmas stuff, so the book I had chosen was free.

Boots, Costa, John Lewis

The ones I think are the best are Boots, Superdrug, Nectar, Debenhams Beauty Club, and The Works. RE the Debanhams one, I once had so many points I got a lipstick for 50p! I have Nectar set up on eBay, Boots you get vouchers to boost points (and sometimes money off) and the same with Superdrug (who also have special offers on their website for people with a Beauty Card.)

My local matalan won’t serve you without a card, but equally they don’t ask if you want one either. 🙄 I borrow my DM’s card, it’s easier. I can’t work out the point of them, you don’t get anything.

Boots are the best I think. I save all my points throughout the year then by myself something nice.

That's a weird customer-repelling approach from Matalan!

The Boots one was always a godsend to me. I used to buy sanitary towels with points because a) was normally skint (was unemployed) and b) Really objected to paying for them. I know in reality I am still paying for them but you know what I mean!

I’ve just downloaded the Boots app and put all my offers on my card! Thanks to the pp who suggested it!

Waterstones card is good if you buy a lot of books as money off.

Nectar good but why can't they put their money off vouchers onto an App or something like in Holland and Barrett, hate all the bits of paper!

Boots are good but I'd prefer it if they had their advantage card machines in-store like they used to as it made it easier to see what was on offer and get more points, well for me anyway.

Gazelda - Caffe Nero one is a good one - I'm with O2 too so pick up a free drink once or twice a week and an extra stamp - I swear some baristas hate giving you the stamp with a free drink, and why do some give one stamp and others more?!

SuffragettesStruggledForThis - didn't realise Waterstones had stopped their paper card stamp ones.

Paying with points is different, you've already spent the money so technically they're free. I was a tad skint last month so bought loo roll with my Boots points. Their loo roll is lovely by the way, costs the same as Sainsbury's basics too!