To think Tesco Clubcard Deals are the biggest con going?

[amimagic]

We usually use our vouchers for a crossing on Eurotunnel for which you get 3 times the value (used to be 4, that's another bug-bear).

This year though, our crossing is included with one of our stays, so I browsed around the Deals site and hit upon Butlins (not somewhere I'd choose to go usually, but thought the kids would enjoy it). Checked prices and for an extra £100 ish, we could go for a long weekend with food included - bargain!

But you don't get the discounts (which are permanently available on the Butlins site it seems to me) when using Clubcard vouchers, so it actually rendered my vouchers as worth less than the original amount, when it should have been 3 times that amount.

AIBU to think that Tesco's who earn like a million pounds a minute are perpetrating a scam of great proportions, or did everyone else know this anyway?

Clubcard deals or 'kids go free' offers or any of these promotional mechanics usually come with a catch. I only ever use the vouchers to offset the next grocery bill - I like free money :)

Depends what you go for. If you're buying something that is substantially discounted anyway, it's probably not worth doing. I've used deals in plenty of places that have a flat entry fee and thought them good value.

Depends on what you use them for. I agree that it's not worth using them for Butlins but we use them to pay for ferries when we go on holiday which makes it much cheaper, or for days out or meals. Would never just use them to buy groceries.

Agree it's not as good now you only get 3x the value instead of 4x.

Describing this as a "scam of great proportions" seems a little extreme... actually, it sounds stupid. Tesco give you clubcard vouchers for nothing. Yes, we can debate the benefits they gain from knowing what you buy but there is no cost or effort on your part. That means they're free money so to claim that their Butlins offer is a scam is completely ridiculous. Okay, the offer isn't as good as it first appears but it's still free.

If you don't like it spend your clubcard vouchers on something else.

Hmmm I know what you mean. All of a sudden now you can't use them on baby products. You used to be able to use them on wipes and toiletries etc which was awesome.

They are paying for most of our summer holiday this year so I'm happy :)

The price in vouchers was about £200 more than the normal price, which did annoy me slightly as there was no warning of this until I got to the point of paying. So it was really only worth it because we had so much saved in vouchers.

I agree that you have to check carefully that the deal is a good one.

We spent £15 for 2 adults and a child in cc vouchers to get into the Eden Project, which would have cost us £18.50 per adult...

As nocake says, its a benefit you get for shopping at Tesco - you don't need to do anything and can choose how to spend the vouchers.

I think its amazing that you get vouchers for being loyal. I have to buy my groceries anyway so I might as well use them somewhere where I also get something in return. I use my vouchers in Tesco direct on toys for my dd, that way she gets equipment and toys she would otherwise not receive and I have not spent more of the family budget than I otherwise would have to do.

Okay so some of the deals are a little less tempting when you scratch the surface but that can actually be Butlins fault rather than Clubcard.

Have just spent a week at Butlin's Minehead, which was great, and the children loved it. Minehead is lovely. But a word of warning - get Gold accommodation - we booked Silver and it was not nice at all! Camp beds, poor TV reception and a musty smell. Have a good time.

Absolutely depends on how you spend them. For example our whole family have been to Parc Asterix, Chessington and had various hotel stays for absolutely no cost to us whatsoever.

I [heart] Tesco clubcard vouchers!

We use ours for cinema tickets or pizza express

I use mine for Pizza Express vouchers and I love them!

We normally use ours for Cafe Rouge or Pizza Express and just pay for the drinks. I actually think if you choose the right deals they are great - lucky to get anything back today.

Well it may be Butlins' fault, but then Tesco should choose their partners more carefully.

It is a scam if they are advertising it as a great deal of 3 times the value, when it actually isn't that at all.

And the argument of having to buy somewhere doesn't really hold water for me, because when they dropped from 4 to 3, I did a few online shops with Asda instead and it worked out about £40 cheaper every 3 weeks.(not exact calculation, but pretty close)

Tesco do not give you vouchers for nothing, although "scam of great proportions" may be over-egging slightly

Agree ferries, tunnel etc. seem to be good/better deals.

My two closest supermarkets are Tesco and my nearest garage is Tesco and my credit card is from Tesco so I earn a fair amount of Clubcard points and use them on eating out and have just saved up for the five of us to go to Alton Towers (again) this summer. Alton Towers alone would have cost over £150, so I'm happy. I think you need to choose your deals carefully, and probably the holidays aren't the best thing to choose. Of course, you can't use two for one vouchers if you're paying with the tokens for Alton Towers, but it's still a free day out for us.

Having a Tesco Credit Card that I pay off every month and collect points on quickly despatches cold callers trying to persuade me to transfer my balance to a new credit card that I don't need.

Well I used to [heart] clubcard vouchers until now. Just feel a bit cheated really, especially knowing how much profit Tesco actually makes, and knowing that other stores are actually cheaper.

I am really please with tesco vouchers ATM.
Have manages to get 2 trips to the cinema for me and the kids, a meal at cafe rouge and 2 family days out (Woburn Safari park and Warwick castle)
No cost to me whatsoever

you don't get them for nothing you silly people (sorry exasperated) they put money on the prices to pay for the vouchers. and they collect data about you and what you buy in return.
i'd rather everything was just a bit cheaper in the shop tbh.

animagic - if you really don't want your Tesco Clubcard vouchers, I'll happily take them off your hands.

Just be careful how you shop and make the voucher scheme work for you. I do a fair amount of shopping at Tesco, but also use Asda, Aldi, Sainsbury's and Waitrose and know what's best to buy where. Having the credit card helps stack up the points.

I know what you mean, I wanted to use some towards a caravan holiday park in the Isle of Wight but you couldn't use the vouchers on those particular sites and a similiar thing would apply about not getting any of the special offers anyway. I think the holiday offers are best avoided.

I like the vouchers though because we have had free days out at Longleat, Aquarium at Plymouth and lots of meals at Cafe Rouge.

It feels like something for nothing but it's really not. You pay more to shop at Tesco.

This being the case, they should at least ensure to the best of their ability that the scheme is transparent and fair, and that all deals are roughly equal.

Scholes34 I'm just not that organised, although agree that your way is the best. Work full time, kids, studying too (day off today, childcare fail), I just can't manage to get to these shops regularly enough.

I find them useful. I use them for magazine subscriptions so it saves me buying the mag. also paid for a free ticket for a theme park my ds is off to tomorrow.

And NO WAY, I'm not letting these things out of my sweaty little hands, am determined now to find the absolute best value for money deal to spend them on, all 67.50 worth!!!