The M and S Sparks card?

[girlfriend44]

What is the point of the card, other than them knowing what you buy and when?
I didn't use it today as I don't seem to get anything back?
It's not like you get money off and collect points is it?
Anyone enlighten me as to whether or not it's worth carrying on?
Does anyone benefit from theirs?😥

I wanted. Long denim skirt it was either black or faded denim. I put one in my basket but didn’t bust. A few days later there a dark indigo skirt much more to my liking and a 25% off.
Otherwise yes it offers on what I have just bought.

wanders off to check the app…..

I currently have 6 different 10% off items for use in store only. Often have 20% off various clothes, shoes and accessories online as well as in store.

Last Christmas, after taking part in their Advent “calendar”, I won a £10 bottle of liqueur that lights up, I bought 2 different ones that I like the flavour of as I couldn’t decide between the 2 of them and, getting one free meant I could treat myself both!

I have 15% off clothes, home and beauty at the moment but it's not compulsory to have a Sparks card if you don't want one

Ooh you’re the person!
the tills kept on telling me I could win a shop. Not a jot, nothing, ever. The tills don’t tell you that now.

I do get annoying survey requests after every shop ‘how was your shop today?’ Which I assume are linked to using the Sparks card, but other than that, OP is right, what is it good for?

I got a nice free Emma Bridgewater poinsettia and light up rum drink last Christmas, roll on this years and hopefully more of the same

In Scotland we are not trusted to be allowed free alcohol under any circumstances. So it's just Percy Pigs and similar for us.

😄

I got Percy pigs last year.

Sparks is rubbish. I buy food from M&S two or three times a week and the only benefits I've had this year are: two freebies at the beginning of the year (I think a free pastry from the bakery and a free loaf of bread); then last week I had a £1 off £5 spend on butter, which worked on some yellow sticker butter I bought. Perhaps one or two other 50p or £1 off vouchers that I might have forgotten about, but that's literally it. My dad had something a few months ago which was something like: spend £70 in the M&S food hall this month and get a £7 money off voucher - but I didn't get that offer.

Nectar is so much better. I moved house and don't have a Sainsbury's near me any more, but I used to earn more in Nectar rewards in a week than I did in Sparks rewards in a year.

The only reason I bother scanning my Sparks card is the tiny chance to win a free shop. But I think perhaps I'd be better off not scanning it at all - I think they might send me better rewards if I did that.

I never really see any benefit, I just got 20% off pants when I'd just bought pants.

I thought it was just me! Totally with you, OP.

@StillCreatingAName to be fair, my neighbour won the free shop with about £200 of champagne, it was brilliant!

I’ve got vouchers for 10% off bread and cheese - not really too much of an incentive to shop at good old Markies is it.

Worst store card ever as it actively annoys me!

Iceland is very good if you are over 60 on a Tuesday.
I like the digital receipt but even 12 days of Christmas is poor. Only once was a freebie and they all went before I could get to shop.
Like the coffee only 6 stamps for a free drink.

Usually 10% off poultry, ready meals, fish etc plus 4-6 non food discounts, never menswear for some reason these days even though that probably our biggest non food spend. Today its 20% off throws, very random!

I got 20% off clothes recently. You really need the app then you can load offers onto it. I also got free chocolate, bread, toiletries last Christmas via the app.

We spend many ££££ in M&S, clothing and weekly food shop. When it started we had good offers, 20% of menswear etc.

Now it's really specific like 10% off womens knickers with several exclusions, the offers are also few and far between.

No offers for me. They shut our local branch in the summer so fewer opportunities to shop in person.

This is my take on it and I posted up thread about it. Don’t think it matters whether you spend £200 a week there or 30p, I think the Sparks “offers” are the same for everyone.

Same with Matalan card. Does absolutely nothing.

Nectar, Asda, boots and Tesco are the best I've used.

I wasn't sure whether to burst out in song in reply ...."Absolutely nothing, uh ahh" 🎶

This post has been useful as a reminder to check for, the seemingly useless, offers!

I regularly get 15-20% off clothes, shoes and beauty. Got some lovely stuff in the 12 days of Christmas last year and usually get a few pounds off when I do my food shopping too. I think it's ok!

Do you buy a lot in there? I tend to find the more you buy, the more they send you. I base this on being a huge marks and Spencer shopper and I get lots of discounts and offers....and a couple of years ago, I practically stopped buying from there altogether (between jobs, no money, trying to be strong ) and got not a single email/reward/discount from there.

I think the offers are very tailored to what you buy....I buy my fruit and veg there weekly so get a lot of food offers....I'm very partial to the homeware and women's sections so receive offers for there too. I don't buy any mens or kids so never receive anything from those. I have noticed if I buy say jeans, I'll get a "reward" for jeans as my next one....if I buy any homeware, bedding is a bit of my downfall, I do get money almost straight away off more bedding. I'm learning not to try say 3 pairs of jeans on and buy them all as I know if I buy one, I'll get a sparks reward off more jeans. I don't know for sure if it works like this, but it seems to be this way for me! If I have a break from spending there, I almost always get a 10 or 20 per cent off everything reward.

I do regularly get free biscuits/fruit/percy pigs/bread and I'm not going to sniff at that. Anything free is a winner!

I think their advent calendar thing is a bit rubbish. They seem to stop all rewards and I never get anything good on the advent. Nothing going out of my way to pick up. I remember a couple of years ago, a lot of my colleagues even got free vodka, alcohol etc and I got nothing like that!

Edited to say I've just looked at mine
15% off shellfish
20% off throws
10% off fruit and veg
10 % off cleaning and laundry
Free percy pigs
10% off cut flowers and plants
£1 off shopping if £6 spent on sweets.

I shop in M&S regularly but in small amounts so my freebies/ vouchers are small and rare but as I only buy there specific things even a small discount counts.
They give a lot of useless discounts e.g for men suits/ties or ready prepared meals but the nice practical ones for berries, chocolates and shortbreads do happen. 😉

You have to load the offers on. Pain in the bum and who has time!