Anyone else disappointed by the new M&S Sparks rewards changes?

[Nikki3009]

Hi,

Has anyone else noticed the change to the M&S Sparks Cards Rewards? I've previously often had 20% off clothing etc, but under the new system you have to spend money on certain items to earn money off future spends.

Before anyone comes at me, I know M&S don't have to offer a reward card in any shape or form. But the way the new rewards are going to operate seem highly biaised towards high-spending customers rather than all customers.

As an example...under the previous rewards I might have had 20% off dresses which, if I bought a dress for £50 would mean £10 off. Under the new scheme, I may get a £6 reward for spending £30 on a dress. So, as a customer I'm not really gaining anything - in fact, it'll end up costing me more, because I will no doubt have to top up that £6 reward in order to buy anything!

Obviously this has been done to be beneficial to M&S and it's a business decision but does anyone else feel it's a bit of a shame as a loyal customer?

Also, the influencers shilling this as a 'Fantastic Upgrade', need to start being transparent about their partnerships with M&S. You only have to do the maths to realise for the average customer, it's anything but 🙄

Colins and put them in the fridge. Top tier.

They don’t include any yellow sticker spends. I downloaded it today and disappointed. I lost my reward vouchers due to their cyber attack last year.

Absolutely this! Even wrote to them once to say "you must be aware you've got the crappest reward scheme in retail?"
I've got enough "targets" in my laugh already without M&S adding to it! A fiver voucher to spend on anything, now and again would be so much better!

Is the £5 reward ‘cash’ or can it only be used towards certain products?

I’ve had another offer added today

£6 reward when I spent £30 on cushions 🤦‍♀️

Maybe I've missed something - as M&S seem to have massively overcomplicated this new scheme - but I have some questions that I can't find answers to in the Sparks FAQs:

It says that if you purchase a clothing (or home I think) item using an offer to qualify for a reward, that reward sits in pending for 14 day in case the qualifying item is returned. After 14 days if the item hasn't been returned the reward becomes active in your wallet and you can spend it. My question is, what if you spend the reward (for example on food which you then consume) and then return the item after the 14 days but within the 28 day returns policy? The only info I can find pertains to what happens if you return the item within the 14 days (the reward is removed and the offer is re-added back in for its remaining duration apparently. Which isn't going to work if you spent the £6 on food and gobbed it 😀)

If you have an offer, make the qualifying spend, earn the reward in pending, then make another similar spend in the offer timeframe but return the original item, does item 2 count as a qualifying spend or does the offer go back on your Sparks to be used when you return item 1? In which case, do you have to buy something else to get that reward again, even though item 2 would have also qualified? I've done this - got a £6 reward on a £30 clothing spend offer. Bought a clothing item for £30 at the weekend which earned me £6 in pending. I've since ordered another item for £32, but item 1 is going to be returned. I'm interested as to whether my £6 will stay there on the basis of item 2 being also qualifying or whether it'll go back in my offers-to-be-used (in which case I'll return item 2 and re-order it. What a faff 🙄If this is the case I predict M&S facing a lot of returns and re-orders.)

I'd be interested if anyone has any info on this - perhaps there hasn't been time since the launch of the all-new improved <ahem> Sparks to test it out yet!

(Also I cannot believe how much thought I've put into this. Clearly need to get out more. Beyond M&S that is 😀)

The first time I went to use my Sparks card after the changes, I had been logged out and was asked to go through the password change performance. The assistant said that had happened to lots of people. I was at a self checkout and just wanted to pay and go. I can’t be arsed with it now.

I’ve thought the same, but if you buy online you have to return within 14 days. I’ve just returned something so I’ll see what happens.

Really disappointed. I used to stock up when I got the 20% offers. My deals seem to be much worse than most people’s too! ‘Earn £2 if you spend £12 on socks’. 🙄

I don't know why M&S has to have the most complicated loyalty scheme ever.
I'd prefer one where you get points & you can use them to get money off things or even back to the 20% off.
Though I do like the food spending discount as I was getting that before.
However now that M&S have shut the city centre store which always had a heaving food hall it means I have to go over to the flagship store at the retail park which isn't a problem for me, but is annoying for some friend/colleagues as they used the city centre food hall loads.
It was really handy for them as living north of the city whereas the other store is south.

Glad it wasn't just me who'd noticed the anomalies! We'll both have to report back!

(You still have 28 days to return M&S online purchases under their 'goodwill' policy btw, it's just the CCR (used to be the DSR) that allows 14 days for cancellation.)

I’ve had a get £2 when you spend £20 on home fragrance. 🤦🏻‍♀️

It’s pretty poor full stop.
I needed some things, bought them. Then they sent me a code for a discount off the items I had already bought. What is the point in that?
My favourite card is the Boots one. I’ve racked up a lot of rewards especially since using the recycling scheme.

I have to spend £100 to get £20 off next purchase much sooner have the 20% discount I usually wait until they come up I won’t be buying very much from M&S now.

Yes - I think it's rubbish.

I need to spend £12 on socks to get my reward of £2.
There's also something about the wording of having to 'earn' your 'reward' that really bugs me.

Such a shame that a reduction of value in their reward scheme has been introduced with as much fanfare as it has, very basically they have decreased the amount of reward you get, for example in order to get the £6 reward for jeans you would have to spend £36, so in simple terms the reward equates to approx 16% instead of the old and generous 20%, I expect their sales might dip a little once everyone cottons on :-)

My newer offers are much more manageable than the first lot! I’ve got earn £5 reward for £25 spent on Goodmove, earn £1 for £8 on deli, earn £4 for £20 on lingerie/nightwear, earn £1 for £8 on fruit, earn £5 for £25 on home and earn £4 for £20 on women’s linen.

The same thing has happened to me multiple times I simply re order under the discounted price and return the original order and I do it all on a credit card so no situation of too much money coming out of my bank and then when i have finalised what am keeping from any order I pay off the card. This new scheme is manipulative it’s all about trying to force people to buy more it’s not a reward that’s linguistic jiggerypockery its trying to force customers to keep buying more. Know who the biggest shopping group are? Middle aged women. Know who the biggest 🐂 💩 detectors are? Yup middle aged women. They will quite rightly loose a LOT of customers over this nonsense.

I remember when they released the M&S app and you got loads of freebies for having a loyalty card added to it! That was a golden era for it but they’ve been worsening the offers for a while. Things have gone downhill since then, even before these recent changes. It’s much less frequent that you get a good treat.

It’s rubbish. Their stock turnover will show decreased sales.

It’s all just a bit pants isn’t it? I don’t feel any incentive to go and spend lots of money on stuff to get £1-2 off here and there.

When I had my 20% discount vouchers, I’d be chomping at the bit to get the perceived bargain! And would often end up spending more. M&S have shot themselves in the foot with this new rewards format. I can only see a slump in sales.

Totally baffled about the link up with Virgin holidays/experiences too. I can’t afford any of that. I’m clearly not the target market. Which is a bit of an insult as I’ve been a loyal customer of M&S for years.

M&S would have crunched the numbers and done market research before deciding to relaunch Sparks. These things aren’t conceived on a whim, so I doubt sales will suffer.

The money you save in the "wallet" lasts till 2027 - currently June '27, so it's not just two months' time. Can be used to save up for a proper treat.

Having to get it put on the Sparks card is rather daunting but I suppose that's the only way to control whether you are saving up or spending it on the next shop.

I feel the same.

also this month I have just got earn £3 if you spend £15 on meat with a photo of meat. I’ve been vegetarian my whole life, so no meat has ever been bought by me on my sparks card, plus I don’t have a food hall nearby.

I will only be shopping here now when I really need to. I bought something but needed to add more to get my money on my Soarks card. I decided not to pick up the trousers I bought. Money will eventually go back on to my card.