The best ways to use and earn Tesco Clubcard points - Be Clever With Your Cash % (2023)

You can get up to triple value on your points.

If you shop at Tesco, you probably already have a Tesco Clubcard (if not sign up for one on their site or pick up a flyer in-store). But how do you spend the points to get the best value?

What are Tesco Clubcard points worth?

You’ll get one Clubcard point for every £1 you spend at Tesco.

If you spend them in-store on your groceries, 100 Clubcard points are worth £1, so that means they have a base value of 1p each.And if you’ve got 1,000 points then that’s worth £10. And so on.

• 1 Clubcard point = 1p
• 2 Clubcard points = 2p
• 100 Clubcard points = £1
• 200 Clubcard points = £2
• 500 Clubcard points = £5
• 1,000 Clubcard points = £10
• 2,500 Clubcard points = £25
• 5,000 Clubcard points = £50

This means earning Clubcard points is the equivalent of getting 1% back on your shopping at Tesco.

But they can worth more through Reward Partners (previously called Clubcard Boost).Here you swap your Clubcard points for vouchers to spend elsewhere.

There used to be variable boosts. Some doubled your points, some tripled and some even quadrupled. But it’s now a simpler triple boost across most deals. So each point is worth 3p via a boost, meaning you’ll ultimately get the equivalent of 3% back.

How to get a Clubcard

Tesco Clubcard is a free reward scheme. You can pick up a card and join in-store or register online.

How to use Tesco Clubcard points

You can’t spend Clubcard points until they have been converted into Clubcard vouchers. And to do this you need a minimum of 150 Clubcard points (the equivalent of £1.50). Points will only be swapped in multiples of 50.

You used to get sent these in the post with your Clubcard statement, which is sent every three months in February, May, August and November.

However from 5 May 2022 this moved online for some customers. If you’ve used Tesco online you’ll instead get your statement and vouchers via email, unless you actively tell Tesco you still want them in the post.

A better way to convert points to vouchers is via the Faster Vouchers process as you don’t have to wait for the statement. You’ll only get a digital voucher via this method. Again you’ll need at least 150 points to convert them.

Whether paper or digital vouchers you can spend them in any Tesco store or on the Tesco online as part or full payment towards your shopping.

If you swap them with a Reward Partner you need to do this via the Clubcard website. These boosts will often be have minimum levels (e.g. 50 points), and you can only swap increments of that amount (e.g. if you have 120 points you can only use 100 points)

How long Clubcard vouchers last

When you’re issued a Tesco Clubcard voucher it’s valid for 2 years. Faster vouchers last 21 months from when they are exchanged.

You can check if you’ve any vouchers and their expiration dates in your Clubcard account.

Clubcard deals and promotions

There are a few ways to use your Clubcard to save more money at Tesco.

Tesco Clubcard coupons

In early December 2022, one in five Clubcard customers (around 4 million) were given access to new coupons via the Tesco app. The coupons are tailored to your shopping, so hopefully that means you’ll see discounts for products you buy. They won’t all be money off, some could be extra Clubcard points.

You’ll need the Tesco app, not the Clubcard app which is being replaced. If you get the vouchers you’ll find them via the Clubcard tab, and a section called coupons.

Tesco Clubcard Plus

This premium service costs £7.99 a month, and benefits include 10% off two shops every month. It looks like a good scheme for regular Tesco shoppers. Here’s my full review, including details on how to get it.

Tesco Clubcard Prices promotion

Tesco lets you use your Clubcard to gain extra savings on groceries in-store and online. The first one of these was in May 2019 to mark 100 years of Tesco and it was the first time we’ve seen special discounts for being a member of the scheme (unless you count the odd voucher in the post). It’s now a regular promotion in Tesco stores and online.

You don’t need any points on your card – you just need to have one.

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The best ways to spend Tesco Clubcard vouchers

There are actually hundreds of options, so I’ve scanned through them to find my best uses of your Clubcard points.

Charities

New to Clubcard is the choice to donate your points to food poverty charities Fareshare and The Trussell Trust. You can also give to the British Heart Foundation, Cancer Research and Diabetes UK.

Sadly Tesco doesn’t boost these donations as they do with other offers, which I think is a shame. Still if you have at least 50p in vouchers you canswap them.

Disney +

As long as you have £8 worth of points, you can swap them for a three-month Disney+ subscription. Both new and existing Disney+ users can take advantage. Since a month costs £7.99 you’re still getting triple value on your Clubcard points.

Sometimes the offer is temporarily improved, eg six months for the same price. Here are other ways to save on Disney+.

Days out

Fancy paying less when going to the zoo? A theme park? Museum? All these are available at a discount.

A lot of the “days out” used to be quadruple points and have been reduced to triple – but they still represent decent value. It’s worth checking to see there isn’t a better offer out there, though one saving which is hard to beat is using your points for triple credit towards an English Heritage or RHS membership.

It’s worth checking out Kids Pass though if you go out a lot as some discounts might be bigger.

Cinema tickets

You can use your points to get cut-price cinema tickets, again at triple value. So 50p in vouchers will get you £1.50 to spend, It’s only for Cineworld or Picturehouse.

You can also use your points towards the Cineworld Unlimited pass. You need a minimum of £10 in Clubcard vouchers for this, which will get your £30 credit.

Theatre tickets

The same 3x value applies to vouchers to use with TodayTix to save on theatre tickets. You’ll be able to combine the vouchers with discounted seats regularly on offer via the app.

Railcards

If you regularly travel by train then a railcard can save you cash, and one of the cheapest ways to get one is using your Clubcard points.

You can trade £1 in vouchers to get £3 credit towards your railcard, potentially saving you two-thirds on the full price. It works for most types of railcard, though an exception is the 26-30 card.

Bonus airline points

If you already save airline points, this is a great way to get more. 250 Clubcard points are worth 625 Virgin Flying Club. Avios moved from Clubcard to Nectar in January 2021.

However, unless you travel a lot and earn lots of points, I do think you’re better off using a standard cashback credit card rather than be restricted to using air miles.

Magazine subscriptions

Magazines are also now in line with the “triple bonus” standard, meaning once more you can convert a minimum of 50p in Clubcard vouchers to get a £1.50 voucher to go towards a subscription. This is roughly what they were before.

So if you wanted to sign up to a year of Empire completely (at a cost of £62.40) via Clubcard points you would need £20.50 in points, and top it up by another 90p from your bank account.

Of course you can get other subscriber deals elsewhere which give good discounts. A quick search for Empire shows you can pay £46, so the Clubcard deal is still a decent saving, representing a 2x boost in real terms.

It’s a similar story for other magazines available via Clubcard, including Good Housekeeping, Elle, Garden Answers, Golf and Esquire.

This isn’t the best way to save on magazines though – you can get them for free! Read my cash hack to get free digital magazines

Tesco Mobile bills

You can use your points to reduce the cost of your mobile bill. It’s only 1:1 rather than triple, so you may as well use your points in-store.

At Tesco

I used to say using Clubcard points at Tesco itself was a waste. But if there’s nothing you want to buy from the Boost offers then it’s better to use them on normal spending. If you boost for the sake of it you’re wasting your points – even at the triple rate.

Andy’s Analysis – Are Clubcard boosts still worth it?

There was a time, not too long ago, that you’d be a fool not to swap Clubcard points with a reward partner. But in the last couple of years the best offers have disappeared.

First, my top pick of Red Spotted Hanky which let you book train tickets was removed in January 2019 and Uber followed in July the same year. Then NOW TV and Avios ended in January 2021.

There are still lots of options, but whether they’re worth it comes down to two factors. One: Do you want or need what you’re swapping for? Two: Can you get that partner offer discounted elsewhere?

If it’s no for the first, or yes for the second, I’d say you’re better off using the points at Tesco – at least you’ll actually need food and drink!

(Video) Supermarket loyalty cards - What are the points really worth?

Clubcard deals to avoid

Though you can save money by boosting your points in these areas, I think you can get similar savings elsewhere – meaning you should boost your points on the more valuable discounts listed above.

Restaurants

Even when these were 4x value I thought you could spend your points better elsewhere than at the chain restaurants included in Clubcard Boost. And now they are triple too the deal is worse.

That’s because you can get decent discounts for the likes of Pizza Express and Bella Italia elsewhere. A simple google often brings up voucher codes for 40% off or two for one. Plus you can save at more places more often with a Tastecard trial.

So let’s say you’ve gone to Pizza Express and the final bill came to £30, it would have cost you £10 via Clubcard vouchers, or £15 via Tastecard or another voucher.

Yes, that’s still a bigger saving, butit means your real boost is only 1.5x, not 3x. I think you’re better off using your points elsewhere.

List of Tesco Clubcard restaurants:

• Ask Italian
• Bella Italia
• Cafe Rouge
• Chef & Brewer
• Hungry Horse pubs
• Pizza Express
• Prezzo
• Zizzi

Hotels

It’s similar with converting your Clubcard vouchers to spend on hotels. Though you can get triple value on points to spend at Hotels.com, Mecure, Novatel and one or two other brands, you’re locked into booking direct with those websites, which might not offer the best rates available. I think you’re better off searching for the lowest prices elsewhere, and then using your points at one of the options above.

This video from 2018 takes you through why these are often bad ways to swap your points.