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. However, this is changed in June 2023 so points are doubled when swapped with reward partners. Details here.
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. Note, the rates below reflect the move to double rather than triple exchanges from 14 June 2023.
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 can swap them.
Disney +
As long as you have £12 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 double 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 double credit towards an English Heritage or RHS membership.
It’s worth checking out Kids Pass 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 to spend, It’s only for Cineworld or Picturehouse.
You can also use your points towards the Cineworld Unlimited pass.
Theatre tickets
The same 2x 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 £1.50 in vouchers to get £3 credit towards your railcard, potentially saving you 50% 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. 150 Clubcard points are worth 300 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
You can convert a minimum of 50p in Clubcard vouchers to get a £1 voucher to go towards a subscription.
So if you wanted to sign up to a year of Empire completely (at a cost of £68.25) via Clubcard points you would need £34 in points, and top it up by another 25p 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 £55, so the Clubcard deal really saves you just £21.
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 double, 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 double 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!
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 double instead, 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 £15 via Clubcard vouchers, or £15 via Tastecard or another voucher.
It means there’s real boost. 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 double 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.
I recently exchanged £1.50 of vouchers for a Cineworld discount of £4.50, meaning all I paid for my cinema ticket was £1.49. Thanks Tesco!
I am completely unaware of how to claim my Clubcard points/or where they can be used.
Can you please send all the relevant details by email.
Thank You
We have used our vouchers on membership of Engi Heritage and currently the RHS and I think we have had good value from them we have been to some amazing places without handing over hard cash.
We spent £111 in vouchers for English Heritage membership which would have cost £115 cash, because I had a lot of vouchers to use up but would not call this good value. Also Travelzoo doing EH for half price at the moment.
Note that tesco vouchers can’t be used towards the 26-30 railcard. Tesco have said on twitter that they ‘might look into it’
Agree with the comments on meals as with most restaurant chains you can get deals while using your club card vouchers you have to use the full price. Also in the last year you have not been able to use them for eating out or days out to the full extent. You pay a lot more for RAC with points than you would paying RAC direct. Most magazines do a subscription deal so no where near the 3x savings and Goldsmiths are a joke. This year for me has been the Tesco mobile data deal, double the value has been good and I have been changing vouchers every 3 months to keep myself in credit with Tesco. Mobile. I’m not good at technology and the Tesco points are quite difficult and time consuming to convert though.
Thanks for this Andy! I’ve changed all my clubcard vouchers to use for now tv , something that I subscribe to anyway, so saving a bit of money!
Great!!
I am now at a loss as to how to make good use of Tesco vouchers. They were brilliant for using Eurotunnel when we used to go to France each year. Uber was also very good while it lasted. Due to moving house I have no Tesco within reasonable travelling distance so get only get my points through a Tesco Credit Card. As I go on cruises the points
DO mount up.
Yes, it’s not as good as it used to be – and now many of the options are really restricted. I don’t earn that many points now so it’s even harder to switch them up. NOW TV and magazines are some of the only ones you can do from home
Last week to my horror I discovered some vouchers out of date and I returned them by post to have them renewed but so far I have not had a reply. As an eighty year old pensioner on a limited income I value my voucher for instance to pay for my mobile phone . This time due to the current situation I wanted to pay for groceries and to pay my monthly mobile phone.
So far I am waiting and hoping for a positive reply.
Can club points be used to join the National Trust ??
Using Clubcard points for Cineworld vouchers (3x) combined with a Meerkat 2 for 1 voucher means you can get two tickets for the equivalent of £5. Effectively 6x value when combined.
I was using the points on uber taxis, taxis for some people are an ongoing need and it was useful. The deal is scrapped so I looked at whats left and its either unpopular magazines or for silly things like days out, nothing related to day to day expenses, Clearly tesco have been cost stripping as I expect deals on uber was costing them far more money than a cheaper cinema ticket. Since this current CEO has been appointed tesco has very sharply gone downhill, he clearly has a mandate to sort out their profits, and he hasnt been able to do it without visible effects. The quality of tesco food is currently not much better than smart price asda food but at over double the price, clubcard points are now almost irrelevant as they have been nerfed in many years during the past 3-5 years. Go back 5 years and you got points for tesco petrol, triple the points for every £ spent on food, way more deals, better quality food, cheaper food, cheaper delivery, bagged food on delivery, more choice of food for delivery, better use by dates, and better special offers (most special offers now days are for bilk purchases). The downfall of the brand has been huge. But it would appear the current mandate none of this matters as long as profits are maximised.
You do realise it’s a business, it’s whole objective is to make money.
SO sorry that redspottedhanky promotion ceased
I’m very disappointed with tesco, had a mobile sim only contract for a year with them,
When I decided to look for a better deal this year I was persuaded to stay with an offer if 1000 extra points if I stay..this was April..
Ive contacted tesco several times , tesco mobile are telling me they’ve definitely
Been added whilst tesco club card are saying they’ve not been added.surprise today received my statement they’re not..
Next year I’m not staying with you TESCO , as a loyal customer for many years I’m changing my supermarket shopping. Very disappointed
In you.
I looked into this too and I don’t agree on the restaurants – at least not totally.
Most vouchers have limitations and Friday/Saturday are usually excluded.
Taste card trial is great but you can only have that for a limited period once you’ve had it, you can’t do the trial again so shouldn’t really be compared.
So let’s say you don’t travel by train or uber, and you don’t want to subscribe to magazines.
You can get better deals on days out via kidspass as you point out.
Meals are left as the best option for most people even if they’re really only getting a 2x saving.
Yes, certainly better to use them for something you are going to use!
In July, Tesco revamped its Clubcard scheme and began sending out new dark blue contactless cards to customers. It also announced a major overhaul of its Clubcard app.
Hi Andy. I love building up my Tesco points. We tend to go to Belgium every year, and you can swap £10 of clubcard points for £30 worth of Eurotunnel vouchers. That means that generally you can travel back and forth from France for less than £30 in Tesco vouchers. Much quicker and cheaper than the ferry!
My first use is to get RAC membership.