tesco clubcard vs nectar

[34D]

Hello,

Noting that clubcard points can be redeemed at Red Spotted Hanky and nectar points at VTEC, is there a quick answer as to which is best?

Assume both supermarkets are near my home.

 

[Hadders]

Clubcard is best.

Clubcard 1 point for each £1 spent in store. 1 point is worth 1p. £5 worth of Clubcard vouchers can be exchanged for £10 worth of RSH e-vouchers. RSH e-vouchers can be spent on all fares that can be purchased through their website.

Nectar - 1 point for each £1 spent in Sainsbury's. 1 point is worth 0.5p. £5 worth of vouchers can be exchanged for £5 worth of VTEC e-vouchers. The e-vouchers can only be spent on VTEC Advance fares.

Oh for the days of 2 Clubcard points for every £1 spend and a RSH redemption rate of 3 times the face value of the Clubcard voucher....

 

[Mojo]

Remember that RSH charges a £1 booking fee per transaction. This used to exclude eVouchers but no longer does.

 

[RJ]

Nectar is a boring and low value scheme IMO. Nice if you commit to shopping at Sainsburys as you might get your Christmas shop for free at the end of the year. The scheme was pretty unattractive as it was before. They recently halved the general earning rate. Most bonus point coupons nowadays require you to commit to shopping there regularly. It has had the adverse effect on me.

Although I quite like the CC scheme nowadays, I generally don't touch Nectar with a bargepole. I have a few hundreds pounds worth of points collected over the years, but will dispose of them soon and not bother collecting again.

 

[Andrew1395]

Best of all is a cash back card like Santander 123 credit card. You can get between 1-2% on your rail purchases? some are capped to £300 a month.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Personally I would just choose based on which supermarket you prefer generally (I prefer Tesco, as I find Sainsbury's a little more expensive, and my local Sainsbury's have long had an issue with poor stock control). I actually have both cards, though, as I do occasionally use the Sainsbury's as it is a little closer.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Best of all is a cash back card like Santander 123 credit card. You can get between 1-2% on your rail purchases? some are capped to £300 a month.

Personally wouldn't touch Santander with a bargepole; I've only heard bad things about their customer service, and as such would put them in the same bracket as Talktalk for "don't go near them regardless of the apparent value of the products".

 

[gray1404]

I have a friend who has a Tesco credit card and she buys EVERYTHING she possibly can on that and then pays it off in full monthly so she pays zero interest. She gets 1 clubcard point for every £1 spend on the card I believe and 2 for every £1 spent at Tesco. She then uses all the vouchers on RSH. she does really well out of it but this is a high level of thought involved and committment.

 

[richw]

Personally wouldn't touch Santander with a bargepole; I've only heard bad things about their customer service, and as such would put them in the same bracket as Talktalk for "don't go near them regardless of the apparent value of the products".

I will change what you've heard about them now then. I can't fault their customer service, but their systems are shocking. I've been victim of a number of technical errors.
However like most financial institutions if you know what you are doing as a customer you get perfect service. Make a complaint, ensuring your complaint meats the FCA complaint definition by cleverly wording your complaint, being unhappy isn't good enough to be an official complaint. Name drop FOS in a few times. Once the bank gives you a written response or 8 weeks have passed if you are dissatisfied with the outcome, go to FOS and the bank are charged a flat fee of £500 regardless of whether they have done anything wrong. So if you name drop FOS on a definition meeting complaint, the banks will offer sums of money below the £500 level to close of the compliant and make it cheaper than a FOS complaint.
As an example, Last year I had a complaint against a car finance company, they knew they I had a strong case and had mentioned FOS, and Within days they were offering me £400 in settlement of my complaint, as it was cheaper than me going to FOS.

Back to the original post, nectar is not a good scheme anymore. Very low value and need to spend a small fortune to get little back. Saying that clubcard although gives good value back, even with what you get back I still find it cheaper to shop at asda, lidl or Aldi. These loyalty schemes are all a false economy. To get a £10 RSH voucher you need to spend £500 in Tesco. It is inevitable that the same shop will cost much less in one of the cheaper alternatives. If that £500 shopping in Tesco only costs £475 in lidl, you could of had £25 cash left to spend on any of the rail ticketing retailers you like instead you have only £10 to spend at one specific retailer.

 

[bb21]

I find Tesco to be extremely expensive unless you stick to the Value range now that we have an Aldi down our street. I can walk out of Aldi with a massive load of shopping full of healthy food for £15. For the same money I struggle to get half the amount at Tesco.

 

[RJ]

I have a friend who has a Tesco credit card and she buys EVERYTHING she possibly can on that and then pays it off in full monthly so she pays zero interest. She gets 1 clubcard point for every £1 spend on the card I believe and 2 for every £1 spent at Tesco. She then uses all the vouchers on RSH. she does really well out of it but this is a high level of thought involved and committment.

There is a whole movement for this, though many involved stack up points for airline frequent flyer schemes instead of RSH. I'm on it so rarely use cash or debit cards, not even to pay off the credit card bills - might as well be rewarded if I have to spend money! I could use vouchers for RSH but there are higher value redemptions to be had!

Personally I am disappointed with the Tesco Clubcard credit card - I applied and they offered a rubbish credit limit in comparison to what I get from elsewhere, plus asked for a load of paperwork which I never bothered sending in!

 

[Mojo]

I find Tesco to be extremely expensive unless you stick to the Value range now that we have an Aldi down our street. I can walk out of Aldi with a massive load of shopping full of healthy food for £15. For the same money I struggle to get half the amount at Tesco.

I agree. I got a coupon for £3 off when I spend £20 at Tesco so thought I'd give it a go and I was shocked at how expensive it is. A punnet of grapes [500g] for £2.50 (Aldi charge £1.45 and Sainsbugs charge £1.50) is one example of something I buy regularly and couldn't believe what Tesco charge for them. Even their meal deal is appalling value (in terms of what you can get; it's the same price) compared to Sainsburys.

I was put off by Aldi a few years ago, mainly down to the queues and the clientele, however having noticed the queues at the mainstream supermarkets get out of control, and jacking their prices up, I thought I'd give it a go. Aldi now have signs that say how long the queues should be, and I'm lucky in that I can now avoid the shops when the masses are out. Whilst I still only visit them infrequently, they really have upped their game by offering better customer service and lower prices than the mainstream supermarkets. They still don't stock certain essentials for me such as clotted cream, and items that I often buy in the economy ranges in Tesco/Sainsburys are often more expensive, but the old saying that it pays to shop around is certainly true!

 

[bb21]

We have clotted cream in our Aldi branch.

The queues can be horrendous, partly due to people switching. When our shop first opened, I would very rarely have to wait more than a minute or two despite mostly only one or two checkouts were open. Now that ours have increased lanes from five to eight, and during daytime quite often 6-7 are open, and queues can still be pretty horrible.

I only go after 9pm nowadays, when it is quieter, less hectic and I can walk to the checkout to be served straight away mostly.

 

[Tetchytyke]

I much preferred Aldi when the middle classes still went to Sainsbury's. It's definitely a much less relaxing shopping experience these days, partly due to the queues and partly due to the Jemimas laughing about the brand names.

As for Clubcard, if you are eligible for a railcard you're best off using your Clubcard vouchers to buy one of those. Nectar is rubbish, but if I'm in Sainsbury's I'll still swipe it, as it's slightly better than nowt.

 

[Bletchleyite]

I much preferred Aldi when the middle classes still went to Sainsbury's. It's definitely a much less relaxing shopping experience these days, partly due to the queues and partly due to the Jemimas laughing about the brand names.

I must admit I do quite fancy the job of making up fake brand names for Aldi! (I never fully understood why it wasn't just Aldi beans and Aldi bread, but I guess it makes things look more palatable so is a powerful marketing tool - a lot of people think they are just "German brands" when in fact they're near enough all Aldi's own...)

 

[gordonthemoron]

I only shop at Harrods

 

[Bletchleyite]

I find Tesco to be extremely expensive unless you stick to the Value range now that we have an Aldi down our street. I can walk out of Aldi with a massive load of shopping full of healthy food for £15. For the same money I struggle to get half the amount at Tesco.

I'd shop at Aldi more if they hadn't closed my local one as not profitable enough. There is a Lidl, but I find the shopping experience, the range and the quality to be inferior to Aldi.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

However like most financial institutions if you know what you are doing as a customer you get perfect service. Make a complaint, ensuring your complaint meats the FCA complaint definition by cleverly wording your complaint, being unhappy isn't good enough to be an official complaint. Name drop FOS in a few times. Once the bank gives you a written response or 8 weeks have passed if you are dissatisfied with the outcome, go to FOS and the bank are charged a flat fee of £500 regardless of whether they have done anything wrong. So if you name drop FOS on a definition meeting complaint, the banks will offer sums of money below the £500 level to close of the compliant and make it cheaper than a FOS complaint.

I should not have to do that, and any hint that I may is enough to put me off going near a bank, as I simply do not have the time or inclination for it. If I do have a complaint I certainly should not have to quote certain rules or similar - informing them of it *once* must be enough to resolve. Anything more is unacceptable to me, and if Santander is really like that I retain my "bargepole" view.

They have got a bad press recently due to some high-level mismanagement, but the Co-operative Bank have never got anything wrong for me that I recall, and as such I will be staying there.

FWIW, it's a bit like Delay Repay. I ideally want never to have[1] to claim it.

[1] I don't claim it when the delay is due to something genuinely outside the railway's control like a suicide or seriously inclement weather, though I suppose perhaps I should do and donate to charity.

 

[Aldaniti]

I only shop at Harrods

How common. Fortum & Mason is the only place to go.

For food, I go to Waitrose. M&S if I'm pushed. I cross the threshold of a Sainsbury's once or twice a year but would only enter a Tesco or Morrison's if I was starving and moments from death. No ready meals and no processed junk. The only loyalty cards I hold are for Waitrose (free paper and coffee), Boots and Costa Coffee. Non-food items; cleaning, washing, household etc. and I go to B&M Bargains or Home Bargains (which seems to be the only place where I can get hold of my one junk food addiction - Golden Wonder crisps). I binned my Nectar card last year and no longer use the East Coast website to book my train tickets since the Rewards scheme was scrapped. I now use Arriva Trains Wales - no rewards but it is one of the few sites that seems to allow me to select a facing direction of travel seat which can be useful when a train is busy - and worth far more to me than a few pennies on a loyalty card.

 

[GatwickDepress]

Aldi or Tesco for me. No Clubcard, no Nectar, no faff or fuss. I survive on about £10 of food a week so I doubt I'd see any benefits in this lifetime anyway!

 

[radamfi]

Home Bargains (which seems to be the only place where I can get hold of my one junk food addiction - Golden Wonder crisps).

For many years I wondered what had happened to Golden Wonder crisps until I discovered that Home Bargains sold them. At the time, I had never heard of the shop as they only had branches in the north at the time. Soon after, though, Tesco started selling them, although at a higher price. Then I found them in Iceland for £1 for a 6 pack, so only 1p more than Home Bargains. Tesco stopped selling them but Iceland still have them. But Home Bargains is still the only place I know that sells individual 32.5g bags, and only for 20p.

Golden Wonder is much easier to get in Scotland.

 

[transmanche]

Golden Wonder is much easier to get in Scotland.

Possibly it's more popular there, as the company was founded in Scotland. Now owned by Tayto (the NI one, not the RoI one!).

 

[Searle]

Aldi or Tesco for me. No Clubcard, no Nectar, no faff or fuss. I survive on about £10 of food a week so I doubt I'd see any benefits in this lifetime anyway!

Sheesh, that's impressive. I impulse buy way too much to ever get close to that

My supermarket choice generally depends on whichever is closest to me; at home or my partner's home, Sainsbury's is closest, at university it's Tesco, and at my partner's university it's Morrisons. I'd probably say Sainsbury's was my favourite though :P Sometimes shop at Lidl for a few things, but have never bothered buying anything substantial. I was very impressed at their fresh fruit section though, even managed to get a mint tree for some Pimms from there!

 

[radamfi]

I would much prefer it if loyalty cards were scrapped, but if the shop has them then you need to have it. Otherwise you are subsidising those who do have them.

Iceland is a really bizarre one. It is more of a savings card and you get a £1 bonus for every £25 put on the card although you also get occasional coupons. So you effectively get 4% off. I only ever spend by using the card and top up by £25 when it runs low. Surely it is a no-brainer for any regular Iceland shopper? But I've never seen anyone else do it.

Also you have gift cards that many people get from work which give you roughly 5% off shopping in Sainsburys or Asda.

 

[WestCoast]

I had both when I lived in the UK and Clubcard is without a doubt the better scheme.

 

[Bletchleyite]

I would much prefer it if loyalty cards were scrapped, but if the shop has them then you need to have it. Otherwise you are subsidising those who do have them.

Effectively they exist so the shop can buy "big data" from you and pay you for it in discounts, in the same manner Google acquires your data for advertising purposes and pays you by offering free Internet-based services. Not always a bad thing.

What I do think Tesco etc (I think Sainsbury's were first with these) should pack in are those "we've overcharged you by £X this time, here's a voucher". If you *know* you've overcharged me at the point of payment, how's about not overcharging me? These vouchers cynically work on the basis that many people will lose them or forget to use them within the validity period.

 

[WestCoast]

I'd shop at Aldi more if they hadn't closed my local one as not profitable enough. There is a Lidl, but I find the shopping experience, the range and the quality to be inferior to Aldi..

I think Aldi UK is great but my local Aldi Süd in Germany is not good. They seem to run out of bread and some fresh veg by 5.30pm and the queue to pay makes every single day look like the day before Christmas. They run their UK stores on a larger budget it seems! Lidl is much better here I find, well stocked and well run.

I think despite what people say about Tesco and Sainsburys, I think UK shoppers would sorely miss them. I shopped around when I lived in the UK, but now I visit about 10 different stores each week plus butchers, bakers and greengrocers and I have to do it all before 8pm excluding Sundays! Keeps you fit, including the wallet though!

 

[Bletchleyite]

I think despite what people say about Tesco and Sainsburys, I think UK shoppers would sorely miss them. I shopped around when I lived in the UK, but now I visit about 10 different stores each week plus butchers, bakers and greengrocers and I have to do it all before 8pm excluding Sundays! Keeps you fit, including the wallet though!

Yes, Germany is much more like the UK was in the 1980s - a supermarket is mainly for tins and packets, other items are purchased from specialist retailers e.g. bakeries.

 

[Clip]

I just use Nectar as Sainsburys is the closest supermarket to me and she like shopping online a lot so always uses it for that too as theres a fair few stores that give you points and some have double or treble points on offer.

Im not overly fussed by any of the schemes but if theyre offering something then ill take it.

 

[Aldaniti]

For many years I wondered what had happened to Golden Wonder crisps until I discovered that Home Bargains sold them. At the time, I had never heard of the shop as they only had branches in the north at the time. Soon after, though, Tesco started selling them, although at a higher price. Then I found them in Iceland for £1 for a 6 pack, so only 1p more than Home Bargains. Tesco stopped selling them but Iceland still have them. But Home Bargains is still the only place I know that sells individual 32.5g bags, and only for 20p.

Golden Wonder is much easier to get in Scotland.

Ah, I see I'm not the only Golden Wonder fan!

 

[transmanche]

These vouchers cynically work on the basis that many people will lose them or forget to use them within the validity period.

Much like Rail Travel Vouchers...?

 

[ComUtoR]

I have a Clubcard because a Tesco Metro opened up just down the road from me. It seemed a waste to not get one. The benefits are not just points.

The vouchers they send are for items I typically buy as they seem to have a bespoke voucher generation. Points wise; most of mine come from outside of Tesco. Esso is my local petrol station and only 1p more expensive than the local cheapest. I also get points from my energy provider.

The beauty of clubcard points is certainly clubcard boost. Converting free money into more free money is kinda fun. I've had dinner out, christmas pressies and a couple of computer games.