'An insult to customers': Tesco slashes Clubcard reward vouchers again amid cost of living crisis
20 March 2023, 10:27 | Updated: 20 March 2023, 10:34
Shoppers have slammed Tesco for cutting the value of its Clubcard reward vouchers as families struggle through the cost of living crisis.
The supermarket has said it is reducing the value of vouchers spent with its Reward Partners for the second time in five years.
For many families, the scheme makes a huge difference as it makes the cost of going on a day out significantly cheaper.
At a time when many households are struggling with every day costs, customers are furious that Tesco have slashed the vouchers' value yet again.
If a customer collected 500 Clubcard points, this would usually be worth £5 to spend in-store. But if customers exchange the points for codes to spend with Rewards Partners, they are worth three times as much.
.@Tesco cutting their clubcard rewards is the final thing to make me move to Aldi. Better to save real money than paying £8 for a glass of wine in a pizza chain and thinking I’m getting a bargain, right??
— Mumma Jelly (@MummaJelly) March 17, 2023
But from June 14, points will only be doubled when exchanged for the codes, meaning shoppers have less than three months to get the most out of them.
Hundreds of retailers, attractions and other services are part of the scheme, including Legoland, Disney+, Alton Towers, Hotels.com, Cineworld and Pizza Express.
Tesco says its move will help make sure it can maintain such a wide range of Clubcard rewards, but customers are still unimpressed.
The Reward Partners scheme originally allowed shoppers to boost the value of their vouchers by 4X, but this was reduced to 3X in 2018.
"So...we all have to spend more at Tesco to do our food shops, but get less reward for it. Thanks for the support @Tesco," said one frustrated shopper.
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Another added: "@Tesco clubcard vouchers reduced in value again? They were 4x then 3x and now 2x? A loyalty scheme that is showing dwindling returns for that loyalty - and an insult to customers while to you still rake in record profits. Disgusting. #howlonguntil1x."
A third wrote: "We were always grateful for the Clubcard X4 when our kids were younger, it helped out massively on days out, we used our vouchers to buy towards Merlin passes which saved us so much money.
"We use it now for ourselves and X3 is good, but what an insult #X2 is to customers!"
Tesco told customers about the move in an email, and on its website. The chain said: "From 14 June 2023, when you exchange your Tesco Clubcard vouchers for a Tesco Clubcard Reward Partner code, they'll be worth 2x their value.
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@Tesco are reducing their clubcard rewards by 33% so they can 'keep prices low'. Funny, cos last time I checked, they'd passed on pretty every cost increase to shoppers. They also made £2.6bn profit last year. I guess we're not all in it together.
— Pete Bancroft (@PeteBancroft) March 17, 2023
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"You'll still get up to 3x the value until 13 June 2023. We're making this change to the scheme to make sure we can continue to provide a wide range of rewards that meet the needs of all our Tesco Clubcard members, while keeping prices low for everyone.
"Tesco Clubcard continues to have the biggest and most generous Reward Partner scheme with access to over 100 Partners at 2x your Clubcard voucher value."
While Clubcard points are value for two years, they normally expire after six months when exchanged for rewards vouchers.
However, to soften the blow ever so slightly, Tesco is extending the validity of vouchers for an additional six months from June 14, MoneySavingExpert reports.
