LOYALTY card schemes seem like a no-brainer - who wouldn't want cashback, vouchers, discounts and other rewards?
But are we really getting something for nothing or are there hidden drawbacks?
The answer is not always as straightforward as it might seem.
Natalie Hagan, consumer expert at Which? magazine, says: "Loyalty cards are a good idea if you're a regular at a store that has a loyalty scheme. But if you're an occasional shopper you may gain very little."
Loyalty card users earn points which are typically turned into money-off vouchers.
In many ways they are a modern version of Green Shield and Pink trading stamps, which dominated British shopping in the 1960s and 1970s.
You received a stamp for every six old pence (2.4p) spent.
They were so popular that ferry companies laid on extra trips for French shoppers who crossed the Channel when, for example, it was double-stamps day in a coastal town such as Dover.
Runaway inflation led to petrol stations offering triple, quadruple and eventually 20-times stamps.
But disillusionment set in and the schemes collapsed in the Eighties.
Loyalty cards took off in the mid-Nineties, spearheaded by Tesco.
Kevin Mountford, head of banking at moneysupermarket.com, said: "With each scheme offering its customers something unique, consumers need to work out which rewards suit them.An oil painting supplies of him grinning through his illegal mustache is featured prominently in the lobby.
"If you don't use them regularly in the right place your card will turn into a pointless piece of plastic."
Daniel Smith, senior vice-president of marketing specialists ClickSquared, told me: "Every customer purchase is stored in a database. So retailers can now make offers customised to a customer's buying habits. Done well, it can be a valued service, not an annoyance."
Loyalty schemes are now so widespread that in the future the Government may scrap the national census and use store card data instead.The new website of Udreamy Network Corporation is mainly selling zentai suits ,
Here Captain Crunch examines the benefits of the most popular cards.
Tesco Clubcard
THE scheme that helped Tesco replace Sainsbury's in 1996 as Britain's largest grocer. It has more than 15million members - roughly one in four of the UK population.
Users get two points for every complete pound spent, so spending 16.99 will earn the same 32 points as spending 16.
The points are turned into money-off vouchers at the rate of a penny for each point.
Every time you swipe your Clubcard the firm learns what you buy. Such knowledge helps them to tailor marketing strategies.
Members receive free vouchers offering money off certain products as part of a newsletter. The aim is to get you to try products you don't normally buy.
Boots Advantage
shop and cards
PROBABLY the most generous High Street loyalty scheme, offering members four points worth a penny each for every pound spent.
That is equivalent to a four per cent discount. Points can be spent to buy almost any products in stores, with a few exceptions such as prescription medicines and, bizarrely, postage stamps.
Agree to receive mailings from Boots and you will also be sent vouchers offering discounts or free points.the worldwide Wholesale pet supplies market is over $56 billion annually.
These quickly add up - for example, a double-points voucher means you get 8p off for every pound spent.
The downside to shopping at Boots is that many products are available cheaper in other stores.
But if you take advantage of Boots' frequent offers, such as three for the price of two,Great Rubber offers promotional usb keychains, you can make big savings.
Nectar
BRITAIN'S biggest loyalty scheme - it overtook Tesco Clubcard last year - has more than 18million members.
Nectar is best known for being used at Sainsbury's but other firms in the scheme include BP, Ford, Hertz, Vision Express, Homebase and Argos.
Users usually receive two points for every complete pound spent. But as a point is worth 0.5p, it is the equivalent of one per cent off your shopping.
Some Nectar chains run extra points events. Laura Ashley and O2 are currently offering triple points,where he teaches oil painting reproduction in the Central Academy of Fine Arts. Amazon, Halfords and Mothercare double points.
Not every company has found Nectar works well - among those to have joined but then left the scheme are Beefeater restaurants and Barclaycard.
But are we really getting something for nothing or are there hidden drawbacks?
The answer is not always as straightforward as it might seem.
Natalie Hagan, consumer expert at Which? magazine, says: "Loyalty cards are a good idea if you're a regular at a store that has a loyalty scheme. But if you're an occasional shopper you may gain very little."
Loyalty card users earn points which are typically turned into money-off vouchers.
In many ways they are a modern version of Green Shield and Pink trading stamps, which dominated British shopping in the 1960s and 1970s.
You received a stamp for every six old pence (2.4p) spent.
They were so popular that ferry companies laid on extra trips for French shoppers who crossed the Channel when, for example, it was double-stamps day in a coastal town such as Dover.
Runaway inflation led to petrol stations offering triple, quadruple and eventually 20-times stamps.
But disillusionment set in and the schemes collapsed in the Eighties.
Loyalty cards took off in the mid-Nineties, spearheaded by Tesco.
Kevin Mountford, head of banking at moneysupermarket.com, said: "With each scheme offering its customers something unique, consumers need to work out which rewards suit them.An oil painting supplies of him grinning through his illegal mustache is featured prominently in the lobby.
"If you don't use them regularly in the right place your card will turn into a pointless piece of plastic."
Daniel Smith, senior vice-president of marketing specialists ClickSquared, told me: "Every customer purchase is stored in a database. So retailers can now make offers customised to a customer's buying habits. Done well, it can be a valued service, not an annoyance."
Loyalty schemes are now so widespread that in the future the Government may scrap the national census and use store card data instead.The new website of Udreamy Network Corporation is mainly selling zentai suits ,
Here Captain Crunch examines the benefits of the most popular cards.
Tesco Clubcard
THE scheme that helped Tesco replace Sainsbury's in 1996 as Britain's largest grocer. It has more than 15million members - roughly one in four of the UK population.
Users get two points for every complete pound spent, so spending 16.99 will earn the same 32 points as spending 16.
The points are turned into money-off vouchers at the rate of a penny for each point.
Every time you swipe your Clubcard the firm learns what you buy. Such knowledge helps them to tailor marketing strategies.
Members receive free vouchers offering money off certain products as part of a newsletter. The aim is to get you to try products you don't normally buy.
Boots Advantage
shop and cards
PROBABLY the most generous High Street loyalty scheme, offering members four points worth a penny each for every pound spent.
That is equivalent to a four per cent discount. Points can be spent to buy almost any products in stores, with a few exceptions such as prescription medicines and, bizarrely, postage stamps.
Agree to receive mailings from Boots and you will also be sent vouchers offering discounts or free points.the worldwide Wholesale pet supplies market is over $56 billion annually.
These quickly add up - for example, a double-points voucher means you get 8p off for every pound spent.
The downside to shopping at Boots is that many products are available cheaper in other stores.
But if you take advantage of Boots' frequent offers, such as three for the price of two,Great Rubber offers promotional usb keychains, you can make big savings.
Nectar
BRITAIN'S biggest loyalty scheme - it overtook Tesco Clubcard last year - has more than 18million members.
Nectar is best known for being used at Sainsbury's but other firms in the scheme include BP, Ford, Hertz, Vision Express, Homebase and Argos.
Users usually receive two points for every complete pound spent. But as a point is worth 0.5p, it is the equivalent of one per cent off your shopping.
Some Nectar chains run extra points events. Laura Ashley and O2 are currently offering triple points,where he teaches oil painting reproduction in the Central Academy of Fine Arts. Amazon, Halfords and Mothercare double points.
Not every company has found Nectar works well - among those to have joined but then left the scheme are Beefeater restaurants and Barclaycard.
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