Martin Lewis's Money Saving Expert (MSE) is never short of tips and tricks to help you make your hard-earned cash go further. Now, the UK’s beloved finance guru has issued a warning for anyone with a Tesco Clubcard – and if you’re a fan of whacking a few points off your weekly shop, you’ll want to tune in.
On November 30 at 11.59pm, £18 million worth of Tesco Clubcard vouchers are expiring, with the supermarket urging its customers to use or lose their reward points before the deadline. But fear not, as MSE has issued the lowdown on how to check when yours go out of date, or extend their validity if you won’t get a chance to spend them in time. Here’s everything you need to know.
How to Check Your Tesco Clubcard Voucher Expiry Date
You can spend Clubcard points on more than just your weekly shop by converting them into a voucher, which can then be spent at an array of exciting locations, from restaurants to theme parks. You’ll need a minimum of 150 points to claim a voucher, which you can do by signing into the Tesco Grocery & Clubcard app, or by visiting the ‘My Clubcard account’ tab online at tesco.com.
Next, select the button to turn your Clubcard points into vouchers, click on ‘request vouchers’ and, ta-da, they’ll appear in your Clubcard account within seconds. Just like magic.
As MSE outlines, Tesco Clubcard vouchers are only valid for two years from the date they were issued – but there’s a nifty way to extend the expiry date by an additional two years.
Extend Your Clubcard Voucher Expiry Date
‘Technically, under the Clubcard T&Cs, Tesco can refuse a Reward Partner order if it decides you’re trying to game the system by redeeming vouchers just to extend their validity – but we tested the trick at MoneySavingExpert.com Towers this month and it worked just fine,’ an blog post from the money advice platform explains.
The next deadline to extend your vouchers is 11.59pm on Saturday, November 30, which you can do by buying something either through the Tesco Clubcard Rewards page or by donating to one of its charity partners.
‘The remaining balance is credited back to your Clubcard account as points. So if you spend 50p using a £5 Clubcard voucher, you’ll get 450 points back (worth £4.50),’ MSE continues.
‘You can then swap your points for vouchers manually or wait for them to be converted with your next statement. The expiry date for these new vouchers will be two years in the future.’
How to Double the Value of Your Clubcard Vouchers
It’s worth noting that while there’s no minimum spend, MSE suggests aiming for as little as possible, so going for a 50p restaurant voucher (worth £1 at a restaurant of your choice), could be the way to go. You’ll need to do this for each and every voucher in your account if you want longer to spend them – and you might want to do the maths first.
Essentially, if you’ve got a £10 voucher it might be worth the hassle (and it’s potentially easier to just spend them) but if you’ve got a bunch of £1 vouchers, MSE reckons it’s less so.
Feeling Inspired?
Feeling inspired to get more bang for your buck? Set your alarms for the end of the month and make a date with your Clubcard app.
These vouchers maintain their validity for two years from the date they were issued and cannot be used or reissued post this date, meaning they will be lost if not redeemed in time. Consequently, shoppers must expend their reward points within the forthcoming three weeks, ensuring they are used prior to midnight on Saturday, November 30.
The expiry date of your vouchers can be checked by logging into the Tesco Clubcard website and selecting 'Clubcard account' followed by 'Vouchers', or via the Tesco app. Once located, these can be spent online or in-store using the provided code.
Every £1 spent translates to one point when scanning your Clubcard or app, while motorists can earn one point for every two litres of fuel purchased. One point equates to 1p, so collecting 150 points will yield savings worth £1.50.
For those who prefer not to spend their vouchers in-store, there's flexibility to use them at the pumps or double their value with over 100 Tesco Clubcard reward partners, including Disney+, Pizza Express, Hungry Horse pubs, and Ask Italian. You can also convert your vouchers to get discounts on your Tesco mobile bill, if that's more appealing.
But if you're not ready to part with your vouchers yet, Martin Lewis' MoneySavingExpert.com advises it's possible to extend their expiry date by an additional two years. To do this, make a nominal purchase on the Tesco Clubcard Rewards site, after which any residual balance is returned as points to your Clubcard account.
Once these points are either manually exchanged for vouchers or auto-converted with your next statement, the new vouchers will carry an expiry set two years hence, giving you until 2026 to redeem them.
Don’t Forget: You Can Double Your Clubcard Vouchers
Clubcard vouchers can be used towards your Tesco shop, or you can double their value by using them with a Clubcard Reward Partner. Some of the brands Tesco has partnered with include Pizza Express, Alton Towers and Hotels.com. MoneySavingExpert.com also explained how you can also use a Rewards Partner to extend your Clubcard vouchers. This trick involves making a small purchase - for example, just 50p - on the Tesco Clubcard Rewards webpage.
MSE explained: "Make a small purchase on the Tesco Clubcard Rewards page (not in store or on other Tesco pages) or donate to one of its partner charities. The remaining balance is credited back to your Clubcard account as points. So if you spend 50p using a £5 Clubcard voucher, you'll get 450 points back (worth £4.50).
"You can then swap your points for vouchers manually or wait for them to be converted with your next statement. The expiry date for these new vouchers will be two years in the future. There's no minimum spend, but the aim's to shell out as little as possible. A good option might be a 50p restaurant voucher (worth £1 at your chosen restaurant)."
Keep in mind you'll need to do this for each individual voucher, so it may not be worth it if you have smaller vouchers that are expiring. Tesco shoppers get one Clubcard point for every £1 spent on groceries in stores and online, or one point for every two litres of fuel you buy at a Tesco petrol station. Additionally, every £1 spent on Tesco Mobile is worth one point, while every £4 spent on a Tesco credit card is also worth one point.
You'll also get one point for every £1 spent using a Tesco Clubcard Pay+ debit card. You need a minimum of 150 points to get a Clubcard voucher, which will be worth £1.50 to spend in Tesco.
