We're all probably guilty of hunting a bargain at times.
Whether it's stamps split across three identical cards for the same cafe, or a supermarket card hooked faithfully to your keys, we've all probably got more loyalty cards in our wallet than we need.
But it is worth knowing exactly what some of the UK's main customer loyalty cards actually get you - because some offer more than others.
Here's a breakdown of the main customer loyalty cards for shops in the UK and what they offer you.
Tesco Clubcard
Tesco's Clubcard scheme allows customers to collect one point for every £1 spent in stores or online and one for every £2 spent on fuel. Every point is worth a penny when you're buying items in Tesco - so for example, a £60 shop will net you 60 points, or 60p.
You'll receive vouchers based on the number of points you've collected every three months or you can convert points into vouchers through the Clubcard app.
However, Clubcard points can also be traded in for three times the value with Tesco’s reward partners which include Pizza Express, Disney Plus and Cineworld among others using the code on the vouchers.
For example, you could turn every 50p you have in points into £1.50 to spend in Zizzi, Prezzo, Pizza Express or other restaurants. You could also exchange a £1 Clubcard voucher for £3 to spend on a 16–25 Railcard.
Sainsburys Nectar card
The Nectar card is best known as Sainsbury's loyalty card, but you can actually collect points from hundreds of different brands including Argos, eBay and Expedia (in most cases this only applies when you shop online). For a full list of brands click here.
With Nectar you get one point per £1 spent at Sainsbury’s in stores and online and a point for every litre of fuel bought. One point is worth 0.5p, so 500 points equals £2.50.
My Morrisons
With the old Morrisons More card, you received five points for every £1 spent in store, online or in the café.
You also received five points per litre of fuel and for every 5,000 points earned, Morrisons gave you a £5 voucher, known as a Morrisons Fiver. You could also earn points on selected products and promotions.
However, the supermarket chain revamped its loyalty scheme in May 2021, so instead of collecting points on your Morrisons More card, you will receive digital coupons through the My Morrisons app. These vouchers can be used straight away to save money while shopping in-store.
The digital offers are personalised according to your shopping preferences so you should receive coupons that give you a discount on products you usually buy instore. You can scan the app at the till for any eligible offers to be instantly applied.
Iceland Bonus
The Iceland Bonus scheme works slightly differently in that you receive a £1 bonus each time an aggregate of £20 of savings is added to your savings balance.
Your reward is paid into your account and you can use it along with your pre-loaded cash to pay for your shopping in store at Iceland or at The Food Warehouse.
Co-Op Membership
The Co-operative membership loyalty scheme gives you money back on what you buy rather than giving you points. 2p for every £1 you spend on selected products and services goes into your Co-op Membership account, and the Co-op gives the same amount to support community organisations and local causes.
You can spend the rewards you earn on most things you buy, not just Co-op products, or you can donate them.
Other benefits include having a say over how the company is run and a claim to its profits.
MyWaitrose
The MyWaitrose cards doesn't offer points but has other benefits such as sending you relevant vouchers and coupons based on your spending history each month and a free newspaper when you spent over £10.
Under the previous 'pick your offer' scheme, customers could select ten items out of hundreds to get 20% off each time they shopped, but this has since been scrapped.
Lidl loyalty scheme
Although it doesn't have a loyalty card, the Lidl Plus app lets you activate offers and collect points using a digital rewards card when you’re at the checkout.
The app allows you to bank points - spending £100 in a month gives you £2 credit, whereas £200 would earn you £10.
You will also save through activating coupons that offer roughly 10-20% off certain items. However, these aren't based off what you previously bought, so they might not be suitable for everyone.
Boots Advantage Card
With the Advantage Card you earn points every time you make a purchase at Boots online or in-store. You'll receive four points for every £1 you spend, so a £20 spend would get you 80 points. This makes the Advantage Card one of the most generous on the market.
There are also Mega Points Weekends where you can earn extra Advantage points for spending over a certain amount in-store or online – 1,000 extra points for spending £50, for example.
However, you can't earn points on prescriptions, powdered milk products, gift vouchers, plastic bags or insurance.
You also can't use your Advantage points to part-pay for an item – you need enough points to cover the entire cost.
Points on the card are automatically removed after two years if the card is inactive for that long.
Superdrug Health & Beauty card
Superdrug's Health & Beauty card allows you to collect points in-store or online. You can earn one point for every £1 you spend and each point is worth 1p. Points can be redeemed in multiples of 100 so you can use 100 points to get £1 off or 200 points to get £2 off.
Unlike the Boots Advantage scheme you can pay with a mixture of points and cash, meaning you don’t need to wait until your balance is exactly right to use them.
Nando's card
With the Nando's reward card you earn a 'chilli' every time you spend £7 or more on your meal.
You can only collect one chilli per customer per day, so even if you spend £14, you'll still just get one stamp. So if you're dining with a fellow Nando's cardholder make sure you pay separately to maximise chilli earnings.
You'll claim a reward when you get a certain number of chillis - for example, three chillies gets you a 1/4 chicken or starter, six chillies gets you 1/2 a chicken or any single wrap, burger or pitta, while ten chillies earns you a whole chicken or single combo meal with regular sides.
Subway Rewards
Formerly the Subcard, Subway Rewards allows you to get free items by working up enough points. You get ten points for every £1 spent on orders.
100 points gets you a free hot drink, 200 points gives you a free snack, 500 points gets you a free six-inch sub, flatbread or salad and 1,000 points gives you a free footlong sub or flatbread.
Waterstones Plus Card
With the Waterstones Plus Card you get a stamp for every £10 spent. Ten stamps will give you £10 off your next purchase.
Costa Coffee card
Costa Coffee introduced a new loyalty scheme in September 2021 which swapped the points scheme to 'beans'. Costa Club members will receive one bean for every hot or cold drink.
Once a Costa Club member has earned eight beans, customers will receive a voucher for a free barista-crafted drink of any size.
Cafe Nero card
The Caffè Nero loyalty card is a loyalty card that can be used to collect stamps for any barista-prepared drinks.
Once nine stamps have been collected a free hot drink of any size will be earned.
Starbucks Rewards
Similar to other big cafe chains, Starbucks gives you 'stars' when you buy drinks which can later be exchanged for items in-store. You get three stars for every £1 spent, and you need 150 stars to get a free drink.
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