Supermarket rewards cards can help you save money – and get free stuff – simply by spending the cash you were planning on spending anyway.
Deciding on the best option for you will obviously depend on where you like to shop. But if you have a choice of supermarkets it is worth weighing up the various offers to find where you can save the most money.
The first thing to remember is that you must read the small print – while many supermarkets run a rewards scheme, all have their own system and points value.
In fact, some rewards schemes offer points worth next to nothing - a ploy used by brands to encourage shoppers to spend more, with sometimes just a few pence to show for it. So stay savvy.
Regardless, if you shop regularly at one place it is usually worth getting a rewards card anyway to ensure you are maximising your money.
Supermarket shopping: Make sure you make the most of your spending TescoTesco's reward scheme offers the best value per point.
How much are points worth?With Tesco's ordinary rewards card, the Tesco Clubcard, you collect 1 point for every £1 spent in store, on Tesco online or for non-fuel purchases at a petrol station. You also pick up one point for every £2 spent on fuel at a Tesco petrol filling station.
Tesco's Clubcard Credit Card can help you to multiply your rewards.
You get one Clubcard point for every £4 you spend on it. One point is worth 1p if spent in-store at Tesco and 4p if redeemed using Tesco's Clubcard rewards vouchers.
These can be used for a variety of restaurants, cinemas and other entertainment venues, as well as travel, through Avios.
How does it work?
You get Tesco Clubcard Credit Card points wherever you use your card – plus normal Clubcard points when you shop at Tesco.
Because your credit card doubles as your Clubcard you don't need to swipe twice - altogether you'll get five points for every £4 spent in Tesco stores and five for every £4 spent on Tesco fuel (excluding Esso Fuel) - a pretty good deal compared to other medium-spend offerings in the market.
Points expire after two years and rewards vouchers, two-and-a-half.
Clearly, with a 16.9 per cent interest rate, you should make sure you pay the card off in full each month otherwise rewards will be quickly cancelled out.
Cardholders pay 0 per cent on balance transfers for nine months, although they do have to pay a transfer fee of 2.9 per cent fee – and can transfer up to 95 per cent of your balance.
How about the small print?
A 2.75 per cent fee non-Sterling transaction fee applies when using your card abroad.
Points will not be awarded for some products, including tobacco or tobacco related products, lottery, stamps, prescription medicines, infant formula milk, Tesco Gift Cards, saving stamps, Esso fuel, Paypoint payments or for purchases of some Tesco Bank products.
There are plenty of other ways you can clock up points, including Tesco Travel, Photo and Mobile.
Top offers: shoppers can rack up points using Tesco's Clubcard credit card DON'T FORGET TO PAY YOUR BILL OFFThere is one golden rule when it comes to rewards cards, pay your bill off in full so that you don't get charged interest.
Do this and you will make sure you are reaping the rewards of savvy spending - gaining points or benefits for things you would buy anyway.
Fail to do it and you are losing the value of rewards as interest will eat into them or outweigh them - in that instance you will be playing right into the credit card provider's hands.
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If you’re not a regular Tesco shopper, an alternative is the Sainsbury's Bank Nectar Credit Card.
How much are points worth?You can collect 10 Nectar points per £1 on Sainsbury’s shopping (up to £1,000 a month) for the first three months.
After the introductory period you can earn four points per £1 on Sainsbury’s shopping. When you shop elsewhere you can earn one point for every £5.
The points system is a bit complicated because the figures given by Sainsbury's are the maximum you can clock up if you have both a Nectar credit card, and a Nectar Card - the supermarket's ordinary rewards card.
How does it work?
Unlike the Tesco Clubcard, the credit card does not double up as a Nectar Card so you will have to swipe both for maximum points - for example of the four points you make in every pound, two are earned using your credit card and two using your Nectar card.
The Sainsbury's rewards points system is also worth a lot less than Tesco's, which is something else to bear in mind.
A Sainsbury's Nectar point is worth 0.5p compared to a Tesco Clubcard point worth up to 4p, so one Clubcard point can be worth up to eight times more than Nectar points.
For every 500 points you'll received £2.50 off your chosen reward - so savings are minimal. Points can be used on a wide variety of rewards like days out, travel and restaurants or to help pay for your Sainsbury's shop.
In addition to the rewards the card also offers six months interest-free on purchases and 15 months interest-free on balance transfers (with a 3 per cent fee). After that, APR is 19.9 per cent.
Points differ on Sainsbury's fuel - for the first three months after opening your account you'll collect eight Nectar points for every £1 you spend plus one Nectar point per litre on Sainsbury's fuel. Again you have to swipe your Nectar card for maximum points.
After the first three months you'll collect two Nectar points for every £1 you spend on Sainsbury's fuel plus one Nectar point per litre on Sainsbury's fuel if you pay with the card.
How about the small print?
The Sainsbury's Nectar Credit Card is available to new Sainsbury's Bank credit card customers only, although existing customers of the bank may be eligible for an upgrade.
The 17.9 per cent representative APR means you should pay the card off in full each month.
Anything else?Another option for big Sainsbury's shoppers, again an option only available to new customers, is the Sainsbury's Cashback Credit Card.
With this card you get a pretty impressive 5 per cent cashback on Sainsbury's shopping for the first three months (up to a maximum of £50 a month).
After this, spend at least £250 with Sainsbury's each month, including online and petrol purchases, plus £250 elsewhere and you'll get £5 a month, equivalent to 1 per cent cashback. You can't earn Nectar points using this card so you will need to swipe that as well.
Marks and SpencerIf M&S is more your style, it could be worth taking out an M&S Credit Card.
How much are points worth?With M&S rewards you'll receive points every time you shop with your card - you get one point for every £1 spend in M&S and one point for every £2 you spend elsewhere. 500 M&S points are worth £5, so they may take a while to rack up, but can be used to buy most things in store.
You will also receive a bonus points voucher for 500 M&S points worth £5 as an introductory sweetener.
How does it work?
Rewards: M&S Credit Card holders are eligible for a range of offersYour points are converted into M&S reward vouchers four times a year and posted through your door. You also earn points every time you shop with your card abroad.
Made to Measure shirts, tailoring alterations, personalised gift cards, large domestic appliances name tapes and Your School Uniform service, food to order, Lunchtogo, Wine Club, restaurants, deli bars, M&S Café and branded food goods are all excluded.
What makes this card stand out from the crowd is its travel money offering. You can buy currency with no cash advance or foreign exchange fee online or over the phone and it will be delivered to your door for free on orders of £500 or more. Delivery costs £5 for orders under £500 - still not bad.
How about the small print?M&S Credit Card also gives you 15 months interest free on purchases, although it leaps up to 16.9 per cent after that, so make sure you pay off your balance every month to avoid paying any fees.
As an M&S Credit Cardholder, you get exclusive access to the M&S Travel Club. You could save up to eight per cent on your next holiday, on top of tour operator discounts - although this maximum saving only applied to cruises and selected tour operators.
Travel Club savings do not apply to Travel Money, Travel Insurance, ski packs, Palmair Holidays, Swan Hellenic, SAGA Cruises, Voyages of Discovery or scheduled flight only bookings.
Anything else?M&S Credit Cardholders under the age of 70 can also choose to join the M&S Premium Club, which costs a pretty steep £15 a month, for a minimum of 12 months.
The deal includes worldwide multi-trip family travel insurance, triple points on your M&S shopping in store and online and various vouchers, which M&S believes 'could be worth up to £500'.
But to make this deal worthwhile, cardholders would have to make their money work pretty hard to reap big benefits, with the monthly fees already adding up to £180 every year.
AsdaThere are no rewards points with the Asda Money Credit Card, but it does offer a decent cashback system.
What are the benefits?
You get unlimited 1 per cent cashback on your Asda shopping or petrol station spend and 0.5 per cent cashback everywhere else when you spend on your Asda credit card.
Your cashback will be credited to your account the following month - you can view your balance online and on your monthly statement. Asda has recently introduced contactless payments to make buying things with your card quicker and easier.
As an added bonus, you get free delivery from Asda's online store when you spend over £125, plus you can buy fee-free holiday money with Asda online, over the phone or at an in-store Travel Money Bureaux.
How about the small print?There is no annual fee and you can get up to 50 days interest-free credit, as well as a 12 month 0 per cent balance transfer deal - so long as you transfer a minimum balance of £50 from an existing store card or loan within 90 days of opening the account. A fee of £2.9 per cent is charged on the balance. Interest is charged at 14.9 per cent APR.
Cashback will not be payable on any balance transfers, cash withdrawals from a cash machine or over the counter at a bank or cash provider or fees and charges.
Cashback may be suspended if you do not keep up-to-date with your account payments or if you exceed your credit limit.
WHAT IF YOU SHOP ELSEWHERE?WaitroseWaitrose shoppers can sign up for a free myWaitrose loyalty card.
Although it is not a rewards card, it does help to cut costs. For example, everyday items from milk, apples, bread and coffee to dishwasher tablets, nappies and pet food are all discounted by 10 per cent.
The discount also applies to all frozen food until April 23 - just scan your card at the checkout and the deal kicks in automatically.
Other perks, such as one free tea or coffee a day, or a prize draw to win back the value of your months' shopping are also available.
MorrisonsMorrisons does not offer a loyalty card, but it does run a customer fuel scheme with its Morrisons Miles Card.
Once you’ve collected 5000 miles on a single card, by purchasing 500 litres of fuel at a Morrisons petrol station, you'll you a £5 shopping voucher to spend in-store.
