How to make rewards and cashback work for you: The five leading loyalty schemes explained and compared

• e-mail

Potentially interesting but complicated: Sparks card

Marks & Spencer has just launched a rewards scheme called Sparks. The Mail on Sunday compares it against rival loyalty deals and awards each scheme a star rating.

SPARKS

HOW IT WORKS: Ten ‘sparks’ earned per purchase and an additional ten earned for every £1 spent. Writing a product review online adds 25 while ‘shwopping’ – recycling old clothes in-store for Oxfam – adds 50.

VALUE: As members collect more points they unlock benefits at different tiers. Once a customer has collected 100 sparks, they will receive bespoke offers on a fortnightly basis, including discounts in certain departments, or a free beauty product.

At 3,000 sparks, members unlock ‘priority access’, which could include a sneak preview of new ranges and at 7,000 they may get the chance to shop in an online sale 24 hours in advance.

At 14,000 there are invitations to exclusive events, such as a catwalk show, and at 17,000 members enter into ‘money can’t buy’ draws, for which one of the prizes could be winning the cost of Christmas Day.

DETAIL: To become a member pick up a card in-store, then collect and review points online or via the app.

Invitations to join will also be sent to select M&S Bank customers, online customers and shareholders.

M&S Bank premium current account customers who take up membership earn double sparks.

VERDICT: Potentially interesting but complicated. ***

CASHBACK SITE SAVES US MONEY AT LOTS OF STORES 

Instant saving: Josie and Fatih Ertas also earn money through cashback website Quidco

Josie and Fatih Ertas are big users of loyalty schemes – including those run by Tesco, Nectar, Morrisons and Iceland.

But they also use their debit cards to get discounts on a range of high street spending, without having to pledge allegiance to one store.

The couple, who live in Essex, linked their debit cards to their bank accounts with Quidco – an online company that delivers cash rewards to customers who shop with well-known brands via its website. This generates cashback on both online and in store purchases.

Josie, 33, who works at City University, and Fatih, 29, a swimming teaching assistant, spot ‘in-store’ offers online or via their smartphones and pick ones they are likely to use.

Then, when they use their debit cards at those stores, the cashback is automatically added to their Quidco account.

The funds they accrue there can be put into their bank accounts at any time. The pair have received £300 this year.

Josie says: ‘I have used the website for a few years and when my husband saw the money I was getting, he joined too. We have only recently started using in-store cashback schemes but have received about £20 already for buying shoes and coffees.’

Straightforward and generous: Boots Advantage card

BOOTS ADVANTAGE

HOW IT WORKS: Four points are earned for every pound spent.

VALUE: Each point is worth a penny to spend. As long as you have enough points, spending them in store or online is straightforward.

DETAIL: Cardholders also receive offers to boost points on the Boots app or by post, unless they have opted out. Advantage card holders who are parents or over 60 can earn up to ten points per £1 spent on some products.

VERDICT: Straightforward and generous. *****

Far reaching: Tesco Clubcard

TESCO CLUBCARD

HOW IT WORKS: One point is earned per £1 of shopping at Tesco in-store, online and on Tesco mobile. Accrual rates vary for partner companies, which include household energy supplier Eon and petrol station Esso.

Tesco Bank customers receive one point for every £4 spent on their debit cards in Tesco and one point per £8 spent elsewhere.

VALUE: Points are converted into vouchers – but they can be worth up to four times more with Clubcard Boost. This kicks in when vouchers are used in certain departments or with partner chains, such as Prezzo restaurants, where a £2.50 voucher is worth £10, or Cineworld cinemas, where a £3.50 voucher buys one ticket.

DETAIL: You must collect a minimum of 150 points to receive a £1.50 voucher, after which every 50 points turns into 50 pence of vouchers. These are sent four times a year. If you don’t have enough points to turn into a voucher, they are carried over to the next ‘collection period’.

VERDICT: Far reaching. ****

Widely accepted: Nectar card

NECTAR

HOW IT WORKS: Points are earned at Argos, Homebase, Sainsbury’s, BP garages and easyJet.

Earlier this year Sainsbury’s halved the number of points customers earn from two to one per £1 spent. Argos is offering triple points per £1 spent until Thursday, while easyJet awards one point per £1 paid for flights.

VALUE: Two points are worth a penny in store, but can be worth more with some companies. For example, points are worth double when spent on entry to Legoland Windsor or on a Gourmet Society membership deal, which in turn offers discounts on meals out.

DETAIL: Customers can receive tailored offers and digital vouchers via smartphone. Depending on the deal points can also be redeemed in-store, online or over the phone.

VERDICT: Widely accepted but not great value for money. ***

MORRISONS MATCH AND MORE

HOW IT WORKS: The prices of items are compared with those at rival supermarkets, including Aldi and Lidl. If they are cheaper elsewhere the difference is added to a loyalty card in the form of points.

VALUE: The rules are changing from November 2, when comparisons will no longer count. Instead customers will earn five points for every £1 spent, and there will no longer be a minimum £15 spend. Ten points are awarded for every litre of fuel bought from Morrisons. Collect 5,000 points and it earns a £5 voucher to spend in store.

DETAIL: More information, including the name of the new scheme, is expected soon.

VERDICT: Revamp will diminish its allure. **