08 November 2023 , 16:38
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Several major UK supermarkets offer schemes to help with the costs of Christmas - so how do they work?
There are just over a month to go until December 25 - however, the cost of Christmas is likely to be at the forefront of a lot of minds this year. Finances are always stretched a little thin over the festive season, but this year they may be stretched even thinner as the cost of council tax, energy bills, broadband, mobile phones, and water have all increased.
To help out the costs, major UK supermarkets have Christmas saver schemes that allow you to save up throughout the year, or give you vouchers when you do your weekly shopping, which you can then spend over the festive season. In this article, we round up all of the Christmas saver schemes which are out there at the moment, explain what these schemes give you and how you can sign up.
Tesco
Tesco offers its members the option to become a "Clubcard Christmas Saver". You will be offered when you sign up for membership, or if you are already one you can opt-in online under "voucher schemes". The scheme allows you to save and top up your Clubcard points throughout the year - with the potential to get up to £12 extra. With each top up, you can earn a bonus in the form of a voucher which you can spend at Christmas.
Bonuses are up to 6% and are calculated as follows:
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- £1.50 bonus when you save between £25 and £49.50
- £3 bonus when you save between £50 and £99.50
- £6 bonus when you save between £100 and £199.50
- £12 bonus when you save £200 to £360
Sadly, you needed to have opted in before October 18 to receive your vouchers in November. You can then spend them in Tesco online, in-store or on petrol but you can’t boost them with Clubcard partners. The bonus vouchers are only valid for two months and expire if not used. The larger top-up vouchers, so the money you have added to your account, are valid for two years, so there’s no rush to spend them at Christmas.
Sainsbury's
The Christmas Club scheme run by Sainsbury's involves topping up a physical card. You can apply for the card instore and save while shopping in stores, online and at Argos throughout the year. You will also be awarded a cash bonus at the end of November. Again, sadly, people needed to top up their card by 11.59pm on November 1 to get the bonus. You can save up to a maximum of £1,975 though you won't get any extra bonus beyond £500.
There are the bonuses you can get with Sainsbury's through its Christmas saver scheme:
- £2.50 bonus when you save between £50 and £99.99
- £5 bonus when you save between £100 and £149.99
- £7.50 bonus when you save between £150 and £199.99
- £10 bonus when you save between £200 and £249.99
- £12.50 bonus when you save between £250 and £299.99
- £15 bonus when you save between £300 and £349.99
- £17.50 bonus when you save between £350 and £399.99
- £20 bonus when you save between £400 and £449.99
- £22.50 bonus when you save between £450 and £499.99
- £25 bonus when you save £500 and over
Asda
The Asda Christmas Savings scheme also involves topping up a physical card. You then get a bonus based on how much you've saved. You can order a card on the Asda website or pick one up in store, and you can top up in person and online as well. The cut-off date is 5pm on November 12 and the bonus will come through on the card the next day November 13. The bonus for Asda's Christmas saving scheme is:
- £1 bonus when you save between £30 and £79
- £3 bonus when you save between £80 and £129
- £6 bonus when you save between £130 and £179
- £9 bonus when you save between £180 and £229
- £12 bonus when you save between £230 and £279
- £15 bonus when you save £280 or more
This year, Asda has also introduced its Christmas Saver Cashpot to its popular Asda Rewards app. Customers will be able to transfer savings from their cashpot into their Christmas Saver Cashpot as many times as they’d like, up to a maximum amount of £300 in total. Asda will also be rewarding Christmas savers offering a bonus of up to £5 for those who transfer the most cash over to their Christmas Saver pot.
The amount you can get is dependent on how much you transfer over, with those moving between £10 and £19 getting a £1 bonus, and those moving £20 to £24 getting a bonus worth £2. Shoppers who put £25 to £39 in their Christmas cashpot will get a £3 bonus, while those with over £40 will get £5. The deadline is November 19 and cash bonuses will be paid to Christmas cashpot savers between Monday, November 20 and Friday, November 24. You can then convert your cashpot into Asda vouchers from November 24.
Co-op
The Co-op Christmas scheme involves collecting physical stamps. You first need to pick up a stamp book from your local store, which you'll need to fill up to get a bonus. Each stamp costs £1 and you need 48 to complete your stamp book - so you'll spend £48 in total and this money can be used against a future shop.
When you have completed the saving stamps book or saved all you want, all you need to do is hand it to a Co-op cashier when you shop and the amount you have saved will be taken off your shop. If you redeem your stamp book in December, you will get an extra £2 - meaning your entire stamp book could be worth £50. You can redeem partially completed books for money off your shop however, partially filled books do not qualify for the £2. Sadly, you will have to keep your stamp book safe as the Co-op will not replace it if you lose it, you will also not be able to redeem stamps without the stamp book.
Iceland
Iceland runs its Bonus Card scheme all year round - so not technically a Christmas scheme, but still a good way to put away little and often. For every £20 you load onto your Iceland Bonus Card, you'll get £1 back in return. You can load up a maximum of £1,000 - meaning the biggest bonus you can get is £50. To put money away, all you need to do is tell the Iceland cashier how much you want to save
The bonus is paid within 24 hours and these bonuses automatically expire after 24 months from the last date you used your card. When you want to use your savings, you need to tell the cashier how much you'd like to spend and the amount will be taken off the card. Those who pay with their Bonus Card can also receive discounts in-store and online.
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You can sign up for the bonus card online and you can manage your card through the Iceland Bonus Card App. If you'd prefer a physical card, you can still pick up a Bonus Card in store too. You will need to register it before you use it. If you have the app, you will also be informed of competitions, giveaways and offers before they are announced.
Morrisons
Morrisons offers customers to join its Christmas Savers scheme, which allows you to purchase digital stamps throughout the year to help spread the cost of Christmas. At the end of October, your balance for the year were totalled and people issued Christmas Savers vouchers to use in November and December. Once you meet certain stamp thresholds, Morrisons will also give you a bonus towards your total.
This year, the Christmas Saver vouchers must be redeemed between November 6 and December 31. Any Christmas Savers vouchers not redeemed by then will expire and will no longer be valid. According to the schemes, terms and conditions the maximum bonus you can get is £6 and it’s calculated as follows:
- £1 bonus when you save between £49 and £96
- £3 bonus when you save between £97 and £145
- £4 bonus when you save between £146 and £193
- £6 bonus when you save £194
The cut-off point to buy stamps is 30 October 2023. The total saved and bonus added will be converted into a voucher to use in-store or online. You also can’t get change from one of your vouchers. So if you have a £100 voucher you need to spend £100 or more in a single transaction. This means you will need to do a big shop to be able to use the voucher.