TESCO Clubcard holders could be owed hundreds of pounds after racking up unused points with the loyalty scheme.
Tesco has encouraged customers to check their accounts to see if any of the many forgotten money-off codes are theirs, before they expire in May.
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Last year, the supermarket said the amount of these vouchers that go unused was equivalent to £17million.
Tesco has around 19million Clubcard members who could have vouchers expiring on April 30 – the next date vouchers will end on.
That’s a six month extension from last November when vouchers were meant to expire, but because of the pandemic the supermarket has extended the date.
And Clubcard vouchers that were meant to expire in February this year will now expire in August instead.
The vouchers usually expire after two years, so if you don’t use them before this point then you’ll lose out.
How does a Tesco Clubcard work?
Vouchers rack up when shoppers earn points by spending in store, at Tesco fuel stations, or if they have a Tesco debit or credit card.
You either scan your physical card that can be requested from Tesco with your account, or use the options on the free app that works for iPhone and Android users.
Then every three months Tesco sends your points as vouchers.
You collect one point for every £1 spent (or one point for every £2 on fuel), so something like 150 points, nets you a £1.50 voucher.
Tesco can mail the vouchers you’ve earned to your address, or you can access them online to print yourself, or bring up the code on the app to claim.
How do I reclaim lost points?
You can track down your lost or forgotten about points on the Tesco Clubcard website, which shows your voucher history and points that haven’t been spent yet.
If any are unused then they can be spent instantly online, or you can use them straight away when you next head into a store.
Because Tesco keeps Clubcard vouchers on your account for two years, you can only go back and use any unspent vouchers as far as this, so you can’t use more than two-year-old vouchers.
MoneySavingExpert notes that there is a trick to extend points though, if they are about to expire.
You can extend the dates for another two years by making a small purchase on the Tesco Clubcard site with the voucher or vouchers you have.
The remaining balance of the voucher would then be credited back to your Clubcard account as points, reissued with newer expiry dates.
So if you spend 50p on a £10 voucher, you’ll get £9.50 as new vouchers.
But you will have to do this for each voucher, so it might not be worth it for smaller vouchers like those at £1, as you won’t get as much money back.
Where can you spend points?
You can use the vouchers on pretty much anything at Tesco from food to clothes and even petrol.
All you have to do is scan the barcode from the voucher at the checkout when prompted – this can be done on your phone app or with printed vouchers.
You can use the vouchers online too, you’ll just have to copy and paste the code underneath the voucher to claim.
And it’s not just Tesco items you can spend points on, as beyond the store there is a whole range of rewards that Tesco is partnered with like Hungry Horse pubs.
For this reward, if you had 50p in Tesco Clubcard vouchers you can use it to exchange for £1.50 at Hungry Horse pubs.
It means your points can go further than their pound for point match on Tesco products, so you could be saving even more money than you first thought.
You don’t just have to be a Clubcard member to cash in on discounts at the supermarket, the store reduced an airbed to £7.50 in one clearance sale.
And if you’re after more savings then Tesco also has a new hot tub on offer, £150 cheaper than its selling elsewhere online.
You can find out when Tesco is open and how online delivery works at the store with our handy guide.
