Loyalty points: friend or frenemy?

Lesson 6 of 12 in our free Food & Everyday Spending guide: a 5-minute money game with the key points below.

This lesson is in the full version.

Free with a code from your uni, college, council, landlord or employer (worth £600/year). Lesson 1 of Food & Everyday Spending is free for everyone.

Questions you'll answer

A loyalty app offers a coffee shop's 10th drink free. Each drink is £3.20. What's the real discount?

Scanning your card for member prices on your normal weekly shop → Using it. Same shop, lower price. Easy win.
Spending £20 extra to 'unlock' a £5 voucher → It's using you. You spent £20 to save £5. The shop thanks you for your service.
Driving to a further-away shop just to collect points → It's using you. The travel cost can wipe out the points.
Turning off marketing emails but keeping the member prices → Using it. All the discount, none of the temptation spam.
Buying a snack you didn't want because it's 'double points' → It's using you. Points on a thing you didn't need is still spending on a thing you didn't need.
Fact: “Loyalty schemes often collect data about what you buy.” — That's part of the deal — they use it for targeted offers. Check privacy settings if it bugs you.
Myth: “Points never expire.” — Some do, if the account sits unused. Check the scheme's rules.
Myth: “Having nine loyalty apps is a savings strategy.” — Pick the ones for shops you genuinely use. The rest are just notifications with extra steps.