As many of us know, Christmas can be an expensive time of year, but supermarkets have vowed to ease the financial stress by offering saving schemes.
Sainsbury's, Asda and Morrison's all have their own savings club people can opt into, as well as the Co-op and Iceland. However, while the Tesco Clubcard is arguably one of the most popular, their deadline for Christmas savings has now passed.
The Mirror reports that these schemes are designed to help customers save throughout the year, to be ready for Christmas. But for most supermarkets, it isn’t too late to benefit if you sign up today.
READ MORE - Martin Lewis offers advice to anyone looking to clear credit card debt
The only downside is that this money is not covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, if one of the supermarkets goes bust. In April 2022, the Government announced plans to bring in protection - but the new laws have yet to be approved by parliament.
Joining a savings club close to the deadline reduces the risk of losing any money. Read on below to find out more about the various saving schemes on offer.
Asda
The festive savings scheme from Asda involves topping up a physical card to use in person and online. You will then get a bonus based on how much you have saved.
You can order a card on their website here, or visit one of their stores to pick on up. The cut-off date is 5pm on November 13 and the bonus will come through on the card by November 14.
The maximum bonus is £15, and the amounts you can get are as follows:
Co-operative
The Christmas scheme from the Co-op asks customers to collect physical stamps from their stores. You will need to collect a stamp book and fill it up to get the bonus.
Each stamp costs one pound, and you need 48 to complete the book - so spending £48 in stamps means you can save up to £50 on a future shop.
Redeeming the stamps in December means you'll get an extra £2 - therefore £50 off a shop.
Iceland
Iceland's saving scheme runs all year round and is called the Bonus Card Scheme. For every £20 you load onto your Iceland Bonus Card, you'll get £1 back in return.
You can load up to £1,000 onto the card, meaning you can get £50 in return. The bonus is applied within 24 hours normally.
You use the card like a gift card at the till - just tell the cashier how much you want to use, and they'll deduct it from the card. You’ll need to register your card online.
Morrison's
The Morrisons Christmas scheme is also about buying and saving stamps - but these ones are digital and linked to the My Morrisons loyalty scheme. Customers can buy stamps in stores from a cashier, which will then need to be linked to a digital My Morrisons account.
The digital stamps can be purchased in units of £1s. The cut off point for the Morrisons Christmas saver is midnight on October 31 and you’ll receive your vouchers between November 6 and December 31.
The maximum bonus you can get through the Morrisons scheme is £6.
Listed below is what you can get:
- £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
Sainsbury's
Sainsbury's run a Christmas Club scheme, that also involves topping up a physical card. This depends on how much you save, with a five per cent bonus being applied to your card to spend during the festive month.
The minimum bonus is £2.50 and for this amount you need to save £50. Saving £100 would get you an extra £5, going up to the maximum bonus of £25 when you save £500.
You will need to top the card up by midnight on November 1 to get the bonus. It will then be added to the card by the end of November.
In terms of a breakdown, it is as follows:
- £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
You can save up to a maximum of £1,975 though you won't get any extra bonus beyond £500.
READ NEXT:
King Charles steps in to stop sacking of Princes Andrew and Harry from major job
English driver travels 500 miles to Scotland to take 'easiest driving test' in UK
Edinburgh to get a new 'state of the art' inflatable park with party zones and arcade
Deaf Edinburgh dog looking for a compassionate new home with short walks
I tried to buy a used car in Edinburgh and the experience sent me over the edge
