Sounds OK to me suncatcher you must b doing something right as a free hotel via Tesco sounds pretty good is it a virgin or cosmos hotel i used vouchers against a cosmos holiday yonks ago. Not a bad perk from doing your grocery shopping it's always a dilemma to know what to do with the voucher thingys but latterly have been changing them to AVIOS but once you have done hat you can't change them back if you change your mind and want to use them against cosmos etc so you are a bit committed.

Doe

Now BA has reward flight savers it is making think that flying economy by redeeming miles has now become really viable.

dont use them dont want them they are only another way of tracking you and your lifestyle to bombard you with more cr** that you dont need, much rather do i usually do and negotiate prices or buy from the cheapest source

I think a lot of people think the same as you. I hope it continues as there is more scope for redemptions for me

Me too Fi, I don't really mind if they track what shopping I buy, so long as I am getting free flights and hotel stays. So also glad a lot of folk can't be bothered with them. If everyone did it I would imagine the rewards would be far less for those of us that do bother.

Doe

that reminds me- I use hotels.com and am one stay away from a free day. I only use hotels.com, like everything else, if its the cheapest option. So to me, its money for nothing

Fiona wrote:

I think a lot of people think the same as you. I hope it continues as there is more scope for redemptions for me :D

Very well put

I will always think that way, i was a marketing manager for 30 yrs till i retired, so i know why and how they work, I have never paid full or advertised price for anything over £20 in my life and never will,and as there is no third man in the chain i do very nicely, my daughter is the same she asked for a discount at Harrods a few years back as she was paying cash, they gave her 12%, i have had up to 20% discount on kitchen appliances for a cash payment big discounts on second hand cars, new clothing [made to measure] so all the time there are people willing to pay over the odds i am quite happy for them to subsidise my purchases

My Mum always used to ask for a discount for cash, and it was surprising the number of times she had success with it.

Doe

I don't pay blindly pay out money either Brian. I always go for the cheapest comparable option. But you can shop around and still benefit. All the loyalty cards I have are for purchases I would have made anyway. You really shouldn't write off something without investigating- you will save a lot more if you keep an open mind. But I have tried over the years to get friends and relatives to see what they can do to make the most from their money and most just couldn't be bothered.

Fi you obviously haven read or understood my post,,, I have been involved in Marketing [loyalty cards are just a small part] for 30 yrs.. and i would not touch them for myself with a barge pole,

I think it is a difficult one Fiona people seem to either be into this kind of thing or not into it. To be honest my husband isn't all that into it even though he reaps the benefit and I have attached a mini-club card to his keying. but i am not sure he would remember to use it. I think he things it's too much faffing about for too little rewards, plus he probably thinks you don't get nowt for nowt. But I keep plugging away and sort of enjoy it.

Doe

I did manage to convert my OH to tesco when he realised he could his power drinks for 8p each instead of 90p and his beer for 20p a bottle, wine for 90p instead of £9.99 , but he wasn't fussed with tesco paying us 5p to take away After Eights!

I suppose I am preaching to the converted here Fiona but I guess you know they currently have 25% off 6 bottles and if you buy the mini bottles that are on 2 for £3 and buy six you get both discounts so the bottles that are normally £2.49 are about £1 each works best with Blossom Hill from what I remember last time.

Doe

I did that the last time Didn't know it was on again. Thanks

Only on the mini bottles and you must buy 6 for the 25% to kick and they must also be on the 2 for £3 promo. They are great if you just want one glass or one of you wants white and the other red , or even for cooking.

Doe

well I only EVER drink one glass of wine in an evening

Tesco certainly do use your clubcard information to track your purchases and they send extra money off coupons of things they know you have bought , why ? So you go back again and buy all those things which makes them more money , and that's the marketing part , but you always buy those things so you are very happy and think hey isnt it great and tescos are wonderful , so when they send an email or pop in a flyer for home or car insurance you think it's well worth looking at because you view tesco in a good light ( because of the helpful vouchers ) some might take up the insurance offer and that generates more money for tesco , I think this is the type of marketing that makes the savvy more sceptical , but it's easy enough to look around the Internet to find the best deals , some people are loyal and never receive anything for it , you have to work out if it's best for you and your situation , of course there's catches but most of the suppliers we've mentioned on this thread are in a very competitive marketplace and they want you to stay with them all the time and not use their major competitor they are simply dangling carrots or pots of gold depending on your viewpoint to keep you loyal and maintain their market share .
Here's a strange view ..... So with their popular clubcard scheme you would think that tesco has the highest %age of loyal customers , no , is it asda with their lowest prices , no , is it sainsburys with nectar points and traditionally the housewifes favourite , no , it must be morrisons then with their no nonsense approach and traditional values , no , ...... Its waitrose who have less shops than the others and are the most expensive , they don't give points etc to their customers but give all their staff a bonus of the profits made !!!
So people have loyalty for different reasons , and if something works for you that's all that matters !!

andy- nicely summed up