Millions lost in loyalty points as UK households miss out on £3bn in savings - how to keep yours

UK shoppers are missing out on around £3 billion in supermarket loyalty savings every year, with more than a quarter of points going unspent for various reasons. A good chunk of points (around 12%) expire before people can use them.

The findings come from new research by loyalty tech firm Antavo, which says many households are missing valuable savings during the ongoing cost‑of‑living squeeze. Antavo’s latest data suggests unspent loyalty points are a sign that shoppers are becoming frustrated with loyalty schemes and feeling less motivated to redeem their rewards.

Why so many loyalty points go to waste

There’s all sorts of reasons why people let loyalty points expire. Typically, it’s just a case of them not knowing there is an expiry date in the first place. Inundated with app notifications and marketing emails, customers miss communications telling them their points are about to lapse so they’re not even aware they’ve wasted savings.

In the Antavo report, people also cite other frustrations that could be contributing here. These include:

• Rewards feel too hard to earn – in the UK, 57% of shoppers feel it takes too long to earn rewards; this could mean you just stop engaging and checking your account, so you don’t know when points expire.

• Rewards aren’t attractive – around 38% of those surveyed said they simply didn’t think the rewards were that attractive in the first place.

• The rewards process is too difficult – From technical issues to unclear rules, to long sign-ups, people just don’t have the time to work out how rewards work, particularly when they don’t feel that attractive in the first place.

Loyalty points often expire before shoppers can use them, and around 40% of those polled said they'd like to see a loyalty scheme where points didn't expire.

How loyalty points work at major UK supermarkets

To help you work out how loyalty points work at your preferred supermarket, we’ve put together a simple guide below. Plus, we've added how you can boost your rewards through partner offers. Many shoppers don't realise they can redeem their points with other retailers too, and in some cases, get more bang for their buck that way.

This mini guide will hopefully mean you don’t miss out on loyalty point spends.

Tesco Clubcard

• Earn 1 point per £1 spent; 1 point per £2 on fuel.

• 150 points = £1.50 voucher.

• Vouchers expire in 2 years.

Tesco automatically converts points to vouchers four times a year, so make sure you’re keeping an eye on expiry dates.

How to make your Tesco Clubcard rewards go further:

• Triple the value of your vouchers when you eat out - you can "triple" the value of your points when exchanging vouchers at popular dining spots, including restaurants like Ask Italian and Las Iguanas; a £5 voucher is worth £15 here.

• Double the value of your vouchers with other Tesco Reward Partners - Cineworld, Hotels.com, and Thorpe Park Resort are just some of the places where you can spend your Tesco vouchers and get double their face value.

• Get more info on boosting your points via Tesco's Clubcard website.

Sainsbury’s Nectar

• Earn 1 point per £1 spent on qualifying spends at Sainsbury’s.

• 500 points = £2.50.

• Points don’t expire but are lost if the account is closed.

You can redeem points for vouchers, which do have an expiry date, so keep an eye on those.

How to make your Nectar points go further:

• Collect Nectar points where you can - apart from Sainsbury's, there are lots of brands where you can stock up on Nectar points (Argos, Esso, Marriott Bonvoy, Sky, and Woodland Trust to name a few).

• Convert Nectar points to Avios (and vice versa) - you get 250 points for every 400 Nectar points converted, or you could also convert Avios points to Nectar points (400 Avios points gets you 400 Nectar points).

• Spend Nectar points with participating partners - you're not limited to Sainsbury's, you can spend your Nectar points on experiences, eating out, or shopping.

Morrisons More Card

• Earn 5 points per product and 5 points per litre of fuel.

• 5,000 points = £5 “More Card Fiver.”

• Points expire after 12 months if they haven’t been converted into a £5 voucher (More Card Fivers).

• You’ll lose all More Points you’ve gained if you don’t use your More Card for 52 weeks.

Bear in mind that “physical” fivers are valid from 12 months from the date they’ve been printed, while digital (in-app) fivers are only valid for 3. That said, once you’ve converted a digital fiver, it’ll automatically deduct from your next shop.

How to make your Morrisons More points go further:

• Earn extra points by shopping with Morrisons More partners - Morrisons has partnered with more than 300 retailers where you can earn Morrisons points just by shopping with them normally; great way to add to your fivers.

• Keep an eye out for Double Points boosts - Morrisons runs these events periodically and you can earn double the usual points while they run.

• Book through Morrisons Travel for even more points - You can pick from thousands of holidays, flights, hotels, and other travel experiences powered by Expedia; just make sure you enter your More card number before paying and you could earn up to 10 points per £1 spent.

Lidl Plus

Lidl doesn’t have a traditional loyalty points scheme in the UK, but it does offer coupons and spend-based rewards via the Lidl Plus app. Here’s how it works:

• You get personalised coupons and offers based on your monthly spend, for example a free bakery item after spending £10 in a month, or 10% off your next shop after spending £250.

• Coupons often expire within 7 days, depending on the offer.

There are some really generous offers on if you sign up for Lidl Plus, but as with other loyalty schemes, keep an eye on those expiry dates because they come around quick.

How to make your Lidl Plus rewards go further:

• Get money off experiences - Lidl Plus shoppers can get special offers like £65 off Jet2holiday bookings, free Tastecard trials, and money off cinema tickets, and often the only eligibility criteria is being a Lidl Plus member (no minimum spends); these offers are often time limited, so worth keeping an eye out for Lidl experiences you want to try out.

• Keep an eye out for scratchcard promotions - when this promotion runs, you get a digital scratchcard every time you buy an item; rewards usually include discounts on specific items at Lidl.

• Meet monthly spend tiers - the more you spend, the better the rewards you get; that said, don't fall into the trap of spending more than you need to just to claim back "rewards".

Asda Rewards

Asda doesn’t use points; it uses Cashpot pounds earned through shopping missions, challenges and occasional rewards.

How it works:

• You build up “Cashpot” money by completing missions and hitting spending milestones.

• Cashpot money must be converted into a voucher within 6 months, or you lose it.

• Once you create a voucher, you get up to 90 days to spend it.

How to make your Asda Rewards go further:

Asda doesn't partner with other retailers to help you boost your balance, but you can use in-app features like the Spin to Win promotion which runs frequently and gives you cash pot bonuses or money-saving coupons.

With Spin to Win, you can typically earn up to £100 by spinning the wheel in the app when you spend £5 or more in-store or online and scan the Rewards app. The offer isn't live all the time, but worth keeping an eye out for if you want to max your Asda Cashpot pounds.

Gamified loyalty schemes can be a fun way to make the most of your spend if you use them wisely. But there are some pitfalls you need to be aware of as well. Our resident consumer expert Vix Leyton addresses this topic on BBC Morning Live. You can watch the segment below.

How to make sure you never lose your loyalty points

• Check your loyalty apps regularly – popular supermarkets all make it relatively easy to check your balance in the app.

• Turn on notifications - app alerts often warn you when points or vouchers are about to expire.

• Redeem points sooner rather than later - especially important in supermarkets where points can expire if they’re not redeemed.

• Make a tiny purchase occasionally - you could lose all your points if you don’t use your loyalty card within a set timeframe in certain shops, so make sure you make small purchases occasionally and use your card too.

How to save more on your weekly shop with PlusSave

Antavo's research revealed that 83% of shoppers in the UK joined loyalty schemes for the money saving benefits. If you’re a thinkmoney SmartPlus customer, you can shave even more off your weekly shop with PlusSave – and you don’t even need to rack up points to do it.

It’s as simple as logging into your thinkmoney app, tapping PlusSave, and then buying a discounted gift card for a retailer of your choice.

Current discounts include:

• 4% off your spend at Tesco

• 4% off your spend at Asda

• 3.25% off your spend at Sainsbury’s

• 3% off your spend at Morrisons

• 3% off your spend at Iceland

These add up quick if you use them over time. We reckon you could save yourself around £250 on your Tesco food shop over a year if you use PlusSave every time you shop.

Key takeaways

• UK shoppers lose £3bn a year in unused supermarket loyalty savings.

• Antavo data shows 27% of all loyalty points go unspent, largely due to slow reward earning, expiry rules and unappealing rewards.

• Most supermarkets have strict expiry rules on their loyalty cards, making regular checks essential.

• Many shoppers don’t realise how fast rewards expire; in some cases, you have about a week to use up vouchers.

• Simple habits like checking apps, turning on alerts, and using points early can save UK households meaningful money.