Tesco Clubcard Vouchers Rip Off

Incapuppy

It always amuses me how people can get so cross about getting something for nothing :rotfl:

No-one is forcing anyone to spend their clubcard vouchers on a holiday :rolleyes:

The arrangement works just fine for me, in fact later this year I shall be enjoying another huge chunk of 'free holiday' :T:beer::j

blue_monkey_2

I think you have to weigh up your options. Like you say if you book with CC then you have to pay full brochure price.

I had £1500 worth of vouchers and looked at Orlando (we have already been on CC) but the holiday was £3,500 and it would have meant putting £2,000 towards it, however, I can book more or less the same holiday including the Disney Magical Express to and from the airport for around £1900. It's a no brainer. I might as well save the CC vouchers for something else.

I booked Butlins last year in the end and used £800 of them, the girl on the phone said 'do you want me to check the other price as it might be worth your while' and I said no, it was use them or lose them so might as well get a HB holiday for nothing. We are using the rest for Butlins again this year.

The thing is, once upon a time it used to be worth while, now it isn't. Codes are so scarce and once I was getting £150+ a quarter on deals vouchers this quarter I got £15. I know that this will be our last 'free' holiday. It was good while it lasted but I do not go out of my way to use Tesco now, only purely because of the convenience - that I can wake up at 7am and think 'crap, I forgot the shopping' and have it delivered in the evening once the kids are in bed. Asda have a big window and it means I'd have to go to the supermarket anyway, but I rarely use Tesco now. I doubt they'll miss me as much as I miss the codes, LOL.

I'd say 'shop around' for the same holiday. Book the flights on the website and the hotel on Expedia - don;t forget Quidco and Nectar points though. Use your savvy really, if you book a Disney hotel you'll get free transfers which is fab if you are non-drivers like us, go and stay in International Drive for 5 days in the middle and you can save on taxi fares too and from Sea World, Universal, etc... then back to Disney, use their free transportation and get the free Disney transfer back to the airport on the last day. With the magical express they even take your cases to your room for you so they'll be there after you have checked in.

The prices are good now as they want people over there spending, we could get 14 nights in Disney Pop for under £1000 for 4 of us, and the flights were just over £1000. And this was for June so not even off peak. Just shop around and book independently and you will get more for your money. You can even book the attraction tickets without the package now, go for the ultimate ticket though, if you go via the official Disney website they are even doing 14 nights for the price of 10 and 14 day ultimate ticket for the price of 7, you do not need to book the flight, just the accomodation.

blue_monkey_2

I think the OP is not annoyed at getting something for nothing more that you have to wonder if they put the prices up because of the vouchers then give all of these 'exclusive' discounts for everyone else not using them.

I find it hard to believe that they charge me £2000 more for the same holiday I can book myself online. At the end of the day if you have them and it is worthwhile then use them, if not then break them into smaller increments and flog them on eBay and use the money to pay for the holiday instead and get a good price.

It is annoying when you price up a holiday online to find you go to book and it is totally different when using the vouchers though - especially when the links on the CC website point you towards that site and those prices.

photome

Incapuppy wrote: »

It always amuses me how people can get so cross about getting something for nothing :rotfl:

No-one is forcing anyone to spend their clubcard vouchers on a holiday :rolleyes:

The arrangement works just fine for me, in fact later this year I shall be enjoying another huge chunk of 'free holiday' :T:beer::j

I agree.

the Op can get a holiday for £250 where others have to pay £500 (not really sure operators are giving 50% discounts tho) so still a very good saving.

No one is forcing you to use them on a holiday.

I have just cashed in £60 for a £240 driving experience.to include a ferrari and a porsche, something i wouldnt have done otherwise.

I am also using them for days out on a holiday to portsmouth later this year after bagging 4 very cheap nights in a travelodge.

I dont like Tescos but have no complaints over the clubcard deals.

photome

blue_monkey wrote: »

I think you have to weigh up your options. Like you say if you book with CC then you have to pay full brochure price.

I had £1500 worth of vouchers and looked at Orlando (we have already been on CC) but the holiday was £3,500 and it would have meant putting £2,000 towards it, however, I can book more or less the same holiday including the Disney Magical Express to and from the airport for around £1900. It's a no brainer. I might as well save the CC vouchers for something else.

I booked Butlins last year in the end and used £800 of them, the girl on the phone said 'do you want me to check the other price as it might be worth your while' and I said no, it was use them or lose them so might as well get a HB holiday for nothing. We are using the rest for Butlins again this year.

The thing is, once upon a time it used to be worth while, now it isn't. Codes are so scarce and once I was getting £150+ a quarter on deals vouchers this quarter I got £15. I know that this will be our last 'free' holiday. It was good while it lasted but I do not go out of my way to use Tesco now, only purely because of the convenience - that I can wake up at 7am and think 'crap, I forgot the shopping' and have it delivered in the evening once the kids are in bed. Asda have a big window and it means I'd have to go to the supermarket anyway, but I rarely use Tesco now. I doubt they'll miss me as much as I miss the codes, LOL.

I'd say 'shop around' for the same holiday. Book the flights on the website and the hotel on Expedia - don;t forget Quidco and Nectar points though. Use your savvy really, if you book a Disney hotel you'll get free transfers which is fab if you are non-drivers like us, go and stay in International Drive for 5 days in the middle and you can save on taxi fares too and from Sea World, Universal, etc... then back to Disney, use their free transportation and get the free Disney transfer back to the airport on the last day. With the magical express they even take your cases to your room for you so they'll be there after you have checked in.

The prices are good now as they want people over there spending, we could get 14 nights in Disney Pop for under £1000 for 4 of us, and the flights were just over £1000. And this was for June so not even off peak. Just shop around and book independently and you will get more for your money. You can even book the attraction tickets without the package now, go for the ultimate ticket though, if you go via the official Disney website they are even doing 14 nights for the price of 10 and 14 day ultimate ticket for the price of 7, you do not need to book the flight, just the accomodation.

Why was it use them or lose them? I was under the impression that if you call CC they will extend the life of them

photome

blue_monkey wrote: »

I think the OP is not annoyed at getting something for nothing more that you have to wonder if they put the prices up because of the vouchers then give all of these 'exclusive' discounts for everyone else not using them.

I find it hard to believe that they charge me £2000 more for the same holiday I can book myself online. At the end of the day if you have them and it is worthwhile then use them, if not then break them into smaller increments and flog them on eBay and use the money to pay for the holiday instead and get a good price.

It is annoying when you price up a holiday online to find you go to book and it is totally different when using the vouchers though - especially when the links on the CC website point you towards that site and those prices.

Can you do that when the name is printed on the vouchers?

crabbylady

John Fowler holidays IS offering 50% off their holidays in thier brochure - red prices show discount, crossed out black prices are the 'original' price - you can only use CC on thier 'original price'.

THe vouchers are not 'something-for-nothing'. They are a percentage return on our shopping, credit card and fuel spending - we could have gone with a different company and had cash back or slightly cheaper products. Having factored this in, we decided to stick with Tesco because the return was good - no so good now!

Blue monkey - I too have wondered if some operators have put their 'original' prices up to compensate for them not getting a good return on their vouchers when they submit them to Tesco (a John Fowler phone person told me Tesco only give them a percentage back of the CC vouchers they send them to Tesco so the holiday operators arent happy about the T&C imposed by Tesco in recent months. They say the T&C have changed form last year when they could offer Tesco customers the same deal as everyone else)

Incapuppy

You use £1000 of vouchers to pay for this holiday = the holiday is free, you save £500

You pay £500 for the holiday = you need to find £500 from somewhere.

flea72

crabbylady wrote: »

John Fowler holidays IS offering 50% off their holidays in thier brochure - red prices show discount, crossed out black prices are the 'original' price - you can only use CC on thier 'original price'

on all accommodation, for all dates, at any resort, as thats what Tesco is offering? - having just checked John Fowler's website, even with their 'half price', plus extra 10% discount for online booking, and £30 early bird offer, it still isnt working out to 50% of the original price, so based on that Tesco deals, would still be the cheaper option - ie original price £925, less (half price?) discount = £555, with online saver holiday now costs £499.50 cash - whereas you would need roughly £230 of tesco vouchers

as with all offers, you have to watch the wording, and the fact that John Fowler, have probably doubled the price of their holidays, just so they can do a half price promotion! (that still doesnt seem to equate to 50% off the original price)

Flea

isitenough

I really don't understand the problem! You shop in Tesco, you get points. You shop in ASDA you don't get points. So therefore the points are a bonus. (I do have a Nectar card for Sainsburys so collect those as well). I paid for a Siblu holiday, week end of May, with vouchers and it was only £40 more than the online price. I can't complain as it's totally worth it, paid for travel with vouchers for the tunnel too. Also paid for RAC membership last year. Days out are a bonus to places like Chessington, Legoland.

It states clearly that you pay the price before discounts etc... So price it up and if you don't like it don't pay that way!