Tesco Clubcard Loophole

Former_MSE_Guy

Update: Wednesday 25 March.

This deal has lost some of its spark. The product range is still the same but top deal (Bertolli Spreads) now only offers 50 points, and the remainder 25. If you need to buy any of the items on offer then it's still worth taking advantage, but the rewards aren't as great as they were. Tesco has assured anyone who registered when the points bonus was higher and then buys the product(s), they'll get the points available at the time of registration.


What's this about?

People with 02 or Tesco mobiles can make a serious profit out of a Tesco Clubcard loophole. Some items have special bonus points and this can be manipulated.

For example, buy a £1.37 jar of marmite and you get 100 extra clubcard points. Points are worth £1 in store but up to £4 in Tesco Clubcard deals meaning a £2.63 profit!

In fact, if you maxed this out you could gain around £300 worth of extra Clubcard deals (7,700 points), though be warned, that will be fiddly AND time consuming to do.

Who can do this?

To do this you need an 02 or Tesco mobile with a handset that allows web surfing. All you need is to register your Clubcard via mobile internet, for each product you want, before 30 April. Then buy it as normal (either online or instore) ensuring you swipe your Clubcard.

Tesco says it “reserves the right to end the trial without notice” and this is going in the weekly email to over 3,000,000, so don’t waste any time.

What products pay extra points?

At present, items from 14 different brands will earn you bonus points on top of the usual 1 point/£1 spent on each.

• Persil 'Small and Mighty' products earn you 250 extra points each.

• There are 13 brands with a 100-point bonus. These are Ben & Jerrys, Comfort Fabric Softener, Domestos, Vaseline, Dove, Hellmann’s Mayonnaise, Marmite, Lynx, Sure Deodorant, Flora spreads, Bertolli spreads, Peperami, and PG Tips.

Step-by-step Guide

While this can be very profitable, it is fiddly...

• Step 1. Find the advert on your mobile.
  
  On your phone's internet browser, Tesco Mobile customers should see a permanent banner ad, while 02 users will find the ad on the '02 Active' homepage.
  
  However, 02 only supports one ad at a time so you’ll need to refresh the page, sometimes quite a few times, until you spot the Clubcard offer. Once you find it, add the page as a bookmark to save searching again.
• Step 2. Pick the product
  
  Choose the first product you want from the list and register your Clubcard details on your phone by 30 April 2009 against the item you want to buy. There are exclusions, though. For example, you can currently buy any Dove product other than Dove soap bars. Find exclusions on the product description when registering your card.
  
  If you want to buy different items, you'll need to register for each item separately. And if you want to buy more than one of the same item you'll need to register for it as many times as you want to buy it. You should receive a free confirmation text each time you register. To speed this process up, once you have registered for one offer (eg Persil) scroll down and click 'more offers'. You'll then see a list of all the other products. Just tick the boxes of those you want, press 'confirm' & you'll be registered for all of them.
• Step 3. Buy it!
  
  Buy the product at any Tesco store or via Tesco.com by 30 April 2009. Make sure you use the SAME Clubcard you registered with.
• Step 4. Get the points
  
  If you buy the item(s) by 19 April, your points should appear on your May statement. If you buy between 20 April and 30 April, they’ll appear on your August statement. It’s worth keeping any receipts and saving your texts just in case.

How many ‘special offer’ items can I buy?

You can only buy five of each individual item (and there are currently 14 different items) and get the bonus points. However, if the amount of bonus points is changed, eg. jumps from 100 to 250, you can then buy another five.

Based on the current offer, buying five of EACH item could net you 7,750 points max.

The profit comes from using Clubcard Deals

While 1 point is worth 1p if used in store, if you redeem on things in Tesco's Clubcard deals brochure the value is officially quadrupled.

This includes things like days out, cinema vouchers, presents, RAC cover and more. In truth, the value is more like 3x rather than four for most things, if you compare it to the cheapest way to buy elsewhere. But it's still a bargain provided you were going to buy the thing, or an equivalent anyway.

More on Tesco Points: See the full Loyalty Schemes guide.

Some examples...

• Spend £3.89 on a bottle of Persil 'Small and Mighty' and get 250 points, plus the usual 3 points = 253 points. Buying five bottles will cost you £19.45 and earn you 1,265 points, which is over £50 to spend on Clubcard Deals. Plus, your clothes will stay clean for the next few months!

• Spend £1.37 on a jar of Marmite and get 100 points + the usual 1 point = 101 points. Buying five jars will cost £6.85 and get 505 points, worth £20 in Clubcard Deals.

Of course, if you don’t need the item and are buying for the sake of getting the points, the cost will eat up some of the benefit.

Is there a downside?

Finding the page can be fiddly. A few times we tested it, there was a message saying: “We were unable to process your request.” It took a little patience before finally being able to register details. Tesco says those with iPhones and Blackberry devices may experience problems.

Also, if you pay for internet browsing, rather than being on an unlimited tariff, you need to factor the cost of that so best to check before using it.

Related Guides: Cheap Supermarket Shopping, Daily Updated Shopping Vouchers, Daily Updated Supermarket Coupons

PS Thanks to all the moneysavers who told us about this

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Babbler

I have tried re-loading o2 active about 20 times now and no banner. Has this been pulled already? Im on an O2 not tesco phone... probably why.

Edit - took 48 reloads - it was a persil ad in my case. Was going to post the address but its ridiculously long!

spellinn

I've been refreshing my O2 active homepage for about an hour (so has my wife on her mobile) and the only ad we've both seen is for Walkers.

Have O2 withdrawn this ad?

Has anyone bookmarked "the page beyond the ad" so we can go there directly?

Cheers


Neil

pdotie

spellinn wrote: »

I've been refreshing my O2 active homepage for about an hour (so has my wife on her mobile) and the only ad we've both seen is for Walkers.

Have O2 withdrawn this ad?

Has anyone bookmarked "the page beyond the ad" so we can go there directly?

Cheers


Neil

Am in the same boat - all I get is walkers! even clicked through it a few times to see if it would then show me a new one but no dice.

if anyone could post the link I would be grateful

P

Babbler

Ok - here is the address BUT it is REALLY long and will take some typing!

put http:// infront of this:

wap.o2.co.uk/Banner+Ad?r=m67;m66&rTo=http%3A%2F%2Ffree.tesco-mobile.com%2FTescoDirect%2FProductDetails.aspx%3FProductId%3D559%26mx%3D%26tagid%3D17&adImg=http%3A%2F%2Fflash.o2.co.uk%2FWap%2Fportalimages%2Fzerorate%2Fteasers%2Fadban_Persil_330.gig%adId=1073&campaignId=1055&cipCommand=teaserRedirect&resource=tc.117403810350433959

Print_Screen

Babbler wrote: »

Ok - here is the address BUT it is REALLY long and will take some typing!

put http:// infront of this:

wap.o2.co.uk/Banner+Ad?r=m67;m66&rTo=http%3A%2F%2Ffree.tesco-mobile.com%2FTescoDirect%2FProductDetails.aspx%3FProductId%3D559%26mx%3D%26tagid%3D17&adImg=http%3A%2F%2Fflash.o2.co.uk%2FWap%2Fportalimages%2Fzerorate%2Fteasers%2Fadban_Persil_330.gig%adId=1073&campaignId=1055&cipCommand=teaserRedirect&resource=tc.117403810350433959

Or you can use this instead
http://tiny url.com/chxxn6
Note: There is no space between the tiny and url but when I post the address I get !!!! if I remove the space for some reason

Although I'm not sure if tiny url will work with this address until someone tries it

thepearce

Set up a bookmark / go to :
csp.o2.co.uk/free.tesco-mobile.com/Tescodirect/default.aspx?
(or free.tesco-mobile.com/Tescodirect/default.aspx? if that fails)
using your o2 / Tesco mobile.

Once you have registered for one offer (eg PG Tips) scroll down and click "go to more offers" You'll then see a list of all the other products - just tick the boxes and hit submit & you'll be registered for all of them.

All product varieties unless otherwise stated:

100 pts PG Tips Pyramids (160/240)
100 pts Pepperami
100 pts Ben & Jerrys
100 pts Hellmann's mayo
100 pts Vaseline (not lip therapy or pure petroleum)
100 pts Sure deordorant
100 pts Marmite
100 pts Lynx
100 pts Bertolli spreads
100 pts Comfort fabric conditioner (not vaporesse products)
100 pts Flora spreads (not 250g)
100 pts Dove (all except soap bars)
250 pts Persil small and mighty
100 pts Domestos

How it works
Tesco are offering you the chance to collect extra Clubcard points by registering for offers on your mobile phone. Just click on the offer that you are interested in and then input your Clubcard number. Remember to read the terms for each offer.

You will receive a free SMS detailing the offer for which you have registered. Simply buy the product online or in store before the 30/04/2009 and the points will be automatically added to your account.

T&Cs

FAQs

spellinn

Babbler wrote: »

Ok - here is the address BUT it is REALLY long and will take some typing!

No typing, I'll just email it to my phone.

Off try try - thanks!

Cheers


Neil

ScorpioLou71

HEY HEY I RELOADED THE O2 ACTIVE PAGE 6 TIMES AND THE TESCO BANNER CAME UP WITH 'PERSIL' SO I REGISTERED MY CLUBCARD IT THEN GAVE A LIST OF OTHER PRODUCTS TO REG FOR TICKED THE BOXES DONE IN LESS THAN 5 MINUTES THANX MARTIN

Dreamingalound

can i use this link for t-mobile? i am a clubcard holder..do you have to be on 02 to take advantage?

Babbler

Dreamingalound wrote: »

can i use this link for t-mobile? i am a clubcard holder..do you have to be on 02 to take advantage?

Doesnt hurt to try

I did get 14 text messages to confirm each deal - a bit excessive perhaps! lol.