Tesco Rewards and late holiday bookings - a word of caution

foghorn

We have been carefully saving Tesco points over the years and now have enough for a holiday.

The UK Boat Hire holidays looked perfect for our family with our two small boys who love anything mechanical. So we planned on May Day week on a canal boat by converting our points to Clubcard Rewards.

My work took a long time to confirm my leave so I wasn't in a position to order the rewards until 7th April for a 1st May holiday. Tesco say you should expect them in 5 days as they use second class post. UK Boat Hire need two weeks to process a Tesco Reward booking.

It was always going to be running things a bit tight, but you'd think that 3 1/2 weeks would be enough time to complete a Tesco rewards booking? WRONG!

It's now the the 14th and no sign of the rewards vouchers. So I called Tesco. The reward order is held up in the security department and could take up to 28 days. The boat booking line would need my Rewards vouchers tomorrow morning for a 1st May start.

So I now have two very disappointed children and they have two very cross former Tesco customers.

So the moral of the story is, you need to order your rewards vouchers at least 2 months in advance to guarantee booking your holiday with the reward points.

I really wonder whether it's worth bothering collecting the points in the first place if they put high bureaucratic hurdles in the way of you actually using them.

:mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad: at Tesco.

johnfarquhar74

foghorn wrote: »

It's now the the 14th and no sign of the rewards vouchers. So I called Tesco. The reward order is held up in the security department and could take up to 28 days.

Gutted for you but did Tesco explain what the 'security department' bit meant? I've used and abused reward vouchers for years, had some very cheap weekends away and days/nights out with the family but have never came across this! In fact, since they changed it to allow online ordering of deals, I've always had my tokens within the week.

maemaesmummy

The security checks only come in play when you order more than a certain amount in one go.... the computer can automatically issue an amount, above that it involves human intervention and the "security checks"..

It is reccomended by seasoned tescoers that you order a set, wait for them to be sent , then order more thus avoiding the "checks" and usually getting each batch within a few days.

charliechalk_2

We've used Tesco Rewards Vouchers for lots of the family days out - 2 kids under 15, comes in handy. Just had a couple of days away and used vouchers for Ten Pin Bowling with meal (3 games), visit to Spinneka and Portsmouth Historic Dockyard.

Although we've used vouchers for days out, am very wary about booking Hotels with them, there always seems to be so many limitations on when you can use them. A collegue of mine ordered the Longleat passes as well as trying to book a hotel break. She's v. disappointed as unable to book hotel break for relevent time - excludes certain times - beware!!:(

Still very useful for days out and meals away, handy for a family day out.:T

bylromarha

Sorry to be the one to say it, but I think the fault on this is yours, not Tesco.

Their T+C are there for a reason. They are giving you a holiday (do Sainsbury, Asda or Morrisons give you this?). In their general clubcard FAQ it states "Please be aware that we recommend you order 28 days before you intend to book with or visit a supplier"

So that makes it pretty clear to me that, if you needed to book by 15th April, then your vouchers had to have been ordered by 17th March. You ordered your vouchers 7th April for a 1st May holiday - even if tesco had posted, and you had allowed 5 working days for them to arrive, you were chancing it arriving on time.

The first free holiday I planned with tesco, I read and re read the FAQ to ensure we did it all properly and that Tesco couldn't con me out of my holiday on a technicality, as it seemed to good to be true. It wasn't, and we had a great time.

I notice you aren't moaning at your work - had they confirmed quicker, then it would have been fine, yes?

bagby

How do you save up enough tesco clubcards for a holiday. Ive been saving mine but they are now coming up for expiry and I am having to spend them before I have enough to pay for a holiday. Just wondering how everyone else does it or does everyone spend more in tesco than me. I have about £150 now.

money21

Hi my husbands always says to me that everyone uses vouchers for holidays why dont i?but its true it takes ages to save up and the vouchers usaually start to expire by then

flea72

money21 wrote: »

Hi my husbands always says to me that everyone uses vouchers for holidays why dont i?but its true it takes ages to save up and the vouchers usaually start to expire by then

to prolong the date of vouchers you return them, and get them credited to your account. they then get reissued the next qtr, giving you another 2yrs to use them in

F

flea72

foghorn wrote: »

I wasn't in a position to order the rewards until 7th April for a 1st May holiday. Tesco say you should expect them in 5 days as they use second class post. UK Boat Hire need two weeks to process a Tesco Reward booking.

It was always going to be running things a bit tight, but you'd think that 3 1/2 weeks would be enough time to complete a Tesco rewards booking? WRONG

why didnt you order the rewards vouchers in advance? you dont have to wait til you have booked the holiday to change them into vouchers, that is cutting it way too fine, as even if tesco had sent them out earlier, you cant trust the postal system

tbh, i think the blame lies with you and your employer. they have caused you the delay, not tesco

F

Stryder

I think people are being a tad harsh with Foghorn.

Not everyone would expect such a faff with their vouchers and there should not really be so much hassle. however, I have learnt TESCO rewards are done by the book (their book) with NO exceptions and NO cutting corners. As far as I can tell there is a book of rules and even in extreme circumstances, the CS executives can not stray from the path. This is Tesco being a large corporation - rather than being evil. (not said Tesco aren't evil on other counts ).

Anyway - you live and learn - hopefully you can use your vouchers for another time of the year. However, I can understand your disappointment. But as people mentioned, its worth to get your vouchers order ASAP, 6 weeks is probably best.

>bylromarha
>They are giving you a holiday (do Sainsbury, Asda or Morrisons give you this?)

Sadly they do not give you a holiday. They have obtained a special rate from companies (they only pay them 1x the value and not the 2.5 or 4 times advertised) and as each point is worth 1% discount, you have earned them every time you spend. You may be getting 4% discount, but that is only via Tesco's ability to negotiate large deals. The chances are if you can find your purchases 10% cheaper else where and saved up, you would be better off - EXCEPT FOR THE DEALS - where you can 100's of points for free (like spend £6 on CDs and get 500 points). This keeps me keep for Tesco at the moment, although this will change next month when the OU Level 2 and 3 courses can no longer be bought with them.

rapunzelz86

I think this is mainly down to the OP (any many others) not realising that any rewards vouchers you order can be used on ANY deal that isnt pay in full. Had op known this they could have ordered the deals as soon as they had enough rather than waiting for confirmation of holiday leave.
I do think this fact should be more widely advertised, as ive heard many say "ive ordered rewards tokens for xxx now we cant make it" not realising that they can be used across the board except for pay in full deals.Nobodys fault really, just hope op can somehow work their way around this good luck