Tesco Clubcard / Virgin Holidays Advice

JOHN1982

Hello MSErs,

I've been saving up my Tesco CC vouchers for some time now with a view to taking a lovely Virgin Holiday with the missus late next year (more voucher-saving time!).

I was wondering if any of the board members could offer advice on their experience of the system, the Virgin Holiday experience and any pitfalls / problems to avoid.

Also a general question. As the price is done via the brochure (fairly rigid prices) and you can't use CC vouchers towards any deals or online prices is there any point in booking early / waiting until closer to the travel date?

Many thanks in advance, and Merry Christmas to all!

Incapuppy

The brochure prices are not rigid; you should be charged the price online plus any online discount added back on. Prices will also fluctuate to accommodate sale fares from airlines.

Do your research, Virgin Holidays will be very competitive for some destinations and less so for others; for maximum value it is therefore wise to choose a destination for which they offer good value.

Remember to read the rules on the tesco website about what can and cannot be purchased (cruising and fly-drives, for example, are unavailable).

Rules have also been changed so that rewards are now only 3x the value of vouchers instead of 4x, and the maximum spend per adult has been reduced to £525.

It would also make sense to use travel insurance that specifically covers the use of the Tesco vouchers. Tesco's own is one but I believe they don't offer cover for PEMC's; travelinsuranceweb is another.

Have fun choosing, I am in the process of finalising the details for my third Tesco Clubcard holiday.

JOHN1982

Thank you for all the info Incapuppy, that's a great help. I was hoping to save enough to cover the full £525 for each of us. We were actually looking at somewhere "All Inclusive" like Mauritius or The Maldives.

I did spot this in the T&Cs which puzzled me;

Rewards tokens may only be used by the Clubcard Holder (whose name is printed on the tokens) however there can be more than one named token per booking as long as that person(s) is travelling too. Tokens cannot be given as gifts.

The reward tokens are in my name. Does that mean I'll get a form (like with other deals) where I can request a set amount in my partner's name?

Incapuppy

I've never used my vouchers for anything other than Virgin or Cosmos vouchers so I am unsure what you mean. My vouchers are usually in my name only and I use those to book a holiday for myself and my husband travelling together. What the above quote means is that you cannot use vouchers accrrued in, say, a relative's name unless that person is also travelling on the same booking.