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Holders of £14 million in Tesco Clubcard vouchers have been issued with a “use it or lose it” warning by Martin Lewis and the finance team at MSE.
The team at his moneysavingexpert.com (MSE) has advised that the vouchers are due to expire on Saturday, August 31.
They say now is the time to make the most of the savings or, alternatively, take advantage of a trick to extend their validity.
MSE said: “If you’re unsure when yours expire and you’ve still got them in paper format, check the date on the voucher itself.
“If you’ve lost your paper vouchers, or are unsure if you had any in the first place, you can check on the Tesco Clubcard site or app.”
How to check vouchers online
Go to the Tesco Clubcard website, select ‘Clubcard account’ and then ‘Vouchers’.
You’ll need to be registered for a Tesco.com account and must know your Clubcard number, which is printed on Clubcards and Clubcard key fobs. You should then be able to see a table listing your available vouchers and their expiry dates.
How to check vouchers on the Tesco app
The app can been downloaded for free from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store. Once you have it, go to ‘Clubcard’ and then to the ‘Vouchers’ section.
Once you’ve found your vouchers, you can spend them online at Tesco using the code provided – or if you plan to spend them in store, you can print your vouchers or scan the barcode available in the app at the checkout.
Alternatively, you can double the value of your vouchers by spending them at Tesco’s Reward Partners, such as Cineworld, Disney+, and Prezzo.
For example, 500 points are usually worth £5 to spend at Tesco – but if you exchange your vouchers for codes to use with a Reward Partner, 500 points are worth £10.
Extending the validity of Clubcard vouchers
If you don’t want to spend your Clubcard vouchers, you may be able to extend the expiry date by another two years.
MSE said you should make a small purchase on the Tesco Clubcard Rewards page (not in store or on other Tesco pages) or donate to one of its partner charities.
The remaining balance is credited back to your Clubcard account as points. So if you spend 50p using a £5 Clubcard voucher, you’ll get 450 points back (worth £4.50).
You can then swap your points for vouchers manually or wait for them to be converted with your next statement. The expiry date for these new vouchers will be two years in the future.
MSE said: “There’s no minimum spend, but the aim is to shell out as little as possible. A good option might be a 50p restaurant voucher (worth £1 at your chosen restaurant).
“You’ll need to do this for each individual voucher, so it’s worth weighing up if it’s actually worth it for smaller denominations.
“For example, if you’ve a £10 voucher it could be worth it. If you’ve got a handful of £1 vouchers, maybe less so.”
MSE offers advice on how to get the most out of Tesco’s loyalty scheme here.