CHRISTMAS is one of the most expensive days of the year for families, with food, drink, presents and decorations typically costing hundreds, if not thousands of pounds.
In fact, research by comparison site MoneySuperMarket found that the average cost of Christmas rose to £1,811.70 per household last year.
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Given that’s more than 80% of the average monthly income, it’s no surprise that families are looking for ways to spread the cost of festivities and stretch their money as far as possible.
Major supermarkets have responded by creating Christmas clubs, which allow you to save up each month, typically in return for a bonus in terms of points, vouchers, or cash to spend.
However, there are risks with these schemes.
First, money held with a supermarket is not protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), which means you won’t get automatic compensation and protection if the company goes bust.
The other thing to consider is that despite the bonuses involved, most supermarket saver schemes have a low rates of return, typically less than you’d get if you put the money into a savings account instead.
However, a clever hack means that you can get the best of both worlds.
Most of these accounts have a final date that you need to have saved money by in order to get the rewards.
If you put money aside throughout the year into the highest easy-access interest-paying account you can find, and then transfer it to your supermarket of choice right before the cut off, you get the interest and the supermarket bonus.
This also minimises other risks such as losing your saver scheme card, or not being able to get money back out of the savings schemes if you need it for something else.
We’ve rounded up all the supermarket schemes that are available, explaining what bonuses are on offer, and how to get them.
Asda – earn up to £15
The Asda Christmas saver card rewards you with bonus cash for any money you save before November 10.
You need to have saved £30 or more on your card by 5pm on Sunday, November 10 to qualify. The bonus is then added to the card by 9am on Monday, November 11.
The more you save, the bigger the bonus. The max you can earn is £15, but you need to have at least £280 stashed away to get that.
If you save exactly £280, the return rate works out at 5.36%, which is competitive with many savings accounts.
But, if you have £78 saved and earn a bonus of just £1, then your rate of return is just 1.28% and can be easily beaten elsewhere.
How to save at Asda
Shop the budget range
Savvy shopper Eilish Stout-Cairns recommends that shoppers grab items from Asda’s Just Essentials range.
She said: “Asda’s budget range is easy to spot as it’s bright yellow! Keep your eyes peeled for yellow and you’ll find their Just Essentials range.
“It’s great value and I’ve found it has a much wider selection of budget items compared to other supermarkets.
Sign up to Asda Rewards
The savvy-saver also presses on the importance of signing up to Asda’s reward scheme.
She said: “Asda Rewards is free to join and if you shop at Asda you should absolutely sign up.
“As an Asda Rewards member, you’ll get exclusive discounts and offers, and you’ll also be able to earn 10% cashback on Star Products.
“This will go straight into your cashpot, and once you’ve earned at least £1, you can transfer the money in your cashpot into ASDA vouchers.
We’ve previously rounded up the best supermarket loyalty schemes – including the ones that will save you the most money.
Look out for booze deals
Eilish always suggests that shoppers looking to buy booze look out for bargain deals.
She said: “Asda often has an alcohol offer on: buy six bottles and save 25%.
“The offer includes selected bottles with red, white and rose options, as well as prosecco. There are usually lots of popular bottles included, for example, Oyster Bay Hawkes Bay Merlot, Oyster Bay Hawkes Bay Merlot and Freixenet Prosecco D.O.C.
“Obviously, the more expensive the bottles you choose, the more you save.”
Join Facebook groups
The savvy saver also recommends that fans of Asda join Facebook groups to keep in the know about the latest bargains in-store.
Eilish said: “I recommend joining the Latest Deals Facebook Group to find out about the latest deals and new launches in store.
“Every day, more than 250,000 deal hunters share their latest bargain finds and new releases.
“For example, recently a member shared a picture of Asda’s new Barbie range spotted in store.
“Another member shared the bargain outdoor plants she picked up, including roses for 47p, blackcurrant bushes for 14p and topiary trees for 14p.”
However, you can transfer in all your savings just before the deadline to add the bonus onto interest you’ve earnt elsewhere.
You can spend the balance on your savings card at Asda either in store or online, and at George.com.
To join the scheme, you simply need to order a card online or pick one up in store. There’s no limit to the number of Christmas Savings Cards you can have, too, meaning you can earn multiple bonuses.
Make sure you register and add your Christmas Savings Card to your account. Once you’ve logged in, you’ll see a ‘top-up’ option next to your card. Follow the instructions on screen. You can do a one-off top up or set up a regular payment.
You can also top up your card in-store at any checkout (including Self-Scan and Scan & Go) or at a customer service desk. You’ll need to have either your savings card, key fob, or digital eGift card.
As long as you’ve registered your card online, if it’s lost or stolen you can log in into your account to cancel it.
Once you’ve done this, the card will be locked and unusable. Asda will replace the card either with a digital version that’s available immediately or through the post which can take 7-10 days.
The remaining balance you had left on the card when you reported it will be applied to your replacement card. However, Asda says it can’t replace balances if the card wasn’t registered online.
Iceland – earn £1 for every £20
Iceland’s “Bonus Pounds” scheme isn’t technically a Christmas saver – but you could use it as one.
The supermarket will give you a £1 bonus for every £20 you top-up, which works out as a 5% return.
There’s no limit to the amount you can save and spend on the card throughout a year, but the most you can have loaded at any one time is £1,000 including bonuses.
If you managed to save £20 a week, you’d have £52 in free cash over the course of 12 months.
If you’re topping up whilst at the shop, just let the cashier know how much you want to add and they will load it to your card.
To do it online, sign in to your account on the Iceland Bonus Card app. Go to ‘My Card’ and select ‘Top Up’. You can then top up any amount with your preferred payment method.
You can sign up for a Digital Bonus Card online at iceland.co.uk/bonuscard, or pick up a physical card in an Iceland store and register it online or through the Bonus Card app.
Iceland does warn that it reserves the right to withdraw, decline, cancel or issue a new card at any time and without notice.
You can cancel your Bonus Card at any time, but any remaining balance will be lost, so you need to make sure you spend any savings first.
If you don’t use the card for 24 months, it will expire, and you will lose any money you have saved.
Iceland adds that it is not liable for any bonuses that are not spent before expiry, nor for any bonus amounts which have failed to load onto the card due to a technical or user error, nor for any bonus amounts which are not used due to lost or stolen cards.
Savings can only be used to purchase products in participating Iceland and The Food Warehouse stores or online at the Iceland website. They cannot be redeemed in a franchise store or at The Range.
Morrisons – earn up to £6
The Morrisons Christmas saver scheme pays you a bonus for any money you save. To get the extra cash, you need to have the savings in your account on October 31.
The more you have saved, the higher the reward amount – and the rate of return improves too. For instance, you get £1 if you have £49 saved, which works out as a 2% increase. But if you save £109, you get £6, which works out at 3%.
The rate of return is lower than you’ll get in many savings accounts, so it makes sense to save elsewhere and transfer the cash in before the deadline to get the rewards.
The different reward levels are:
- £49 = £1 total bonus
- £97 = £3 total bonus
- £149 = £4 total bonus
- £197 = £6 total bonus
You can continue to save after reaching £197 however you will not receive any further bonus cash from Morrisons.
The cut-off point to buy stamps is October 31. If you buy Christmas Saver stamps after this point, they will go towards your Christmas 2025 balance.
The total saved and bonus added is then converted into a voucher that you can use to shop use in-store or online.
You have to select on your My Morrisons account which you want, but it’s worth knowing that if you select in-store you have to collect the vouchers yourself.
You also can’t get change from a voucher. So, if you have a £100 voucher you need to spend £100 or more in a single transaction at the till.
If your card is stolen, you simply login to your Morrisons More account and select ‘Replace / Cancel card’ from the main page, then click ‘Block & Report as Lost / Stolen’.
You can then click ‘Add / Request card’ to have a replacement sent to your home.
Doing this means the lost or stolen card becomes invalid and can’t be used, and all your More Points and Christmas Saver stamps will be transferred to your new card.
You can opt out of Christmas Savers any time before the cut-off date of October 31. If you choose to opt-out and have Christmas Saver stamps in your account, these will be transferred into your Morrisons More account as More Points.
Christmas Saver stamps are available from all Morrisons stores (excluding Morrisons Daily).
To buy, ask the cashier for the amount you want to purchase and scan your Morrisons More card to link the stamps to your account.
Sainsbury’s – earn up to £25
Sainsbury’s pays its Christmas Club members a 5% bonus on any savings made up until 23:59 on November 1st.
You get £2.50 for each £50 you save, however, the maximum bonus you can be paid in a year is £25.
That means if you put more than £500 on the card, your rate of return gets significantly less competitive. However, you can load any amount from £1 to £1,975.
The Sainsbury’s Christmas Club card can be activated and reloaded at a Sainsbury’s in-store checkout and self-service till only – it cannot be activated or reloaded at an Argos till.
But the money can then be used at Sainsbury’s in-store, Argos in-store, Sainsburys.co.uk and Argos.co.uk.
The full list of bonus levels are:
- £0.00 – £49.99 – £0 bonus
- £50 – £99.99 – £2.50 bonus
- £100 – £149.99 – £5 bonus
- £150 – £199.99 – £7.50 bonus
- £200 – £249.99 – £10 bonus
- £250 – £299.99 – £12.50 bonus
- £300 – £349.99 – £15 bonus
- £350 – £399.99 – £17.50 bonus
- £400 – £449.99 – £20 bonus
- £450-£499.99 – £22.50 bonus
- £500 and over – £25 bonus
To redeem your savings, present your Christmas Club Card at the checkout.
If the entire balance of a Christmas Club Card is not spent in one transaction, the remaining balance will remain available on the card for future use. The card balance will be printed on the till receipt.
If you’re shopping online, at the checkout page, under ‘Payment section’, select ‘Payment Card’.
Click “add a new payment method” and enter the 16-digit card number on the back of the card starting with 5339. You also need to add the expiry date, which is on the front of the card.
When redeeming in Argos there are no excluded items. When redeeming in Sainsbury’s the following items are excluded:
- Branded Gift Cards
- All lottery related products
- PayPoint products and services
- Stage 1 Infant Formula milk
- Tobacco and related products
- Postage stamps
- All in store concessions
- Petrol and Diesel
- Mobile phone top ups
- Travel Money
The Christmas Club card is available in most Sainsbury’s supermarkets. It must be activated before use, which can be done at the till or at self-checkout, and at least £1 must be added to activate the card.
The card has an expiry date printed at the front of the card – any remaining balance will be deducted on the expiry date, so you must spend the full card value before then.
Be aware that Sainsbury’s warns the card cannot be replaced if lost, stolen or damaged.
Tesco – earn up to £12
Tesco’s Clubcard Christmas Saver lets customers earn a bonus worth up to £12 for their savings.
To get the full amount, you need to save at £200, which works out as return of 6%. The maximum you can save is £360, but the rate of return will be lower.
The full list of reward levels are:
- Top up your savings over £25 and get a £1.50 bonus voucher
- Top up your savings over £50 and get a £3 bonus voucher
- Top up your savings over £100 and get a £6 bonus voucher
- Top up your savings over £200 and get a £12 bonus voucher
In November, Tesco sends customers vouchers for the value of what they save – including any bonuses, which they can spend over the Christmas period.
You can spend your Clubcard, top-up and bonus vouchers in-store, online and in the Tesco Grocery & Clubcard app. You can also spend them on fuel at a Tesco petrol filling station or Esso sites with a Tesco Express.
To join the scheme, you need to download or open the Tesco app, or sign into tesco.com/clubcard. In the ‘Clubcard account’ menu, click ‘Christmas savers’. Then, find the top-up and bonus section. Select ‘Top up now’ to add to your savings.
The final opt-in and top-up date is October 17, 2024. Clubcard vouchers and top-up vouchers are valid for 2 years, and bonus vouchers are valid for 3 months.
Tesco says that Clubcard Christmas Savers top-up money is held in a separate bank account until vouchers are sent. This account is managed by trustees, one of which is a professional trustee company, independent of Tesco.
Read more on the Scottish Sun
You can opt out of Clubcard Christmas Savers and change to a different voucher scheme.
If you opt out of the scheme before 11.59pm on October 17, 2024, your top-up value will be sent to you on a money card within the first two weeks of November 2024 and you won’t receive any bonus.
Where to find the best savings rates
Many savings accounts offer miserly rates meaning that money is generating little or no return.
However, there are ways to get your cash working hard. Sun Savers Editor Lana Clements explains how to make sure you money is getting the best interest rate.
Easy access savings accounts offer flexibility for customers, meaning they can dip in and out of cash when needed. However, the caveat is that rates can change at any time.
If you’re keeping your money in an easy access account, you’ll need to keep checking whether it’s the best paying account for your circumstances and move if not.
Check in at least once a month to see what is happening in the market.
Check what is offered by your bank – sometimes the best rates are for customers only.
But do search the wider market as often top savings accounts are offered by lesser known providers.
Comparison sites are a good place to check for the top rates. Try Moneyfactscompare.co.uk or Moneysupermarket.
You can search by different account type. You’ll usually get a better interest rate if you can lock your money away for a fixed amount of time, but it’s always a good idea to keep some money in an easy access account in case of emergencies.
Don’t overlook regular savings accounts often pay some of the best rates, but you’ll need to commit to monthly payments. This can be a great way to get into a savings habit while earning top rates at the same time.
