Tesco Purchases Credit Card: How Many Extra Clubcard Points Can You Earn?
Tesco Purchases Credit Card: How Many Extra Clubcard Points Can You Earn?
Good for
- 0% purchases period
- Earning extra Tesco Clubcard points for Tesco shopping
Bad for
- Those wanting to earn good rewards on their other (non-Tesco) spending
The guidance on this site is based on our own analysis and is meant to help you identify options and narrow down your choices. We do not advise or tell you which product to buy; undertake your own due diligence before entering into any agreement. Read our full disclosure here.
Tesco is no longer offering their 0% purchases credit card. This review is being left up for historical purposes.
The no-fee Tesco Purchases Credit Card offers a long 0% interest periods on purchases, but how do the rewards compare? Read this review to find out.
Tesco Purchases Credit Card Review
The Tesco Purchases Credit Card is both a no-interest purchases card and a rewards card rolled into one, but we'd say the card's strength lies in the 0% purchases period—not the rewards—unless you really enjoy your Tesco Clubcard points and would like to earn a few more of them.
Cardholders get one of the longer 0% purchase periods in the UK market—up to 14 months—giving some time to spread out the cost of new purchases without interest charges.
However, the additional Tesco Clubcard points you can earn are arguably not as valuable in terms of a rewards rate as many other rewards cards on the market, even for Tesco customers on their Tesco shopping. If you want to keep things simple and just want to earn a few more Clubcard points and enjoy maximizing rewards through Clubcard Boost, this may be a good card for you; otherwise you may be able to find higher rewards elsewhere.
Tesco Purchases Rewards
The card adds rewards of 0.25% on Tesco groceries and fuel to the underlying rewards already earned with a Tesco Clubcard membership. Out-of-store rewards of 0.125% on general, non-Tesco spending are pretty poor but better than nothing.
Without this purchases credit card, as part of basic Clubcard membership, shoppers already earn 1% on their Tesco shopping and 0.5% Tesco Fuel. You'd get these underlying rewards paying with any credit card, including other rewards cards.
But paying for shopping using the Tesco Purchases Credit Card earns shoppers additional Clubcard points, increasing overall reward rates to 1.25% for both shopping and fuel (paying with a Tesco Bank Credit Card for fuel—excluding Esso—gets you 5 Clubcard points: 1 Clubcard point for every £4 you spend, plus your normal Clubcard points at an enhanced rate of 1 Clubcard point per £1 spent).
| Clubcard Membership Loyalty Rewards | Tesco Purchases Credit Card Rewards | Total Rewards | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tesco Groceries | 1% | + | 0.25% | = | 1.25% |
| Tesco Fuel | 1% | + | 0.25% | = | 1.25% |
| Other General Spending | 0% | + | 0.125% | = | 0.125% |
Those who don’t mind actively managing their rewards program can eek out extra returns through Clubcard Boost. Clubcard Boost lets you redeem your Tesco vouchers for up to 4x their value at Tesco’s retail partners, which include Pizza Express and Odeon.
The Tesco Purchases credit card offers a 0% interest rate on purchases up to up to 14 months (you may get fewer months, depending on your circumstances). As long as you make your minimum payments in full, on time, you can benefit from 0% on purchases whilst still earning Tesco Clubcard points.
Bottom Line: The Tesco Purchases Credit Card is free, offers a up to 14 months no-interest purchases period and rewards users with some additional rewards on their Tesco shopping—but those looking to maximize credit card rewards might want to consider a more robust reward credit card.
Tesco Purchases Card Customer Reviews
We scoured reviews of Tesco credit cards on Trustpilot to see what real customers have to say. Here is a curated selection of real customer quotes:
Positive Experiences
"My application for a credit card online was easy to complete and the response from Tesco was prompt. A letter providing the new PIN arrived within 48 hours."
"...since I took out the Tesco Credit Card for purchases, today i received vouchers worth £23.50, so having a Tesco Credit Card is really worth it!! [edited for grammar]"
"Applied for a credit card. Liked the way it did a soft search first to see if I was eligible. Very quick and simple to use. Got an immediate answer with a good credit limit on a 22 month % interest free on purchases. Pin arrived within 3 days. Card arrived the day after. Simple to authenticate and use. Slight difficulty linking the Mobile App to the card as Tesco Bank and Tesco Credit run parallel to one another using different passwords. Quick call to Customer Services and all sorted."
"I was fraudulently charged for unlimited delivery by MandM Direct...I spoke to Tesco Bank and requested a chargeback onto my credit card, instead of doing that and having to wait up to 45 days, as a gesture of good will they simply credited my account with the charge. That's true customer service."
"Their app gives me constant visibility of my outstanding amount, and is easy to make a payment straight to the card. On one occasion, I left it a tad too late to repay the minimum payment, and, under the terms Tesco could have said the zero percent promotional rate is gone, but instead, they agreed to allow me to retain it... not many banks would prioritise customer service over profit and that is what this situation was! In addition, if you call them up they answer the phone quickly."
Negative Experiences
"In the past 6 months you have for no reason (I’ve checked my credit report) consistently reduced my credit limits on my two credit cards."
"Card was blocked due a suspected fraud (although it was me) over a £7 transaction. Was told someone from fraud team would call back in 24 hours to clear security. 2 WEEKS NOW and no one has bothered to contact me and card remains blocked..."
Tesco Purchases Credit Card Benefits & Features
| Tesco Purchases Credit Card Features | |
|---|---|
| Earning Clubcard Rewards |
|
| 0% on Balance Transfers | n/a |
| 0% on Purchases | up to 14 months (depending on circumstances e.g. could be 19 or 15 months) |
| Annual Fee | £0 |
| APR (variable) | 22.9% on purchases |
How do Tesco Clubcard Points Work?
When you use your Tesco Purchases Credit Card, you’ll earn an additional 1 Clubcard point for every £4 spent (£4 minimum) at Tesco and 1 Clubcard point for every £8 spent (£8 minimum) elsewhere. Clubcard points are turned into vouchers with the value of 100 points = £1 of vouchers, and are sent to you every three months.
| How much are Clubcard vouchers worth? | |
|---|---|
| 100 points | £1 |
| 500 points | £5 |
| 1,000 points | £10 |
| 5,000 points | $50 |
| 10,000 points | £100 |
| 50,000 points | £500 |
These vouchers can be used at Tesco (in-store, on-line, or at the pump) or can be used at a number of Tesco Clubcard Partners. Redeemed with these partners, your vouchers may be "boosted" by up to 4x their value. For instance, using Clubcard Boost, a £2.50 Tesco voucher may be worth £10 off at Pizza Express. Other partners include Odeon, Cineworld, Goldsmiths, Red Letter Days, Figleaves, Spafinder, Good Housekeeping Magazine and Elle Magazine.
You need to collect 150 points in any three-month collection period to receive a voucher. If you have fewer than 150 points, they will be carried over into the next collection period. The Tesco Purchases credit card doesn’t allow you to collect points on all purchases at Tesco. There are some exceptions, including the following:
| Categories That Do NOT Earn Tesco Clubcard Points | ||
|---|---|---|
| Tobacco | Lottery | Stamps |
| Prescription medicines | Tesco gift cards | Infant formula milk |
Tesco limits the number of points you can earn per 3-month collection period to 30,000, but this won’t affect most people. Given this card’s rewards rate of 0.25 point per £1 spent at Tesco, plus your usual Clubcard earnings of 1 point per £1 spent at Tesco, you’d have to spend a whopping £8,000 a month at Tesco to hit this cap. (£8,000 spent a month * 1.25 points/£1 spent = 10,000 points a month to hit the cap.)
Compare Alternatives to the Tesco Purchases Credit Card
To better understand the value of the Tesco Purchases credit card you need to compare it to other available options. We’ve compared this card to other rewards cards so you can see which is better suited to your shopping habits.
Tesco Purchases Card vs Sainsbury's Nectar Card
The Sainsbury’s Nectar Credit Card pays some of the best rewards for in-store grocery shopping, making it an obvious choice for those loyal to Sainsbury's. The rewards on all other purchases are weak, however, making it also a poor choice for your general spending. The Sainsbury's card also offers 6 months of 0% interest on new purchases, useful if you can't pay off your purchases right away.
Quick Takeway: If you are open to shopping at different grocery chains, then the Sainsbury's card offers a higher return on in-store shopping. If, however, you are a loyal Tesco shopper and you enjoy maximizing your Clubcard points, then you may still prefer the Tesco card. Both cards offer very similar 0% interest periods on purchases.
Tesco Purchases Card vs The Nectar Card by American Express
The Nectar Credit Card by American Express is a great card to use for all general spending, wherever American Express is accepted, achieving an estimated 1% rewards rate. This is on top of Nectar points you earn at Nectar partners as part of the loyalty programme. The Nectar Card's generous rewards come at a cost of £25 per year, however—cardholders need to spend £2,500 a year in order to earn rewards that should cover the annual fee.
Quick Takeaway: The Amex Nectar Card earns an estimated 8X the rewards on general spending compared to the Tesco Purchases card. However those after a lower interest rate or a purchases period may be better off with the Tesco card.
Tesco Purchases Card vs Platinum Cashback Everyday Card by American Express
The Platinum Cashback Everyday card from American Express is one of our favourite free rewards cards for solid, straightforward cashback. The ongoing rewards rate is between 0.5% and 1%, depending on how much you spend. There's also a great 5% intro offer (up to £100 of cashback).
Cashback on the Platinum Cashback Everyday card is distributed once a year in the form of statement credits, which offers flexibility in terms of how you use your rewards—but you do need to wait a year to get your rewards. There is a minimum spend requirement of £3,000 a year to receive cashback rewards.
Quick Takeaway: You'll get your rewards 3X a year on the Partnership card vs. 1X a year on the Amex cashback card—does that matter to you? Besides that, consider how much you spend at Waitrose and John Lewis vs. other general spending.
Tesco Purchases Card vs The Partnership Card
The John Lewis Waitrose Partnership Card is a really nice store-branded rewards cards with solid rewards and an easy rewards system where vouchers are sent to cardholders three times a year. The ongoing rewards rate is 1.25% or more on in-store (John Lewis and Waitrose) shopping and 0.25% elsewhere, so it's good for general spending. The card offers a 0% purchases period of 6 months.
Quick Takeaway: The Partnership Card is attractive because it pays solid rewards not only on John Lewis and Waitrose spending, but also has pretty weak rewards on out-of-store spending (but they are better than Tesco's out-of-store rewards). However, the 0% purchases period is shorter on the Partnership Card.