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High street coffee shop loyalty schemes are 10 a penny, and you may find that you end up with an abundance of loyalty cards weighing down your purse.
Each scheme offers you points every time you buy a coffee, with the reward of a free coffee – and more – when you fill up the card.
Different coffee shops require you to buy a different amount of coffee before bagging a free one, and some offer points for other things as well.
With increasing costs, choosing which café chain to visit based on value-for-money is more important than ever. Let’s take a look at what each loyalty card scheme offers.
Which coffee shop has the best value loyalty card?
We looked at loyalty schemes from Costa, Starbucks, Caffè Nero, McDonald’s, Greggs, Grind, and Pret A Manger and have ranked them here in order of best to worst value.
1. Greggs
Greggs offers loyalty scheme customers freebies on coffees, pastries, and more.
You just have to buy nine items in the same category (for example, nine coffees) and you get the tenth free.
How much do you need to spend to earn a freebie?
The cheapest coffee at Greggs is a Regular Americano, which costs £1.50, so you would have to spend £13.50 to get a free coffee.
2. McDonald’s
Being a fast food chain, McDonald’s doesn’t just serve coffee. Their MyMcDonald’s Rewards scheme is a loyalty programme that allows customers to earn one point for every penny they spend at participating stores.
But, say you are just after a coffee, their cheapest product is either a White Coffee or an Americano, at £1.39 each.
According to the scheme, you need 1,500 points to redeem either a small portion of fries, a medium salad, a regular McCafé, a mini McFlurry, a hash brown, or a regular drink.
How much do you need to spend to earn a freebie?
To earn 1,500 points, you need to spend £15. So, that’s 11 coffees, equating to £15.29.
3. Caffè Nero
Caffe Nero‘s loyalty scheme requires you to get nine stamps (one nine coffees since one coffee = one stamp) before getting a coffee for free.
However, it also gives you an extra point for using a reusable cup, meaning you only actually have to buy five coffees to get one free.
You can also get a free coffee just by downloading the Caffè Nero loyalty scheme app using a referral link.
Additionally, you can get free drinks for each friend you refer who also signs up and makes a purchase, meaning you can technically get multiple free coffees from Caffè Nero without spending a penny.
How much do you need to spend to earn a freebie?
The cheapest coffee at Caffè Nero is a regular Americano at £3.60, meaning that, if you used a reusable cup every time you bought a drink, you would have to spend £18 to be entitled to a free coffee.
4. Pret
Pret‘s loyalty scheme – aka ‘Pret Perks’ – gives you a star every time you buy something in store and scan the code in your Pret app.
If you get 10 stars, you get a perk (which could be anything from a free croissant to a coffee).
You can also join The Half Price Coffee Club. For just £5 per month, take advantage of up to five hot or iced Barista-made drinks a day with 50% off.
How much do you need to spend to earn a freebie?
The cheapest coffee at Pret is a filter coffee at £1.90, meaning you would have to spend £19 in-store to get a freebie.
Pret does offer a 50p discount to those who use a reusable cup in store though, so if you used one every time you bought a filter coffee, this would cut the price of a free treat down to just £14.
5. Costa
Costa‘s loyalty scheme says customers need to get 10 ‘beans’ to claim a free coffee (each coffee purchased = 1 bean).
However, if you bring your reusable cup, you get an extra bean, so you could get a free drink by just buying five coffees.
How much do you need to spend to earn a freebie?
The cheapest coffee at Costa is an Americano at £3.80, meaning that if you brought in a reusable cup every time, you will have to spend at least £19 (five Americanos, each with reusable cups) to get a free coffee.
6. Starbucks
At Starbucks, for every £1 you spend, you collect 10 stars. At 130 stars, you get a free drink – anything from filter coffee, hot teas or a signature Americano.
Starbucks also charges 5p extra for customers who use a takeaway cup. Customers who bring their own reusable cup receive a 25p discount.
How much do you need to spend to earn a freebie?
An Americano costs £3.80 at Starbucks, so you would have to buy 5 of these before getting a freebie. This would cost £19.
7. Grind
London-based coffee chain Grind gives loyalty scheme customers one point for every £1 spent in-store.
You have to get 35 points to get a free coffee, meaning you have to spend £35 to bag a freebie. This could include a coffee, an Espresso Martini, ten of Grind’s compostable coffee pods or a pouch of coffee.
How much do you need to spend to earn a freebie?
The cheapest coffee on the menu at Grind is an Americano at £2.40, so you would have to buy 15 of these before being entitled to a free coffee. This adds up to £36.
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