As of February 2024, a whopping 22 million households in the UK were Tesco Clubcard members, joining the loyalty program to nab deals and savings on their weekly shop.
But many of these people might be unaware that the supermarket actually has a second little-known Clubcard scheme.
The retailer also offers a ‘Colleague Clubcard’ which comes with its own discounts and perks – but only certain people are eligible to get one.
That’s because the Colleague Clubcard is a benefit for Tesco employees who have worked at the business for at least three months. And staff are also able to share their membership with one other person.
Tesco’s careers website explains: ‘We’re all about making every day a little better. And helping you out with your weekly shop is a great place to start. After three months with us, you’ll get your Colleague Clubcard, giving you access to lots of discounts in-store and online. And you can even get one for a family member too.’
The Colleague Clubcard provides staff with 10% off of purchases in-stores, online, and in Tesco cafes. This rises to 15% off after every pay day for a four-day period.
Employees also receive 10% off at One Stop, Tesco Mobile discounts such as 10% off pay monthly and SIM Only deals, 20% off all F&F purchases, 20% off car, pet, travel and home insurance, 30% off glasses at Vision Express and free eye tests, 50% off health checks at Tesco Pharmacy, and access to an exclusive deals and discounts website that helps them save money on everyday purchases, treats for the family, eating out and utility bills. (Ts&Cs apply though).
According to reviews on the Tesco site, the scheme is a hit with employees. Anthony, an online trade content executive is quoted as saying: ‘The colleague discount really makes a difference to my weekly and monthly shop and allows for luxuries at a lower cost.’
And on social media people have raved about the F&F discount in particular saying it’s ‘crazy good’.
Tesco staff have been sharing secrets about the Colleague Clubcard over on Reddit, revealing that it’s automatically sent out to employees once they have achieved three months of service.
And in terms of how it all works, they say it’s no different than a regular Clubcard. A user named u/halftone84 explained: ‘You scan it contactless like you would a normal Clubcard and it automatically removes the discount at the till.’
They continued: ‘10% [off] every day, except the weekend after payday, and then Friday to Monday we get 15%.’
In another Reddit post, u/Kyle0ng claimed that with the Colleague Card Tesco employees could also nab reduced yellow sticker products from the supermarket for free, depending on the time of day they were shopping.
‘After 9pm any items with a CS written on the reduction label will go through the tills for 0p with a colleague clubcard,’ the user posted.
While u/Nels8192 said: ‘Sundays are your best bet for CS because less trading hours means less time for the reductions to sell at an actual price. Come 3pm you can then scan any reduced items through a till for free (colleague shop).’
Sounds pretty good, right?! However, there seems to be one downside to the scheme, which is that the retailer is pretty strict on who can use the discount – you can’t be sharing your Colleague Clubcard perks with anyone and everyone.
One employee recently took to Reddit for clarification on the rules, writing: ‘I’m new to Tesco with 5 months service and I got a Colleague Clubcard. Am I allowed to buy food for my family and myself using my own Colleague Clubcard?’
People were quick to reply to point out that the employee could apply for one other card for a family member, but otherwise the card should only be used by the person it belongs to, as stated in the company policy.
And if you’re wondering what happens to the Colleague Clubcard when a person no longer works for Tesco, u/CDDONT says the account is quickly switched back to a regular Clubcard membership.
‘You get sent a new non-colleague one, your online account changes automatically. If you rejoin you can phone up and they’ll re-activate it. Source: I left.’
They added that any points on the account do get transferred over though, so you won’t lose out if you’ve been saving them up.
Metro has contacted Tesco for comment.
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