Dear LPG, 

Most of us go shopping to some extent and I bet that quite a lot of the space in the purse or wallet of us older consumers is taken up with store loyalty cards, but do you use them?

While the youngsters increasingly just use their phones when it comes to paying, loyalty cards are still very much in use.  I found a couple of lists showing just which ones are the best and I must admit to having and recognising quite a few of them.  I notice that the Tesco one is thought to be the best by quite a few such articles I have read.  I must admit that I do swipe mine, but rarely check the mail when it arrives on my doormat with the coupons and offers involved although I know that many do.  If you are not careful you can have spent hours trying to sort out what you are saving.   I think that the Sainsbury’s arrangement is easier to understand with the total you have saved shown clearly at the bottom of the bill, and there are many others on the list.  For me, shopping is all about my personal shopping list which needs lots of scrutiny if, when you’re in a shop you really try to stick to it, and that is as much as I can manage without spending lots of time working out if I need to get two packets of toothpaste or three packets of crisps to get the best points.  But there is one store card that is not really mentioned in many of these online comparisons.  

The Iceland card is often missed out, but I think that it is worth consideration.  The difference is that it is a savings card and if you don’t invest money as you shop it can be a bit of a waste.  This is what I always thought and while I do have one, until recently I didn’t really bother much when it comes to getting it out when I go to the shop, but even if you do not use it to save it is worth getting it out. 

I was there the other day and bought a couple of things.  I was the only one in the queue so I took the time to get their card out and give it a swipe only to find that I had saved just over a pound even though I have never saved a penny with their club. 

So, I would say that even if you don’t really bother to read the small print, the shop’s practise of reducing a few products by a couple of pence, works just as well even if you don’t save a penny with Iceland. 

If you are one of those people who don’t bother they really are worth reaching for, together with your bank card when you get to the check out. 

FB, Lewisham

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