Tesco Clubcard Plus review: is the £7.99 monthly fee worth paying, and what do you actually get?

Paying a monthly fee to get extra supermarket savings sounds a bit strange, possibly even slightly backwards. That’s probably why I ignored Tesco Clubcard Plus for quite a while, because I already had a normal Tesco Clubcard, collected points, used Clubcard Prices and took advantage of the usual offers. Paying another £7.99 every month didn’t immediately make sense to me.

The truth is, I hadn’t really looked properly at what Clubcard Plus included. Once I did, I decided to give it a try, and I’m now an active subscriber who generally saves about £20 from the two main discounts on average each month. That’s enough to cover the £7.99 fee for our household, although the maths won’t work the same way for everyone.

Whether Tesco Clubcard Plus is worth paying for depends on how much you already spend at Tesco, whether you shop in-store or mainly online and how likely you are to use both discounts before they expire. It can save regular Tesco shoppers money, but paying for it can also make you feel more tied to Tesco when another supermarket might be cheaper.

I’ve gone through what you get, what’s excluded, and how I use it, so you can compare the subscription to the way you already shop.

What is Tesco Clubcard Plus and what do you actually get?

Tesco Clubcard Plus is a paid subscription added on top of the free Tesco Clubcard scheme. It currently costs £7.99 a month and gives you extra benefits while you continue to collect the normal Clubcard points, use Clubcard Prices and receive Clubcard vouchers. Tesco currently offers eligible new subscribers a free first month, after which the membership continues at £7.99 per month unless you cancel.

The main benefit, and the reason I pay for Clubcard Plus, is getting 10% off two qualifying in-store shops during each subscription period. There’s no minimum spend stated for those two shops, but the discount is capped at £20 per coupon, so the maximum saving from the pair is £40. To get the full £40, you’d need £200 of qualifying spending on each of the two shops.

You also get an ongoing 10% discount on selected Tesco ranges every time you buy them in-store. The current list includes F&F, F&F Home, Fred & Flo, Paperchase, Tesco Pet, Go Play, Go Create, Go Cook and Fox & Ivy, and this separate discount isn’t limited to two uses each month. That can add extra value if you already buy school uniform, family clothing, pet products, toys, kitchenware or homeware from those ranges.

How much does Tesco Clubcard Plus cost?

Tesco Clubcard Plus costs £7.99 a month, so 12 paid months at the current price would cost £95.88. There isn’t an annual commitment because the membership renews in monthly subscription periods until you cancel. If you qualify for the current free first month, your first 12 subscription periods would cost £87.89 at today’s price because only 11 of them would be charged.

Your Clubcard Plus month doesn’t necessarily run from the first to the last day of a calendar month. It runs from your own subscription start date, so if your membership begins on the 15th, the next subscription period begins on the 15th of the following month. Your two big-shop coupons refresh at the start of the new subscription period, and unused coupons don’t roll over.

Tesco currently gives eligible new subscribers their first month free, but you still need to provide payment details when you join. Tesco says the offer is for new subscribers who haven’t been subscribed within the previous six months, and the membership then renews at the normal monthly price once the free period ends unless you cancel renewal. If you cancel during the free month, Tesco says you can continue to use the discount benefits until the free period ends.

How does the 10% off two Tesco shops work?

You get two separate digital coupons for 10% off qualifying in-store shopping during each subscription period. You choose which two shops to use them on, so Tesco doesn’t automatically apply the discount to your first two visits of the month. Each coupon can save you up to £20, so I think it makes sense to choose transactions carefully.

You’ll find the coupons in the Tesco Grocery & Clubcard app by opening the Clubcard section and scrolling down to Clubcard Plus. When you open a coupon, the app gives you a code to scan at the checkout, and at self-service, I select the coupon option and scan it from my phone.

I’ve also frequently used the discount after shopping with Tesco’s Scan as you Shop handheld scanners, so you can still scan as you go and apply the coupon when you pay.

The big-shop discount covers qualifying food, drinks, alcohol, household, pet, baby, fresh flowers and plants, and health and beauty products. There are quite a few exclusions, particularly once you move into general merchandise, which I’ve covered further down because they can make a noticeable difference to the discount you actually receive.

The two coupons are also in-store only, so they won’t work on Tesco.com grocery deliveries, Click+Collect, Whoosh, or grocery orders placed through services such as Uber Eats.

I use Clubcard Plus alongside normal Clubcard Prices and Tesco’s in-store promotions, so I treat the 10% coupon as another layer of saving on the qualifying part of the bill. If a Clubcard Price has already reduced the price of something I’m buying, I still get that lower price before the Clubcard Plus saving is applied to the qualifying shop. The exception is products covered by the separate Clubcard Plus Always On Discount, because those don’t receive a second 10% from a big-shop coupon.

How much do you need to spend for Tesco Clubcard Plus to pay for itself?

If you judge Clubcard Plus only by the two 10% big-shop coupons, then about £80 of qualifying spending per subscription period is the basic break-even point. 10% of £80 is £8, which covers the £7.99 monthly fee, and MoneySavingExpert reaches the same figure in its current Clubcard analysis. At that level you’re only 1p ahead, so £80 is a useful break-even figure rather than a meaningful monthly saving.

That £80 doesn’t have to be spent in a single shop. You could use one coupon on a £40 qualifying shop and the second on another £40 shop, saving £4 each time, or split your spending differently depending on what you need. The numbers become more useful once your normal qualifying spending across the two chosen shops rises above that level.

Qualifying spend across up to two shops	10% discount	Position in a paid month after £7.99 fee
£40	£4	£3.99 worse off
£80	£8	1p better off
£150	£15	£7.01 better off
£200	£20	£12.01 better off
£300	£30	£22.01 better off
£400	£40 maximum	£32.01 better off

Those examples assume you divide the spending across your two coupons in a way that doesn’t hit the £20-per-shop cap too early. If you spent £300 on a single qualifying transaction, that coupon would still save you a maximum of £20, and you’d have the second coupon left for another shop.

Even if you somehow managed to spend £1,000 in one qualifying transaction, you’d still only get £20 from that coupon, so one enormous shop isn’t the best way to use the benefit.

The £80 calculation also ignores the separate 10% Always On Discount on selected Tesco ranges. If you already buy enough qualifying products from those ranges, those savings can help cover part of the subscription fee before you use either big-shop coupon. I’d still base the decision mainly on shopping you already do, rather than looking for extra things to buy to make the subscription appear worthwhile.

How I use Clubcard Plus to save around £20 a month

I plan how I’m going to use my Tesco Clubcard Plus discounts. I won’t waste one of the 10% coupons on a £30 or £40 top-up shop just because it’s sitting there in the app, unless I somehow reach the end of the subscription period without using it. That’s very rare for me, but I’d rather use a remaining coupon on a smaller shop than let it disappear completely.

Most months I save both coupons for our larger grocery shops, where the 10% makes a much more noticeable difference to the bill. Used that way, the pair will generally knock around £20 off our Tesco spending in an average month, which comfortably covers the £7.99 subscription fee. Some months are higher, and some are lower, depending on what we need to buy and when those larger shops happen.

Clubcard Plus works particularly well for us because Tesco is our main supermarket. It’s the biggest supermarket locally to us and has the widest range, so if we’re doing a larger grocery shop it’s almost always going to be there anyway. I’m taking 10% off spending that was already planned within our household budget, rather than changing where we shop to justify paying for the membership.

I’d never spend more to make the discount look better. Spending £100 you hadn’t planned to spend simply so you can save £10 leaves you £90 further out of pocket, which isn’t a money-saving strategy. The subscription works for us because those Tesco shops are already within our budget, and Clubcard Plus reduces what we pay for them.

Can you combine Clubcard Plus with Clubcard Prices?

Yes, I use Clubcard Plus alongside Tesco’s normal Clubcard Prices and in-store promotions. If something in my trolley already has a Clubcard Price, I get that lower price and then use my Clubcard Plus coupon against the qualifying shop. That’s one of the reasons I find the subscription useful, because I’m adding the 10% saving to offers I would already have received with the free Clubcard.

There is an exception with products that already receive the 10% Clubcard Plus Always On Discount, including ranges such as F&F, Paperchase, Fox & Ivy and Go Cook. Tesco’s terms say the Always On Discount and the big-shop discount are mutually exclusive, so that the same product won’t receive both 10% reductions. If you spend £200 on qualifying F&F clothing, for example, the Always On Discount would take £20 off, but using a big-shop coupon wouldn’t take another £20 off the same clothes.

I was reminded of that myself recently when I bought quite a lot of clothing in Tesco. I initially couldn’t work out why the big-shop discount was lower than I expected, then realised the F&F products had already received their separate Clubcard Plus discount. It’s easy to look at the total on the trolley and expect 10% of that figure, but the final big-shop saving only relates to products that qualify for that particular coupon.

I still compare the final price with other supermarkets before assuming Clubcard Plus makes Tesco cheapest. If Morrisons has a better deal on something I need and it's still cheaper after accounting for Tesco Clubcard Prices and my Clubcard Plus discount, I’ll buy it from Morrisons instead. Paying for a Tesco discount doesn’t make it sensible to ignore a lower price elsewhere.

I’ve written before about why checking Tesco Clubcard unit prices still matters: a prominent Clubcard Price can look attractive, while another size or alternative still works out cheaper. My latest UK cheapest supermarket comparison looks at the same issue across the major supermarkets. Clubcard Plus can improve Tesco’s price for our household, but I still compare the products we actually buy.

Can you stack Clubcard Plus with cashback?

Yes, I stack Tesco Clubcard Plus with cashback when there’s a suitable option available. Because the two big-shop coupons are for in-store shopping, the cashback method I use most often is to buy a retailer gift card through JamDoughnut. That lets me earn cashback on the gift card and then use the card to pay for the Tesco shop after my in-store discounts have been applied.

Rather than paying the remaining balance directly with my debit or credit card, I buy a Tesco gift card through JamDoughnut and use that at the till. The cashback from the gift card purchase goes into my JamDoughnut account, while the gift card itself is how I pay Tesco. I can still scan my normal Clubcard and use my Clubcard Plus coupon in the same transaction.

It’s a question I’m asked quite often: can using one saving block the other? In this case, the cashback and the Clubcard Plus discount are serving different purposes: Tesco reduces the qualifying spend, and the gift card service rewards the payment method I’ve chosen. I’ve used the combination myself, which is why I check the current gift card cashback rate before shopping at larger Tesco stores.

The order is simple when I’m at the till. My normal Tesco offers and Clubcard Prices reduce the relevant products; I scan the Clubcard Plus coupon for the qualifying big-shop discount, then I pay the balance with the gift card I’ve already bought. None of the individual savings needs to be huge for the combined result to make a difference over time.

I’ve got a full JamDoughnut cashback app review that explains how the gift card cashback works and how I use it for everyday spending. Cashback rates and participating retailers can change, so I check the app before buying rather than assuming Tesco will always be there at the same rate. I also check the gift card terms before loading a large amount, particularly if I’m buying it for one specific shop.

Other cashback services include TopCashback, Quidco and Rakuten, although their Tesco offers and eligibility can differ. Those services are more likely to become relevant when you’re shopping online, but the Clubcard Plus big-shop coupons won’t apply to an online Tesco grocery order.

I treat online cashback as a separate option and compare it with the in-store Clubcard Plus saving rather than assuming one route will always be cheaper.

What other benefits do you get with Tesco Clubcard Plus?

I mainly pay for Clubcard Plus for the two 10% big-shop coupons, but the subscription also offers other benefits. I’ve already covered the ongoing discount on selected Tesco ranges, and there are also benefits linked to Tesco Mobile and a separate Clubcard Plus Credit Card from Tesco Bank. Whether either of those adds useful value depends on products you would already have chosen for their own merits.

If you’re an eligible Tesco Mobile pay-monthly customer, Clubcard Plus can give you double data on one Tesco Mobile number and double Clubcard points on the bill amount for that number. The double-data benefit applies to the core monthly data allowance rather than one-off data bundles or extra Family Perks data, and it needs to be activated. One Clubcard Plus subscription can only apply the mobile benefit to one eligible Tesco Mobile number.

That could be useful if you already use Tesco Mobile and the extra data means your existing tariff gives you enough each month. I wouldn’t switch mobile providers solely to justify Clubcard Plus, because the total contract price still needs to beat alternatives that suit your usage. You can compare bills using services such as Nous, and I’ve also written a separate review of the service based on my own experience.

Clubcard Plus subscribers can also apply for a separate Clubcard Plus Credit Card from Tesco Bank, subject to status and lending checks. The card currently earns 1 Clubcard point for every £4 spent at Tesco and 1 point for every £8 spent elsewhere on each eligible purchase transaction, in addition to the usual Tesco Clubcard points. It also currently has no foreign exchange fee on eligible purchases while you remain a Clubcard Plus subscriber, though cash withdrawals and some other transactions may still incur charges.

I wouldn’t subscribe to Clubcard Plus to gain access to the credit card, and I wouldn’t take out the card just because I was already paying for Clubcard Plus. It’s a separate borrowing product with its own interest rates, charges and eligibility checks, so it needs to make sense independently of the grocery subscription. If the grocery savings already justify Clubcard Plus for you, the mobile and credit-card benefits are extras you can assess separately.

What doesn’t Tesco Clubcard Plus cover?

The biggest restriction is that the main Clubcard Plus shopping discounts are available only at Tesco stores and require the Tesco Grocery & Clubcard app. You can’t access those discount benefits with only a physical Clubcard or key fob, because the Clubcard Plus codes are held in the app. You also can’t use the two big-shop coupons for Tesco.com grocery deliveries, Click+Collect or Whoosh.

That app requirement may rule Clubcard Plus out for some shoppers. My mum and dad, for example, have very little interest in smartphones or apps, and there’s no chance they’d want to open an app and find digital coupons every time they go shopping. For them, Clubcard Plus doesn’t fit the way they shop, even if their Tesco spending might otherwise be high enough.

It’s much the same if most of your groceries arrive at your door. Paying £7.99 a month for two in-store discounts makes little sense if you rarely visit a Tesco store, unless the other benefits happen to justify the fee on their own. I’d look at how you genuinely shop now rather than how you think you might shop after subscribing.

The excluded-product list is also longer than you might expect. Tesco excludes fuel and motoring products, lottery purchases, gift cards and vouchers, savings stamps and postage stamps, tobacco products and accessories, infant formula, prescription medicines, newspapers and magazines from the big-shop discount.

It also excludes general merchandise including electricals, mobile phones and accessories, sports and camping, car accessories, DIY, luggage, media and entertainment, homeware, kitchenware, gardening and BBQ products, stationery, party accessories, toys, nursery products and seasonal non-food.

Third-party concessions, bureau de change, carrier bag charges, and in-store café or coffee shop purchases are excluded too. Alcohol can also receive less than the full 10% when applying the discount would bring the price below the legal minimum or permitted price, and products already covered by the separate Always On Discount don’t receive a second 10% from the big-shop coupon.

If a large part of your shopping falls into those categories, your savings can be noticeably lower than 10% of the total shown before you scan the coupon.

I wouldn’t look at a £150 trolley and automatically assume Clubcard Plus will knock £15 off it. If £40 or £50 of that total consists of excluded products or Tesco ranges already receiving the Always On Discount, the big-shop coupon is working against a lower qualifying amount. Checking the exclusions before a particularly large shop helps avoid a disappointing surprise when the total savings appear on the till screen.

What are the main downsides of Clubcard Plus?

The monthly fee is the obvious downside, as you have to pay £7.99 before the subscription has saved you anything. The two big-shop coupons also expire at the end of each subscription period, so forgetting to use one can quickly weaken the maths. If your in-store Tesco spending varies a lot from month to month, you could pay for benefits you don’t always use.

Paying for Clubcard Plus can also make you feel more tied to Tesco. Once you’ve handed over the monthly fee, there’s a temptation to make sure you use the discounts even when another supermarket, or an online shop, might work out cheaper. That can turn a money-saving subscription into a reason to stop comparing prices, which is the opposite of how I want to use it.

Another supermarket could offer the same products at more than 10% off, or the overall basket might suit your shopping needs better elsewhere. Shopping online can also be cheaper in a particular week once delivery offers, cashback or retailer promotions are taken into account, even though that route means giving up the Clubcard Plus big-shop coupon. I don’t treat the fact that I’ve paid for Clubcard Plus as a reason to ignore a better deal.

The coupons can also encourage extra spending if you let the percentage dictate the shop. Bringing a purchase forward, buying a larger pack you don’t need or adding products simply because you want a bigger 10% saving still means more money leaving your account. I only count the Clubcard Plus savings when they reduce spending that was already going to happen.

Clubcard Plus won’t suit every Tesco customer, and I don’t think it needs to. Someone who mainly shops online or only spends small amounts in-store may struggle to recover the fee from the big-shop coupons, while a regular in-store shopper has much more room for the numbers to work. Your own receipts tell you far more than the headline claim that you can save up to £40 a month.

Is Tesco Clubcard Plus worth it?

For our family, Tesco Clubcard Plus is worth paying for. Tesco is where we do most of our grocery shopping. I use the two 10% coupons on larger purchases, and we generally save around £20 per month. That comfortably covers the £7.99 fee before I count any extra Always On discounts or cashback.

I’d start by looking at what you actually spent in Tesco stores over the last month or two. If you normally have at least £80 of qualifying spending across one or two shops, the two 10% coupons should at least cover the monthly fee, while spending nearer £150 or £200 gives you a much more noticeable saving. If you have to change your normal shopping to reach those figures, I wouldn’t count that as evidence that the subscription works for you.

If you mainly shop online, use Tesco for occasional top-ups, or regularly find your usual products cheaper elsewhere, I’d probably keep the £7.99 in your pocket. The subscription works best when Tesco is already somewhere you shop regularly, and the larger purchases would happen anyway. That’s the position we’re in, which is why paying for Clubcard Plus makes sense for us.

The current free first month gives eligible new subscribers a chance to test that with their normal shopping. I’d use the discounts on purchases you were already planning, keep an eye on the savings shown on your receipts and avoid moving extra spending into Tesco simply because the trial is free. At the end of the period, you’ll have your own figures rather than somebody else’s estimate.

If the savings comfortably beat £7.99 and your shopping habits aren’t being distorted to achieve them, the subscription has earned its place. If the numbers don’t work, you can cancel renewal and keep the money for something else. That’s the test I’d use rather than signing up simply because Tesco advertises a possible £40 monthly saving.

Tesco Clubcard Plus frequently asked questions.

How much does Tesco Clubcard Plus cost?

Tesco Clubcard Plus currently costs £7.99 per month and renews automatically until you cancel. Eligible new subscribers can currently get their first month free, after which the normal fee is charged automatically unless renewal is cancelled. There isn’t an annual commitment, and 12 paid months at the current price would cost £95.88.

Is Tesco Clubcard Plus worth it?

Tesco Clubcard Plus can be worth it if you regularly make enough qualifying in-store purchases to cover the monthly fee. I usually save around £20 on average each month because I use both 10% coupons on larger Tesco shops we were already going to make. If you mainly shop online or only make small Tesco purchases, the subscription is much less likely to suit you.

Can you use Tesco Clubcard Plus online?

No, the two Clubcard Plus big-shop discounts are for qualifying purchases made in Tesco stores. They can’t be used for Tesco.com grocery deliveries, Click+Collect, or Whoosh, and the discount benefits must be accessed through the Tesco app. If most of your grocery shopping is online, that restriction is a major reason to question whether the £7.99 fee is worthwhile.

How much do you need to spend to make Clubcard Plus worthwhile?

About £80 of qualifying spending across the two big-shop coupons is the basic monthly break-even point because 10% of £80 is £8. That only puts you 1p ahead of the current £7.99 fee, so you need to spend more than that before the main discounts produce a meaningful saving. Other Clubcard Plus benefits can add value too, but I wouldn’t spend extra to justify the subscription.

Does Clubcard Plus work with Clubcard Prices and Tesco promotions?

Yes, I use my Clubcard Plus coupons on shops that already include Clubcard Prices and in-store promotions. The big exception is products receiving the separate Clubcard Plus Always On Discount, because Tesco says the same product can’t receive both of its 10% Clubcard Plus discounts. I still compare the final Tesco price with other supermarkets before deciding where to buy.

How do I cancel Tesco Clubcard Plus?

You can cancel renewal through your Clubcard Plus subscription account, and Tesco says you’ll continue to receive the discount benefits until the end of the current subscription period. Tesco doesn’t normally refund the monthly fee when you cancel renewal part-way through a paid period, although separate cooling-off rules apply within 14 days of the initial sign-up. If you cancel during an eligible free trial, the benefits continue until the end of that free trial period.