Those signed up to the Ikea Family loyalty scheme (it's free to join) have received benefits for several years including free tea and coffee, and discounts on selected products – and now, Ikea has revamped its scheme to also give points when you shop or do certain 'interactions', which you can then convert into money off in-store/online or at its restaurants. We've full info on the points scheme below, and our analysis on whether it's any good.
You'll earn points for doing the following:
1 point – For every £5 spent (swipe your Ikea Family card at the checkout, or add it to your online account)
1 point – Logging in to your Ikea Family profile (via the website or app)
2 points – Creating and saving a wish list online
5 points – Creating an Ikea Family profile online
20 points – Registering for, and attending, a free Ikea Family workshop or event in stores
25 points – Booking and attending a planning appointment (excludes kitchen planning)
There's no limit to how many points you can earn when spending in-store or online, but for activities such as logging into to your account, the points will only be credited once per week per activity.For example, even if you log in to your account multiple times within a week, you'll still only earn one point. The same applies for creating wish lists, and attending Ikea workshops, events and planning appointments.
Points will be valid for 18 months. Ikea says collected points can take up to 48 hours to arrive in your account, and points are only valid for 18 months from the date of collection (so the date of the purchase or interaction). After that, the points will automatically expire, and you won't be able to use them to claim rewards. That brings us nicely to...
You can redeem your points in three different ways – either on purchases over £11, on selected food orders at Ikea's restaurant, or on delivery of large items. Here are what points get you:
Discounts on purchases
125 points – save £10 when you spend £11 or more
250 points – save £20 when you spend £21 or more
500 points – save £40 when you spend £41 or more
Ikea restaurant discounts
22 points – get a Daim cake for 10p
33 points – get a salmon meal for 50p
45 points – get one meal of eight-piece meat, veg or plant balls for 50p
68 points – get a nine-piece breakfast for 50p
94 points – get two meals of eight-piece meat, veg or plant balls for 50p
Home delivery discounts
50 points – £5 off delivery
100 points – £10 off delivery
150 points – £15 off delivery
200 points – £20 off delivery
It only applies to large deliveries (such as beds, wardrobes or appliances) and it can't be used against express delivery.
Sadly, we're not that impressed as it doesn't seem like a particularly generous scheme. For example, you'd have to spend £110 just to get a 10p Daim cake (normally about £2), and £625 to get £10 off an in-store or online spend.
If you shop at Ikea reguarly, or if you've got a big purchase planned, then owt's better than nowt and it could be worth it – though don't use it as an excuse to overspend. For many, rewards aren't likely to come that quickly, which could be an issue when points are only valid for 18 months.
You can stack these rewards with some other offers. Ikea told us the reward vouchers can be used alongside other offers and promotions such as Ikea Family prices, except where the other offer contains a coupon code or QR code. This is because it's not possible to apply two codes to a single purchase. Only one reward voucher can be redeemed at a time.
See more ways to save at Ikea with our hacks.
When you shop in store at Ikea (find your nearest), you can get a free cup of tea or filter coffee (normally £1) when you swipe an Ikea Family card at the in-store restaurant. Ikea Family is its free loyalty scheme, and you can sign up online or in store.
You can get the free hot drink Monday to Friday at all stores except Hammersmith, Aberdeen Order & Collection Point and Plan & Order Points. Ikea says you'll only need one Ikea Family card to get free drinks for everyone you're with. Of course, staff may raise an eyebrow if you turn up with a coach-load all wanting the freebie.
See our Ikea MoneySaving tips for more ways to save at the big blue and yellow store.
The Ikea winter sale started on Thursday 12 December in-store and online and runs till Sunday 12 January. It's billed as 'up to 60% off', but from what we've seen the average discount is 30%-40% off.
Here are some examples of deals we spotted on Friday 10 January:
Adjustable clothes rail – £1 (was £3)
LED lighting chain with 12 lights– £4 (was £8)
Wireless Charger – £5 (was £10)
Curtain - green white/black – £11 (was £22)
If you're ordering online, or you're ordering items too large for you to transport home yourself, delivery ranges from £5 to £45, depending on the size of your items. Small parcel delivery is free if you're spending £60 or more.
Is Ikea likely to boost the sale discount?
We don't usually see it boost the discount any further during the sale, so we don't expect it to this year.
What does ‘up to 60% off' mean?
Min discount we spotted: 20%
Max discount we spotted: 60%
Typical discount we found on 10 random items: 38%
Check out our Ikea MoneySaving hacks before you go.
Forget 'elf on the shelf', this is more of a 'don festive wear, and you could have money spare' kind of deal. Let us explain...
This weekend only (from Friday 13 to Sunday 15 December), go to any Ikea store in 'festive wear' and you can get £10 off a £50 in-store spend. This offer is only for Ikea Family members – it's free to sign up.
The offer runs all day from store opening time until closing (find your nearest). You can't use this offer online.
Ikea says it defines a festive outfit as any type of clothing or accessory which is festive themed. We're sure most of you will already have a Christmas jumper (Ikea told us this counts), so don't use this as a reason to buy an entire Santa outfit. It also told us accessories like a Santa hat or reindeer ears count, but wearing festive colours like red or green won't be enough.
Collect the voucher in-store from Ikea staff members who will be distributing them throughout the day to customers wearing festive outfits. You can only use the voucher once during the validity period (Friday 13 to Sunday 15 December), when spending £50 or more. The £10 discount will be applied at the checkout when you show your voucher and Ikea Family membership.
The offer cannot be used towards purchases from Ikea Swedish Food Market, Bistro, gift cards, Restaurant, Cafe, Home Service Points, or Home Delivery, Installation, Assembly and Kitchen Planning. This offer cannot be used in conjunction with any other promotional offer or discount, such as sale items.
Ikea recently revamped its loyalty scheme, but is it any good? See our Ikea loyalty scheme analysis.
Use them
If you answer 'NO' to any of the following questions, don't buy.
Are you
Will I use it?
Is it worth it?
Are you
Do I need it?
Can I afford it?