Sainsbury's deals

Eg, £5 of Nectar points = £10 towards entry to Alton Towers, Legoland, Madame Tussauds & more

Got a bunch of Nectar points saved up? If you have at least 250 points in the Nectar app (Android/iOS), you can get two-times the value when using them towards tickets for 20+ Merlin attractions such as Alton Towers, Legoland, Madame Tussauds, and Warwick Castle.

When spent in-store at Sainsbury's, one Nectar point is normally worth 0.5p – so 1,000 points gives £5 off your shopping – but with this deal, one point is worth 1p, so those 1,000 points become £10 off a Merlin attraction, doubling its value.

Here's how to do it:

• Go to the Nectar app and search ‘Merlin’.

• On the Merlin page, tap ‘Spend points’ to be taken to the Merlin website, where you can choose an attraction and add the number of tickets you want to your basket.

• When you enter your personal details, you'll be asked for your Nectar number and password to link the accounts.

• Tell it how many points you want to convert from Nectar to spend at the attraction – it's a minimum of 250 points (normally worth £1.25, but gets you £2.50 in this double-up deal), and there's no maximum.

You can do this until Monday 14 September or when 100,000 double-up redemptions have been made, whichever’s sooner.

The 20+ theme parks and other attractions include:

Theme parks: Alton Towers, Chessington World of Adventures, Legoland Windsor, and Thorpe Park.

Sea Life centres: Birmingham, Blackpool, Brighton, Great Yarmouth, Hunstanton, Loch Lomond, London, Manchester, Scarborough, and Weymouth Adventure Park.

Other attractions: Cadbury World, London Eye, London Eye River Cruise, Madame Tussauds London, Shrek’s Adventure! London, The Dungeons (Edinburgh, London, York), The Gruffalo & Friends Clubhouse, and Warwick Castle.

How good is this deal?

There are fewer strong (2for1, 50% off) theme park deals around these days, so if you have a decent number of Nectar points banked, this boost could be a winner.

You’ll effectively need just shy of 3,000 points to get a ‘free’ entry ticket into theme parks such as Alton Towers and Legoland, but even if you have as little as 250 points, you can still get some money off your ticket – though check our full round-up of theme park deals to make sure there isn't a better offer for you.

If you have Tesco Clubcard points instead, then it's worth considering its very similar ongoing Merlin Reward Partner deal.

What about the recently announced VAT cut on attractions?

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has announced a temporary reduction in VAT from 20% to 5% from Thursday 25 June to Tuesday 1 September for attractions such as theme parks, zoos, museums and soft-play venues.

In a statement, Merlin's CEO Fiona Eastwood said: "Merlin will be applying this VAT cut to both admission tickets and children’s meals, adding more value to days out and short breaks at our 20 UK attractions."

Merlin wasn't able to tell us when the VAT cut would be updated into its pricing, but if you're planning to visit from end of June to September, it may be best to wait for the price cuts to take place.

Read our guide on how to boost your Nectar points.

Via Blue Light Card

Sainsbury's TU Clothing offers Blue Light Card holders 10% off online orders. The discount is valid on full-price and sale items, with no minimum spend.

To get the discount, you need to hold a Blue Light Card (£4.99 for two years – see more info), and generate a code from its website or via the app.

If you have a Blue Light Card, don't just assume it'll give you the best discounts – always compare offers to check you're getting the best deal.

Available all year. Online and in stores

If you go online to Sainsbury's or visit a store that stocks the Tu clothing range (find your nearest), you can get school uniform items (ages 2-16) from £3. Delivery's £3.95 and click and collect is free on orders over £10. 

What can you get?

• 2x polo shirts - £3-£6

• Skirt - £5-£7

• 2x trousers - £7-£11

• 2x sweatshirts - £7-£11

Prices change depending on size. Some sizes are currently out of stock online, so it's worth looking in store if you can't find the size you want online.

In larger stores only

If you're visiting a larger Sainsbury's store (find your nearest), you may be able to pick up a 'Taste Me, Don’t Waste Me’ box of surplus fruit and veg for £2, while stock lasts. The boxes contain fresh fruit and vegetables that would have otherwise gone to waste.

Sainsbury's says the boxes are a permanent feature, though they will be subject to availability. Look out for them in larger stores, rather than Locals (and you can't get them online). 

If boxes are available, they'll be in the fresh produce aisle. What you'll get is completely random, though Sainsbury's says typical contents could include: apples, bananas, broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, courgettes, oranges, peppers, plums, red cabbage, and swede. 

To give you a rough idea of how much of a saving you could make, we've made some calculations based on the products mentioned above:

• One pack apples (six in pack) – normally 99p (17p each)

• One pack Fairtrade bananas (five in a pack) – normally 78p (16p each)

• One loose broccoli – around 72p (depending on weight)

• One loose cauliflower – normally £1.19

• One pack courgettes (500g) – normally £1.45

• Loose orange – normally 30p

• Loose red pepper – normally 69p

• One punnet of plums (400g) – normally £1.29

• Loose red cabbage – normally 75p

• Loose swede – normally 62p

Based on the price of each individual item in the box, we've calculated it would cost about £9 to buy it all separately – so we reckon buying a box for £2 is a good deal.

Don't live near a Sainsbury's? Try Lidl's similar fruit & veg box.