Green Star Energy launches new loyalty scheme - but should you go for it?

The Perks scheme rewards gas and electricity customers who switch to one of the company's eligible tariffs and pay their bills on time. Up to £90 of gift cards could be earned in the first 12 months, though for many these won't be the cheapest tariffs.

Unfortunately if you're on the Green Star tariff featured in MoneySavingExpert.com's last collective switch – the Rate Saver 12month Fixed MSE deal – you won't be eligible for the loyalty scheme.

Compare prices and find your cheapest deal with our free Cheap Energy Club.

How does the Green Star Energy loyalty scheme work?

Customers earn 5,000 'Perks' points (worth £50) once they switch to a dual-fuel tariff, and a further 1,000 points (worth £10) every three months they stay on the eligible tariff – so up to £90 of gift cards can be earned in the first 12 months. Customers on a single-fuel tariff get half the number of points.

Green Star's partner for Perks, Energy Earth, is administering the loyalty scheme. Points are loaded onto your account a few days after they're earned and can be redeemed against gift cards or energy products, such as bulbs, thermostats and smoke detectors. Points are valid for three years after being issued.

Retailers you can get gift cards for include Pizza Express, Tesco, Sainsbury's, Boots, TK Maxx and more (see full list). If you don't have enough points to buy the gift card you want, you can settle the difference by debit or credit card.

Points are only given after each quarter if bills are paid on time. You can stop earning points or even lose existing points if your account is in arrears.

How competitive are the tariffs which come with Perks?

Two tariffs are eligible for the scheme, which can be dual or single fuel:

• Rate Saver + Perks is a fixed rate tariff available for 12, 18 or 24 months. Based on typical use this is the cheapest tariff available from Green Star that's part of the loyalty scheme, averaging £938/year for dual fuel. (Though Green Star has another tariff which is cheaper on average, at just £900/year, which doesn't offer Perks.)

• Green Saver 12M + Perks uses 100% renewable electricity and is a 12-month fixed-rate dual-fuel deal which conforms to guidelines on green energy tariffs from regulator Ofgem. Based on typical use, this tariff costs an average £1,043/year.

At the time of writing the market's cheapest one-year fix is an average £840/year based on typical use. So the Rate Saver + Perks tariff is only likely to be competitive if you collect all the rewards and use them somewhere you were already going to be spending. Again, always do a full market comparison to check which rates are best for you.

For renewable energy tariffs, the market's cheapest is an average £884/year, so more than £150/year cheaper than the Green Saver 12M +Perks tariff.

Is it worth switching for the loyalty scheme?

Green Star was the winner of our latest collective switch through Cheap Energy Club. In fact, it's offered one of our winning collective tariffs four times before and has always been well received.

However, it's probably not worth switching to Green Star on the basis of the loyalty scheme alone. But if you like the rates and price and are planning to move to the firm anyway, think of the loyalty scheme as an added bonus.

If you're a Green Star customer already, it's free to switch to an eligible tariff that's part of the loyalty scheme, but again always do a full comparison first.

To check if you can switch and save £100s on your energy bill, use our free Cheap Energy Club.

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