Tesco Clubcard Plus launches – here are the full details

This new service can be used in all UK Tesco stores, including Metro and Express shops, and is only available to Clubcard members – so if you're not already signed up to the free loyalty scheme, you'll have to join it if you decide you want Clubcard Plus.

Clubcard Plus perks include 10% off two shops (including most items) in store each month, 10% off Tesco brands and double data on Tesco Mobile contracts. See below for the full details and analysis.

Tesco has confirmed that there will be no change to the current Clubcard scheme for those who don't sign up to Clubcard Plus.

Clubcard Plus is the latest in a series of changes to the supermarket's long-standing loyalty scheme, which currently has 19 million members. In June 2018, it revamped the scheme to make nearly all Clubcard vouchers worth three times their value via boost deals, while twice this year it's run a 'Clubcard Prices' promo, offering loyalty scheme members discounts of between 10% and 50% on hundreds of items.

See our Reclaim & Boost Tesco Vouchers guide for more on how to get the most from the scheme.

What does the scheme get you?

As well as the usual benefits of the standard Clubcard scheme (so you'll still collect points and will be able to boost them for triple their value) with Clubcard Plus, you'll get:

• 10% off two shops up to £200 each, including most items, every month. So you can get up to a £20 discount off two shops. But these discounts can only be applied in store, and cannot be used online. If you typically do one big shop a month of over £200 but less than £400, you'll have to split this into two purchases at the checkout to get the discount.

  You'll be able to choose when you use your 10% off by pressing a button in the app, but you can't use it retrospectively, so you need to make sure you have your smartphone with you when you go shopping. The monthly offer begins when you sign up, so if you sign up on 8 November, it'll renew on 8 December.

  Some exclusions do apply including: fuel and motoring related products, electricals, lottery tickets, gift vouchers and gift cards, savings stamps and postage stamps, tobacco products and accessories, infant baby formula milk, prescription medicines, newspapers and magazines, foreign currency, carrier bag charges, in-store café or coffee shop, alcoholic drinks subject to 25% discount off six bottles. 

• 10% off non-grocery Tesco brands. You'll get money off F&F, Fred & Flo, Go Cook, Fox & Ivy, Tesco Pet and Carousel. This is separate to the offer above, and will be automatically applied when you scan your Clubcard Plus offer at the till. If you buy some of these items alongside the big shop (mentioned above), both discounts will be applied at the till.

• Double data on a pay-monthly contract. You'll get this every month and the offer is for new and existing Tesco Mobile customers. Once you have subscribed to Clubcard Plus, you will be able to access the double data offer in your Clubcard app.

• The option to apply for a Tesco Bank credit card with no foreign exchange fees (though cash withdrawals aren't fee-free). The new card will be open to applications from next year.

  Usual credit checks will apply. Cardholders will also get 0% interest on spending for 12 months from the point of getting the card. It will have 37.7% APR inc fee.

  If you apply for the card and later leave the Clubcard Plus scheme, you'll get to keep it for 12 months from the point that you applied.

Is Clubcard Plus worth it?

Whether Tesco Clubcard Plus is worth it for you comes down to how much you spend in store at Tesco each month. While there are other perks, such as the credit card and double data, they are more 'nice-to-haves' than reasons to sign up to Clubcard Plus as you can get similar offers elsewhere, without signing up to a subscription.  Here's our analysis:

• If you spend £80+ a month in store at Tesco it could be worth it. The main benefit of the scheme is the 10% off two shops, so in total you could get £40 off £400.

  Given the Clubcard Plus fee is £7.99, this means you'd have to spend at least £80 a month on groceries to break even as 10% of £80 is £8. So if you spend more than £80 a month at Tesco, it could be worth looking at Clubcard Plus. Though, of course, there are no guarantees Tesco will be the cheapest and so you should compare the cost of your trolley first, and remember to do this for each shop.

  If you've got a big shop planned, Tesco says you could sign up and use the discount on the same day.

• If you've got a big spend on non-grocery Tesco brands it could be worth it. If you're planning a big spend on Tesco brands, such as its F&F clothing range, it could be worth considering Clubcard Plus – though again, you'd have to be spending £80+ a month to break even, or sign up for just one month and cancel after making an £80+ purchase.

• It's probably not worth signing up for double mobile data. It's worth checking if there are better deals available elsewhere using our Best Sim only Deals guide. For example, Tesco Mobile offers a contract with 5,000 minutes, 5,000 texts and 4GB of data for £10/month. With double data, this will be 8GB. You can get a contract with Three for £9/mth, which gives you unlimited texts and minutes and 8GB of data.

• It's not worth signing up just for the Tesco credit card. The card offers a range of good benefits in one, but perks such as no foreign transaction fees can be found on other cards that don't cost anything. For example, Tandem offer a card that's fee-free overseas, plus gives 0.5% cashback on every spend worldwide.

So, in a nutshell, Clubcard Plus may be worth considering if you plan to spend more than £80 a month on food shopping in store at Tesco, over the course of one or two shops. But remember Clubcard Plus auto-renews each month and so you'll need to keep comparing the cost of your trolley to make sure it really is worth you staying signed up. 

In terms of the other perks of 10% off Tesco brands, double data and the option of a Tesco travel credit card, they are more 'nice-to-haves' if you decide Clubcard Plus is worth it for you - but they are not a reason for most people to sign up to the scheme.

How do you join the scheme?

From today (Friday 8 November), Tesco Clubcard customers can subscribe to the new Clubcard Plus scheme via its Clubcard app (which is available on Android and iPhone).

Clubcard Plus costs £7.99/month (£95.88/year), is a rolling one-month contract and there's no minimum subscription. Tesco says you don't need to give notice, you can just cancel your subscription at any point within the app.

Is the standard Clubcard scheme changing?

Tesco says the current scheme will remain as it is now.

If you're a Clubcard customer and you don't sign up to Clubcard Plus, you'll still collect points and be able to spend them in the same way that you do now.

See our Reclaim & Boost Tesco Vouchers guide for more information on the scheme.

This story was amended on 30 October. Tesco initially told us that the 10% discount off two shops could instead be used on one shop worth up to £400, but it has now clarified that this means you would have to split your basket into two transactions of under £200.