Tesco hikes the price of a meal deal for the second time this year but Clubcard members can still get it for less - here's all you need to know

The price rise of the meal deal, which includes a sandwich, snack and a drink, will take effect from Monday 24 October. It is the second Tesco meal deal cost increase this year after prices rose from £3 to £3.50 for non-Clubcard holders in February (the price for Clubcard holders remained at £3). Tesco blamed the latest hike on rising inflation, adding that prices had remained at £3 for most people since 2012. 

The rise also follows a number of other meal deal price hikes. Earlier this month, Boots increased prices from £3.59 to £3.99 outside London and from £4.19 to £4.99 in London, while Co-op upped prices from £3.50 to £3.75 in February.

See our Reclaim and boost Tesco vouchers guide for full help and info on how to get the most from the Clubcard scheme. For help cutting grocery costs, see our How to get free or cheap food guide and our Supermarket shopping tips.

You can sign up for a Clubcard online and it's free

While you can't totally beat the price hike, you can get Tesco's meal deal for 50p less if you sign up to a Clubcard. It's free to do so (though there's an optional paid-for membership, Clubcard Plus, which comes with extra perks). You can sign up online and print off a temporary card to scan in stores, or download the app (available for Android and iOS), which lets you sign up and scan a digital version.

You collect points each time you use your Clubcard at the till and each point is worth 1p to spend in Tesco in vouchers, so 500 points equals a £5 voucher. You can also trade vouchers for up to three times their value (so £5 becomes £15) to spend with Tesco's Reward Partners, which include Cineworld, Disney+ and the RAC.

You'll need to earn at least 150 points to convert them into a voucher and then you can choose to wait for your statement, which comes every three months and includes your vouchers, or you can use the 'Faster Vouchers' scheme instead to get them in 24 hours.

You can spend vouchers in store, online or with Clubcard Reward Partners. To use in a store you can print Faster Vouchers at home or scan the voucher on your Clubcard app at the tills. The vouchers will be valid for up to 21 months from the date you choose to turn your points into Faster Vouchers (less time than standard Clubcard vouchers, which don't expire for two years).