Budgeting for the festive season can be stressful, particularly in a cost of living crisis. But when it comes to our Christmas food shop, there are ways to spread the cost.
With a supermarket Christmas savings scheme, you can put aside a bit of money each week in the run-up to Christmas. Not only does this mean you can reduce some of the financial strain by the time December rolls around, but you might also earn yourself a cash bonus. You don't even have to start saving in January (more on that later).
Keep reading to find out how each supermarket’s Christmas saver scheme works. We’ll let you know what bonus you could earn and how to set one up. We’ve also got all your key dates for 2024.
Supermarket | Maximum bonus |
|---|---|
 | £15 per card |
 | £2 per book |
 | £20 |
 | £6 |
 | £25 |
 | £12 |
How do Christmas saver schemes work?
With a Christmas saver, you can lock money away with your chosen supermarket throughout the year and earn a bonus at Christmas time.
It’s a way of saving up for your Christmas grocery shop by putting a little away throughout the year, so you don’t feel so much of a sting when December comes around.
These schemes come in various different forms. Traditionally, customers would buy a paper stamp book in store and fill it with physical saving stamps bought at the till. These days, most supermarkets have moved on from paper books.
Some schemes now require you to buy a digital or physical gift card that you top up with money and get a bonus automatically added when you reach the required amount. Other saving schemes are built in as part of that supermarket’s loyalty scheme and can be accessed using their app.
Most supermarkets now offer cash bonuses when shoppers save a certain amount using their scheme, so you can get an extra savings boost. Some schemes run all year round, with the chance to earn bonuses by Christmas, while others only run in the late winter months.
There are pros and cons, so have a read of these before you commit to taking part in any of the supermarket saving schemes we mention later in this guide.
Pros
Spread the cost of your Christmas food shop across the year
Get a bonus on your savings
Some schemes will give you the full bonus on the day after the cut-off, meaning you can earn an instant reward
Some schemes have no limit on how many bonuses you can earn
Cons
You could be missing out on earning interest on your savings
Your money isn’t always protected
You can only use your bonus at that supermarket, so if you like shop around, it’ll be harder to take advantage of the savings
You often have to spend the money at Christmas (Nov–Dec)
2024 Christmas saving schemes
Find how much money you can stash away and what bonus you might be able to earn, as well as when your cut-offs are for saving and spending.
Asda's Christmas Savings Card
2024 cut-off: save £30 or more on your card by 5pm on 10/11/2024
Earn up to: £15 per card (as many cards as you want)
% bonus on offer: up to 5.36%
Top up online? Yes
Spend bonus online? Yes
The Asda Christmas Savings Card is a gift card that can be topped up with as little as £5. Shoppers with £30 or more on their card can earn a bonus between £1 and £15, depending on the amount saved.
Savings on card | Bonus reward |
|---|---|
£30 – £79 | £1 |
£80 – £129 | £3 |
£130 – £179 | £6 |
£180 – £229 | £9 |
£230 – £279 | £12 |
£280+ | £15 |
Savings on card | Bonus |
|---|---|
£30 – £79 | £1 |
£80 – £129 | £3 |
£130 – £179 | £6 |
£180 – £229 | £9 |
£230 – £279 | £12 |
£280+ | £15 |
You can order your card online or buy one at your local Asda store, and top up your card at any time on their website or at the checkout.
You can even set up automatic recurring payments if you’re paying online, so you don’t need to remember to do it manually. If you register your card online, your savings will be protected, even if you lose your card.
One of the biggest perks of the Asda card is that you can max out as many cards as you like. This means there’s no limit to how much you can earn as your cash bonus, as you’ll get £15 for each full card.
However, you do have to save £280 or more in order to qualify for the £15 bonus, which is a pretty huge sum. Is your Christmas shop likely to cost more than £280? If not, you might find you’re over-committing to this scheme and end up putting yourself out of pocket.
The turnaround for bonuses is very appealing too. Bonuses will be paid onto your card by 9am on November 11th, the day after the cut-off. So, you could theoretically wait until November 10th to put any cash on your card, then spend it at Asda, with your bonus, the very next day.
Your balance can be spent at Asda Groceries online or any Asda store, which includes George at Asda. Bear in mind that your balance will expire if you don’t use your card for two years.
Asda Christmas Saver Cashpot
The Asda Christmas Saver Cashpot is different from the Savings Card scheme and runs in the Asda Rewards app.
Save up your Rewards Cashpot total to spend during the festive season by transferring your balance into your Christmas Saver Cashpot. Convert your Cashpot into Rewards vouchers and spend them between November 8th and December 31st 2024 (they’ll expire after this date).
You can use both of these Asda schemes alongside each other too, which means taking advantage of both bonuses.
In fact, Asda Rewards members were able to earn a £2 Cashpot bonus this year when they bought or topped up an Asda Christmas Savings Card with a value of at least £50 (between May 13th and May 26th 2024).
Co-op's Christmas Stamps Scheme
2024 cut-off: no cut off (bonuses must be used during December)
Earn up to: £2 per book (as many books as you want)
% bonus on offer: up to 4.15%
Save online? No
Spend bonus online? No
With the Co-op’s Christmas Stamps Scheme, you’ll need to collect a physical stamp book from your local store, then fill it with £48 worth of physical saving stamps. Books and stamps can only be purchased in store.
Each stamp costs £1, and once you’ve saved 48 stamps (£48 worth), you’ll earn yourself a £2 bonus, taking your total to £50. This bonus is only available to those cashing in their stamps in December, and you also have to spend your bonus during December.
While many other schemes pay a smaller bonus to those who don’t stash away the maximum amount, Co-op only pay out if you have 48 stamps.
A partially complete book won’t qualify for the bonus, but you can save your stamps for the following Christmas if you don’t have enough this year. You can collect and cash in stamp books throughout the year, but the £2 bonus is only offered in December.
The good news is that you can collect as many books as you want, so there’s no limit on how big a bonus you can earn. However, because these are physical books, make sure you keep them safe. Co-op won’t take responsibility for any lost books.
Iceland's Bonus Card
2024 cut-off: save at least £100 by 06/11/2024
Earn up to: £20
% bonus on offer: up to 20%
Save online? Yes
Spend bonus online? Yes
The Iceland Bonus Card is a little different from the other schemes mentioned in this guide. It works as an extension of their regular year-round loyalty scheme and isn’t limited to the festive period.
Iceland shoppers can load up money onto their Bonus Cards all year round, earning one Bonus Pound for every £20 they save throughout the year.
However, if you hit the savings target of £100 by November 6th, you’ll get a £15 Christmas bonus on top of your savings. This means you’ll earn a total bonus of £20, equivalent to 20%. You should receive your bonus before the end of November.
Savings on card | Bonus reward |
|---|---|
£20 | £1 |
£40 | £2 |
£60 | £3 |
£80 | £4 |
£100 | £5 + £15 Christmas bonus |
Savings on card | Bonus |
|---|---|
£20 | £1 |
£40 | £2 |
£60 | £3 |
£80 | £4 |
£100 | £5 + £15 Christmas bonus |
You can register for an Iceland Bonus Card online, via the app, or at your nearest store. Once you’re signed up, you can top up your card using any of those methods; whichever suits you best.
Your bonus can be spent at Iceland, and, unlike some other supermarkets, Iceland only allow one Bonus Card per customer. So, while £20 is a fantastic bonus, you’re limited to earning £20 and nothing more. The £15 Christmas bonus must be spent by the end of December 2024.
Morrisons Christmas Saver
2024 cut-off: save at least £1 by 31/10/2024
Earn up to: £6
% bonus on offer: up to 3.05%
Save online? No
Spend bonus online? Yes
Morrisons have been running their physical saving stamps scheme for many years. As far as we know, you can still buy stamps in store to put in your physical Christmas stamp book. However, the new digital in-app scheme allows shoppers to get the same benefit directly through the Morrisons More app.
You can save as much cash on your card as you like, with the chance to earn up to £6 in bonus vouchers to spend at Morrisons. These vouchers will be automatically uploaded to your More Card after October 31st.
Savings on card | Bonus reward |
|---|---|
£49 | £1 |
£97 | £3 |
£149 | £4 |
£197 | £6 |
Savings on card | Bonus |
|---|---|
£49 | £1 |
£97 | £3 |
£149 | £4 |
£197 | £6 |
If you’re currently using the physical stamp scheme, you can switch over to the digital scheme. Just take your stamp book to the customer service desk at your local store and ask them to convert your physical stamps to digital ones.
However, the digital Morrisons Christmas Saver scheme is only open to Morrisons More Card members.
Morrisons Christmas Saver stamps can only be purchased from Morrisons stores by asking the cashier to add your chosen amount of digital stamps to your account. Because it’s all managed in the app, you can keep track of your savings throughout the year.
Bonus vouchers can be spent at Morrisons in store or through their website. Bear in mind that if you don’t spend them by the end of December 2024, they’ll expire.
Morrisons Christmas Collectors
Over the past few years, Morrisons have been running a Christmas Collectors campaign for selected More members.
This five-week scheme in the run-up to Christmas allows customers to earn a money-off voucher when they hit the spending criteria over at least four of those weeks.
We're keeping our eyes peeled for an announcement about the return of this scheme for 2024, so we will update the info here as soon as we know.
Sainsbury's Christmas Club Card
2024 cut-off: save £50 or more on your card by 5pm on 01/11/2024
Earn up to: £25
% bonus on offer: up to 5%
Save online? No
Spend bonus online? Yes
With the Sainsbury’s Christmas Club Card, you’ll get a 5% cash bonus (equivalent to £2.50) for each full £50 you save. You’ll have from January to November 1st each year to save, with the 2024 cut-off being at 5pm on November 1st 2024.
There’s a maximum reward of £25 on £500 savings, although you can load up your card with up to £1,975.
Savings on card | Bonus reward |
|---|---|
£0 – £49.99 | £0 |
£50 – £99.99 | £2.50 |
£100 – £149.99 | £5 |
£150 – £199.99 | £7.50 |
£200 – £249.99 | £10 |
£250 – £299.99 | £12.50 |
£300 - £349.99 | £15 |
£350 - £399.99 | £17.50 |
£400 - £449.99 | £20 |
£450 - £499.99 | £22.50 |
£500 and over | £25 |
Savings on card | Bonus |
|---|---|
£0 – £49.99 | £0 |
£50 – £99.99 | £2.50 |
£100 – £149.99 | £5 |
£150 – £199.99 | £7.50 |
£200 – £249.99 | £10 |
£250 – £299.99 | £12.50 |
£300 - £349.99 | £15 |
£350 - £399.99 | £17.50 |
£400 - £449.99 | £20 |
£450 - £499.99 | £22.50 |
£500 and over | £25 |
Sainsbury’s Christmas Club Cards can only be activated and loaded up at in-store checkouts and self-service tills. You can’t activate or add money to your card online, which makes the scheme trickier to use if you don’t shop in store.
However, your rewards can be spent online at Sainsburys.co.uk or any physical store. On a related note, a major plus point of this scheme is that rewards can be redeemed at Argos in store or Argos.co.uk – perfect for last-minute Christmas presents.
Much like with Asda’s scheme, if you wanted to, you could load up your card just before the cut-off, and then redeem your bonus the very next day (November 2nd).
Your card will have an expiry date on it, which means you’ll need to spend the full card value before this date. If you don’t use your card for two years, your balance may expire.
Tesco's Clubcard Christmas Savers
2024 cut-off: opt in and top up by 17/10/2024
Earn up to: £12
% bonus on offer: 6%
Save online? Yes
Spend bonus online? Yes
In a similar way to Asda’s Christmas Saver Cashpot, Tesco’s Clubcard Christmas Savers scheme allows customers to save their Clubcard vouchers throughout the year.
If you opt to become a Christmas Saver, Tesco will collect your Clubcard vouchers throughout the year and send them all together in your November statement. Your vouchers will be converted into Christmas Clubcard vouchers, which means you’ll be able to use them all at once on your Christmas food shop.
Your Clubcard vouchers will be valid for two years but won’t increase in value if you save them up until November. You’ll get 50p in vouchers for every 50 Clubcard points you earn, just the same as usual.
However, you can also top up your savings online throughout the year and get a bonus of as much as £12. With this scheme, your money is held in a trust, which means it’s held in a separate bank account managed by trustees (so it will be safe).
Savings on card | Bonus reward |
|---|---|
£25–£49.99 | £1.50 |
£50–£99.99 | £3 |
£100–199.99 | £6 |
£200–£360 | £12 |
Savings on card | Bonus |
|---|---|
£25–£49.99 | £1.50 |
£50–£99.99 | £3 |
£100–199.99 | £6 |
£200–£360 | £12 |
To take advantage of Tesco’s Christmas Savers scheme, you have to be a Clubcard member. You’ll need to opt to switch your usual vouchers for Christmas vouchers before October 17th 2024.
Log in to the Tesco app and tap Clubcard Management in your Account Settings. In the Voucher Schemes section, you’ll see the option to switch from standard Clubcard vouchers to Clubcard Christmas Savers. These vouchers are valid for two years.
Those wishing to use the online top-ups feature to earn a Christmas bonus need to tap the Clubcard Christmas Savers banner in the Clubcard section of the app. Select how much you want to top-up by, then tap Checkout. You’ll then see a summary of your total savings and any bonuses you’ve earned.
Bonus vouchers will come through on your November statement and are valid for three months.
Get the most out of your money this Christmas
Whether your mind is made up as to which scheme you’ll be using or you’re still undecided, here are a few extra things to consider.
We’ve also included some handy additional money-saving tips that you can action alongside any supermarket saving scheme you decide to use.
Consider where you do your Christmas shop
If you have one particularly convenient supermarket or are dedicated to one specific loyalty scheme, this tip won’t apply to you. But if you are flexible about where you do your Christmas shop, it’s a wise idea to factor in who has the best Christmas saving scheme for you, into your decision.
How each scheme works and the size of the bonus you can earn will be important things to think about here.
Despite all supermarkets other than Co-op allowing shoppers to spend their savings online, the only chains that allow you to top-up your savings digitally are Asda, Iceland and Tesco.
Iceland stand out in terms of value, offering a £20 Christmas bonus when you save £100.
Maximise your savings on the last day
Even if you’re late to the game, you can still earn yourself a handy last-minute savings bonus with some supermarkets.
If you save with either Asda or Sainsbury’s, you could load up your savings card right before the cut-off, then cash it out (with your bonus) the very next day.
Asda’s pay-in deadline for 2024 is 5pm on November 10th, with bonuses paid by 9am on November 11th. Sainsbury’s deadline is 5pm on November 1st, with bonuses paid out on November 2nd.
Take advantage of loyalty schemes
Whether you’re using a Christmas saver or not, it’s always a smart idea to check out your chosen supermarket’s loyalty scheme if you haven’t already.
Most are free to join and can save you hundreds of pounds throughout the year, so it’s definitely worth doing a bit of research before you shop.
Luckily for you, we’ve got a separate guide that covers supermarket loyalty schemes in much more detail, so you can get all your information in one place.
Earn cashback on your online shop
You can earn cashback on your online shopping at many of the UK’s biggest supermarkets when you shop with us.
We give you a portion of your purchase back, in the form of cashback, when you register for your free TopCashback account and shop with any of our retailers via our site. You can think of it like a handy post-purchase discount, without the hassle of hunting down any discount codes.
In fact, you can cash-out your payable cashback as a gift card via our Reward Wallet feature and earn an extra bonus on your money. If you’re keen to find out more about how you can maximise your shopping budget with us, check out our guide to making the most of TopCashback.
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Shop at the cheapest supermarket
Shopping at a cheaper supermarket is one of the easiest ways to stretch your Christmas food budget further. Of the supermarkets with Christmas deals mentioned in this guide, according to Which?, Asda are the cheapest and Morrisons are the most expensive.
Bear in mind that some supermarkets offer exclusive discounted prices on selected items for loyalty members, including Tesco Clubcard, Sainsbury’s Nectar and Morrisons More.
Find other ways to save money on your food shop
From buying ‘wonky’ fruit and veg to reducing your meat consumption, there are ways you can reduce your shopping bill without sacrificing quality or taste.
We’ve compiled a complete guide to saving money on food, so why not see if you can make use of any of our tips?
Ho, ho, hold onto your cash this Christmas!
It’s never too early to start budgeting for the festive season, especially with the cost of living impacting so many of our lives.
Whether you’re feeling the pinch or just looking for ways to be smarter with your spending, a supermarket saving scheme could be just the thing to help.
Visit your chosen supermarket's website for the full terms and conditions, or speak to someone at the customer service desk of your nearest store.
By setting aside small amounts throughout the year, you can spread the cost while also earning a handy bonus, helping you jingle all the way to a stress-free Christmas.
Have you used any of the supermarket schemes mentioned in this guide? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.