Maximise rewards with the Boots Advantage Card
The Boots Advantage card is probably my favourite loyalty card. Over the years I have been able to make some amazing savings on luxury beauty products and fragrance. Everyone loves a freebie, but my mindset really shifted when I began my decluttering journey a few years ago.
More often than not, a “freebie” requires us to make an additional purchase, for example, spend £15 on Loreal and get a free lipgloss. This is great if you actually want or need the Loreal products in the first place, but too many times in the past I was a victim of Freebie FOMO and used to buy things on special offer that I didn’t really need just to get a freebie that again I didn’t really need.
My make up drawers were stuffed full of products I didn’t use and I realised all the extra money I had spent in the name of getting “freebies”. So these days I am much more particular about what I buy on special offer, but that just makes it all the better when I get something I actually want for free. This is why I love the Boots Advantage Card, because you can redeem the points on anything in store.
What is a Boots Advantage Card?
A Boots Advantage Card is a loyalty card where you can accumulate points by shopping in Boots both in store and online, in a similar way to cashback. However, the points can only be redeemed on Boots products and have no cash equivalent value.
What are the Benefits of a Boots Advantage Card?
As stated above, the benefits are that you are earning points every time you shop, effectively earning “cashback” on products in store. What’s more, the Advantage Card app regularly has offers to boost your points balance, such as buy any 2 Oral B dental products and get 200 bonus points.
Because these offers are regularly on staple items such as toothpaste, deodorant and haircare, I can purchase them knowing they will get used and not just be unwanted clutter. Of course, you can take advantage of whatever offers you like, this is just my personal preference.
The best thing about the Advantage Card offers is that they can be “stacked” and used together. For example, if there is an offer to get 200 bonus points for buying 2 Oral B products, and an offer to get 500 bonus points when spending over £10, I can load both offers onto my card via the app and receive 700 points, providing I spend over £10 of course.
Stacking offers has enabled me to get some incredible savings on products I actually use!
How many points per pound do I get with a Boots Advantage Card?
Currently, you can get 4 points for every pound you spend in Boots. I am actually old enough to remember when this was a much more generous 10 points per pound! However, there are still plenty of ways to maximise the number of points you get.
What are Advantage Prices?
Following in the steps of Tesco Clubcard Prices and Nectar Prices, in summer 2023, Boots Advantage prices are beginning to appear on certain products. This enables Advantage Card holders to buy at a reduced price to the RRP.
How much are points worth on a Boots Advantage Card?
The points equate to pennies making it easy to work out how much “cashback” you have. So 100 advantage card points are worth £1. If you wanted to redeem points for a product worth £16.99 for example, you would need 1699 points.
Unfortunately, you cannot part pay with points, so if you don’t have enough points to cover the cost of the item, you cannot redeem it.
How do I add points to my Boots Advantage Card?
Points are added automatically when you scan your advantage card at the till. If you are shopping online, you can enter it via the website, or sign in via your Advantage Card on the app.
Ways to maximise your Boots Advantage Card freebies
Check the app regularly
This is definitely my number one tip to maximise your Boots Advantage Card points. When you check the app, you can load offers automatically onto the card and they will stay active until they expire.
Stack the offers and be aware of what they are
As I’ve already stated, because the offers can be used together, it is always worth loading as many offers onto your card as possible. The correct number of points will automatically be awarded depending on your spend.
Below you will find an example of how adding a £2.50 body lotion onto my spend gave me 1000 bonus points – equivalent to £10 cashback. This was because there was a Black Friday offer to recieve 1000 points if spending £60 or more. I was buying some gifts that totalled £58. So adding a body lotion that I would use anyway was a no brainer!
Keep a list of the everyday products you need and look out for special offers
I have to admit, Boots isn’t the first place I go for everyday toiletries such as toothpaste and shower gel, because I know these are usually cheaper elsewhere. However, when there are offers on the actual products such as BOGOF, it can work out better value, plus I know I’m earning Advantage Card points.
When I am buying pricier items such as electrical goods or perfume, unless another shop has it significantly cheaper then I will buy from Boots to earn my advantage points and hopefully some bonus points too.
Boots have recently launched their Future Renew range, which I love. As this is a product range I use anyway, this hack was a great money saver. With a bit of clever planning I was able to combine a 3 for 2 offer with an extra 15% off a £60 spend offer and a 250 bonus points offer. This resulted in saving a massive £45.43 on the RRP!
Buy gifts for others at Boots
Obviously I only mean if you were buying the product in the first place – I’m not suggesting you get aftershave for your boyfriend if he’s asked for an Xbox game – but if you are buying a pricey item that Boots stock at the same price as elsewhere, you may as well earn some points!
Black Friday is a great time to take advantage of the special offers available in store on both the products and points. As I mentioned above, here is probably the best stacked offer I have ever made with my Advantage Card:
I was buying an Oral B electric toothbrush as a gift for my husband. Boots had an offer for a twin pack that should have been £180 (£90 per toothbrush) down to £55 (so I got a bonus electric toothbrush in the deal!)
Through my advantage card offers, I received an additional £5 off for spending over £30 on electrical beauty. I was also buying a Loreal men’s gift set that was half price at £8 instead of £16.
So far, this was £58 for an RRP of £196. I would have been pretty happy with this saving on Christmas presents anyway, but then I spotted that spending over £60 earned me a bonus 1000 points.
By adding in a Garnier body lotion that was also half price at £2.50, I took my total over £60 and received a total of 1320 points, the equivalent of £13.20 to spend in store!
Spend your points on sale or special offer items
Now comes the even cleverer part. I tend to save up my points all year and then take advantage of any special offers in the Boxing day sales or beyond. I recently shared on Instagram my latest bargain buy.
This year, I had around £38 worth of points saved up when I noticed a Buy 2 get one free offer on Mark Hill Pick & Mix Hair tools.
As I already owned the base of this particular hair styling tool, I was able to redeem my points for 3 additional styling heads which should be £16.99 each. Due to the Buy 2 get 1 free offer, it only cost me 3400 points (£34.00 equivalent) instead of 5000 (£50).
So all in all I got £50 of hair styling tools for absolutely free!
More recently, in July 2023, I was able to get another mini haul of cosmetics worth over £50 completely for free, and it only cost me just over £20 worth of Advantage points. This time, I bought a BB cream and a concealer, both of which I did actually need, and that qualified me to get a Beauty Heroes bag worth over £30 completely free!
In the past, I was a bit of a sucker for freebies even if I didn’t particularly need them. This led to a lot of unnecessary purchases and clutter. However as a reformed character on this, it’s absolutely amazing to get a freebie I will actually use, as the beauty heroes bag contained a nail polish and mascara I would have bought anyway.
How do I sign up for a Boots Advantage card?
Signing up for a Boots Advantage Card is simple. Just head to this link and apply online. Alternatively, ask in store to apply there.
What are your favourite Boots Advantage Card hacks?
Be sure to let me know in the comments and share with the community!
About the Author
Melissa is a working parent who left behind a senior management salary for a better work/life balance. Following her own money saving and money making strategies she was able to clear debt and live a life she loves. Blogging, selling digital products on Etsy and selling preloved items on eBay are her favourite side hustles. Read her story here.
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