Tesco adds Uber rewards as the Clubcard goes contactless
Traditional taxi drivers won't be happy.
As reward programmes go, none come much bigger than the Tesco Clubcard. Now in its 23rd year, the UK supermarket giant's points scheme has more than 16.5 million customers, who typically carry their personalised card on their keyring. As rivals continue to undercut it on price, Tesco has incentivised customers to "boost" Clubcard points earned from their weekly shop by allocating them against purchases from over 400 "Reward Partners," which include tickets to theme parks, breakdown cover and car hire. From today, however, shoppers will have more even choice, with Uber and Hotels.com joining the scheme.
The addition of the ride-hailing service will be welcome news for frequent travellers, but not everyone will be happy. Last month, traditional taxi drivers threatened to boycott Tesco if the supermarket did confirm a tie-up with Uber, citing concerns over regulation, adequate insurance cover and a lack of topographical knowledge. Uber, after all, isn't exactly having a great time of things.
As part of a major Clubcard revamp, Tesco has lowered the deals threshold of rewards, allowing customers to increase the value of their vouchers on purchases from as little as 50p. The Clubcard itself has also been given a makeover, with a larger dark blue contactless card set to roll out at the end of the week. The new Clubcard can be tapped against the payment reader before payment, rather than needing to be swiped or scanned on a barcode reader.
Tesco's Clubcard improvements follow the launch of a new payment app called PayQwiq at the start of the year. PayQwiq lets customers add their payment cards to an iOS or Android app and pay for their shopping, earning Clubcard points in the process. Digital coupons are also applied automatically, saving time at the till.
