M&S Club Rewards: should you pay a monthly fee to get extra vouchers and perks?

M&S shoppers can enjoy vouchers to spend across the store and earn rewards on any spending, but there’s a big monthly fee to account for. Is it worth going for?

Regular shoppers at Marks & Spencer are now able to get a little back every time they head to the till with a new loyalty scheme called M&S Club Rewards.

The scheme officially launched earlier this month and promises all sorts of benefits from next day delivery to regular vouchers to use in store.

But unlike the free M&S Sparks loyalty scheme, Club Rewards will set you back a hefty £10 a month.

So is it really worth paying for?

What is M&S Club Rewards?

M&S Club Rewards is a loyalty scheme, designed to help people get a little back when they spend with M&S.

Crucially, it’s only open to people who have an M&S Credit Card.

The idea is that the scheme boosts the rewards they already enjoy from using the card, rather than rewarding all M&S shoppers, irrespective of how they pay.

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What will I get with M&S Club Rewards?

If you have an M&S Credit Card, then you already earn loyalty points whenever you spend with the card.

However, Club Rewards allows you to significantly boost those rewards. Membership means you earn an extra two points for every £1 spent with Marks & Spencer, whether that’s in store or online.

Members also accrue points when they shop outside of M&S, pocketing one point for every £5 spent.

You’ll also bag three points for every £1 you spend abroad on purchases made in the local currency with your card, while members benefit from next day delivery at no extra cost when ordering something from M&S.

Every 100 reward points is worth £1 in M&S vouchers, and vouchers are sent out each quarter.

On top of that, members are sent 32 hot drinks vouchers to use in M&S cafes during the year, which the store reckons are worth around £88 per year.

On top of that, you get £12 in vouchers to spend in M&S food halls on your birthday

Members also get a £20 voucher to spend in the clothing or home departments at Christmas, alongside three £15 vouchers per year to spend in those same departments outside of the festive period.

How much does Club Rewards cost?

There’s no getting away from the fact that M&S Club Rewards is a costly scheme to be a member of.

You’ll have to pay £10 a month to be a member. That’s £120 a year, a significant outlay for any of us, so you need to be confident that you’ll be getting enough tangible benefits from the scheme to make it worthwhile.

Is the M&S Club Rewards scheme worth paying for?

Ultimately, this comes down to you as an individual shopper. If you don’t shop much in M&S, then the various vouchers that you get for being part of the scheme may not cut it.

But for regular M&S shoppers, it may be far more attractive.

The opportunity to earn substantially more points when shopping with the retailer means that for those families who do the bulk of their shopping at M&S, the rewards are likely to significantly outweigh that hefty annual cost.

What about Sparks?

It’s worth flagging up the fact that the Club Rewards scheme operates alongside a separate loyalty scheme for M&S shoppers, Sparks.

The Sparks scheme was initially points-based too, but underwent a radical revamp last year which offers members the chance to receive personalised offers, little gifts and even the potential for your shopping to be absolutely free.

It’s a free scheme too, which makes it a bit of a no-brainer for M&S regulars, and combining Sparks with the new Club Rewards scheme just means that those who do all of their shopping at M&S have the potential to get even more back when they shop.