Linked Credit card and club card

  • TimJWakefield's Avatar
    I have had a combined Tesco bank and clubcard credit card for many years. It has the normal 16 digit number like any other credit card and also has a club card number on the reverse. Like most, I have embraced contactless payments with a card, but more usually using my apple watch and the cards I have chosen to link. This includes my Tesco credit card.


    Until the absurd pricing policy now adopted by Tesco where a clubcard price can be shown as a 25, 30 or even 50% difference, the only impact for not using a clubcard or Tesco bank/clubcard credit card would have been the loss of points, which while useful and important they represented relatively less value and easy to overlook. It seems that every 10th item in the store now carries a significantly different club card price to the 'normal' price.


    What has been a revelation has been that if, like me, you choose to use your combined club card/tesco bank credit card on your apple watch when shopping in stores, the club card link is not made and therefore the lesser price is ignored and collection of points is lost (applies to other similar watches??). I have therefore been blissfully ignorant of this over the last year and it has only really become apparent now with this pricing policy that appears to have been introduced to not only suggest that you are apparently benefitting from some huge discount but also in the hope that enough customers have either forgotten their clubcard or like me have fallen foul of a technical glitch which should not be there but all goes to greatly boost the inflated profits of Tescos.


    The cynic in me would suggest this might well be known but there is no urgency to fix as it all helps the bottom line and profit. So, be warned, using your card on an apple watch does not have the outcome you would expect in terms of clubcard. When asking, it seems to fall between the cracks between club card and Tesco bank and nobody seems able to provide an answer as to why this automatic linkage has been broken.


    I tried removing and re-linking my card for paying through my watch but the issue persists as specifically checked in my local Tesco Extra yesterday.


    Perhaps others have experienced the same or not yet noticed ?
  • 5 Replies

  • 25H's Avatar
    Community superstar
    Hi @TimJWakefield

    I'm really sorry to hear this.
    I haven't noticed this as I prefer to use my Clubcard Credit card when shopping in Tesco.

    With regard to your points not being added I would suggest you telephone the Clubcard team on 0800 591 688 who through previous experiences I've found them to be very helpful.

    Regarding you not getting the lower price it sounds like your Clubcard is not being recognised when you pay through your watch.
    I suggest you send a private message to the team here so they can look into this for you.

    Click on this link Tesco-Bank then scroll down, on the left hand side click 'Send Private Message'.
    Complete it, click 'Submit Message' and this will send your message securely and privately.
    Please include your full name, date of birth and postcode along with details.

    You will receive a reply to your private message, with the appropriate response.

    Warm wishes, Caz @25H
  • ChristinaG's Avatar
    Your Community Expert
    Hi @TimJWakefield, I'm sorry to hear this. I'm afraid when you use Apple Pay, you won't receive Clubcard prices. However, you can scan the Clubcard first, then if you pay with Apple Pay, it will work. I appreciate this isn't ideal and I can completely appreciate what you're saying, so I will certainty feed this back to the relevant team. Hopefully this is something that will be introduced in future, as we are always looking at ways to improve our products and services. Sorry again for any inconvenience caused.
  • heanor_man_34's Avatar
    Guest
    Good evening,

    To partake in Clubcard Prices you would need to present your Clubcard first before using Apple Pay. Unfortunately the ability to add your Clubcard in the Wallet app has been removed whilst the team work on sorting out an issue which had arisen-when attempting to add a Clubcard to Wallet it wasn't working as intended.

    When it starts to work again and the feature is relaunched it is possible to add favourite stores so Clubcard shows on your iPhone lock screen (or as a red dot on Apple Watch, simple swipe down and tap the pass to bring up the Clubcard QR code). I've done this in the past so I've not needed to get my iPhone out first.

    Apple do have a feature whereby a customer can choose their loyalty card to automatically present itself at a payment terminal but, to the best of knowledge, no one retailer offers this, as yet, in the U.K.
  • FSG's Avatar
    I have had a combined Tesco bank and clubcard credit card for many years. It has the normal 16 digit number like any other credit card and also has a club card number on the reverse. Like most, I have embraced contactless payments with a card, but more usually using my apple watch and the cards I have chosen to link. This includes my Tesco credit card.


    Until the absurd pricing policy now adopted by Tesco where a clubcard price can be shown as a 25, 30 or even 50% difference, the only impact for not using a clubcard or Tesco bank/clubcard credit card would have been the loss of points, which while useful and important they represented relatively less value and easy to overlook. It seems that every 10th item in the store now carries a significantly different club card price to the 'normal' price.


    What has been a revelation has been that if, like me, you choose to use your combined club card/tesco bank credit card on your apple watch when shopping in stores, the club card link is not made and therefore the lesser price is ignored and collection of points is lost (applies to other similar watches??). I have therefore been blissfully ignorant of this over the last year and it has only really become apparent now with this pricing policy that appears to have been introduced to not only suggest that you are apparently benefitting from some huge discount but also in the hope that enough customers have either forgotten their clubcard or like me have fallen foul of a technical glitch which should not be there but all goes to greatly boost the inflated profits of Tescos.


    The cynic in me would suggest this might well be known but there is no urgency to fix as it all helps the bottom line and profit. So, be warned, using your card on an apple watch does not have the outcome you would expect in terms of clubcard. When asking, it seems to fall between the cracks between club card and Tesco bank and nobody seems able to provide an answer as to why this automatic linkage has been broken.


    I tried removing and re-linking my card for paying through my watch but the issue persists as specifically checked in my local Tesco Extra yesterday.


    Perhaps others have experienced the same or not yet noticed ?


    Hi @TimJWakefield

    I feel like myself, you and probably many more out there, that Tesco are ignoring the problem hoping it will go away.

    I have had the same problem as yourself where my credit card does not link to the clubcard. This has been going on for quite a while well before the change in pricing policy. I have contacted them direct on the phone several times and each time I just end up with a new card which does not address the problem.

    Like you recently I realised that finding that the clubcard has not been accepted and going to customer service to get the points added, I was not getting the reduced clubcard price. This has recently culminated in me contacting customer service by phone, explaining the issue only to be told it is not a computer issue and like you have been told scan the card before starting to scan the items. I felt the advice was wrong so sent them an email. The reply email was very dismissive missed the point and gave me 200 points as goodwill! I subsequently got a feedback email which I am sure they regret asking.

    Well today I went shopping at Tesco and explained the procedure to the till assistant, god bless her, she tried 6 times to scan the card prior to starting as I had been told to do. This procedure was not accepted so I paid as usual and today my card was accepted and linked giving the requisite discount. I took the opportunity to again email Tesco in response to the email they had sent me. Once again they missed/ignored the point just stating that they could see that I had 92 points added to the account today at the given time, and that they could check other dates if I wished.

    Now I am no computer programmer but have used them and been involved with program development since they became widely available. Given that sometime the card is accepted and sometimes it is not, steers me to there being a bug in the computer system or the card is faulty. Now given I have had about three cards with the same issue that only leaves the computer.
  • heanor_man_34's Avatar
    Guest
    I appreciate not everyone has, or wants, a smartphone but it's possible to download the Clubcard app from the App/Play Store. From there you can use the QR code provided to earn Clubcard points as well as use the Clubcard Price offerings.

    It's also good because you can use any coupons or vouchers that are sent to you-negating the need to remember to pick them up from the side at home.