You get money back in your pocket when get a Co-op membership card. It’s not just another Loyalty card and it costs £1. Find out why it pays to be a member of the Co-op. 

You’re saving on money you’d be spending anyway, so even if you only shop at Co-op when you go on holiday, it makes sense to sign up.

The Co-op membership card is not just another loyalty card. What exactly does it mean to be a member, is it worth the £1. Do you get Co-op points, and how can you spend them?

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Table of contents

What is Co-op membership? 

The Co-op isn’t just another supermarket. It’s owned by its members, rather than investors. Which means that in addition to having a say in how things are run, members receive profits in the form of rewards, offers and money. The Co-op is the 5th largest food retailer in the UK, and it also provides products and services including funeral care, insurance and legal services. 

For £1, you can sign up for a Co-op membership, which buys you 1 share in the Company. Then, you get rewarded for shopping with them in the form of money back for every pound you spend, together with personalised offers. Membership also grants you special offers and discounts on their other products and services.

How does the Co-op membership card work? 

You can sign up for membership either in-store (using a temporary card), by downloading the app, or joining online. Once you’ve registered, the Co-op will send you your membership card. You’ll also have access to a digital card if you’ve registered through the app. 

NB: If you join by purchasing your membership in store with a temporary card, be sure to register within 12 weeks of its first use, otherwise it will be cancelled, and you’ll lose any benefits or rewards earned. Plus you’ll have to pay another £1 to join again.

Co op Member Rewards

As with other reward cards, you present your card (or provide your membership number) at the time of purchase. You currently get 2p back in your membership account for every eligible £1 you spend in the Co-op (in store, or online). For Co-op own brand items you’ll get 5p per £1 back.

In addition to these Personal Member Rewards, the Co-op will give the same amount to local causes as Community Member Rewards (The Local Community Fund and the Community Partnerships Fund). So you get 10p, they get 10p.

As with other schemes, there are certain things you won’t be able to earn Member rewards on such as fuel, baby milk, cigarettes and tobacco. See here for the full list of exceptions. 

You will also get targeted offers and coupons at the till.

Is the Co-op card worth it?

Look it is free money – if you are shopping there anyway, even infrequently then sign up and join for £1. This is the simplest of Loyalty cards, there’s nothing fancy about it. You get points spending money in the Co-op and you redeem these points for money off your shop, whenever you like. Plus money is being donates to good causes without it costing you anything.

What can you spend your Co-op points on? 

You can spend your personal member rewards in Co-op food stores when you present your card. Either spend the money you earn back against your shopping any time (some, or all of the amount), or wait until you reach £10, for example. 

You can also spend your personal member rewards on selected Co-op Legal Services, and Co-op Funeralcare. 

Do Co-op points expire?

Your personal member rewards don’t have an expiration date as such, however if you don’t buy anything from the Co-op or use your card for 12 months or more, the Company may expire any rewards/points you have earned in your account. 

How to maximise your Co-op rewards

Earning personal member rewards isn’t just limited to food and other in-store purchases. As briefly mentioned above, the Co-op offers other services in addition to its food stores. 

If you’re looking to make some plans for the future, you can earn Personal Member Rewards and Community Member Rewards on some Co-op legal services including wills and power of attorney. You won’t earn Personal Member Rewards on Co-op Funeralcare, but they do offer an upfront discount. 

Why we love the Co-op

We do our main shop at Tesco and have a Sainsburys local and a Co-op both within a 10 minute walk for fresh foods / top ups. We check out the Nectar offers available at Sainsburys and make the most of them but prefer Co-op for most things. Price wise they are better (apart from for milk!) And their fresh bread is far superior.

The simple Co-op points system and the knowledge that some contribution is being made for good causes by us shopping there edges the Co-op ahead of Sainsburys. We cash in the points once a year – maybe Christmas or when we are having a big get together (not happened lately for obvious reasns so we still have a healthy balance of £48.93 to use) But the biggest benefit is this….

10% student discount at the Co-op

If you have a student card then you get 10% discount on your shopping at the Co-op. (With the usual exclusions like Cigarettes and baby milk) So 10% off for the student discount then between 2% and 5% back in rewards plus the same amount to Community causes. It’s win, win, win.

So if you have anyone in your household with a student card then send them out to do your Co-op shopping.

At the weekend we popped in for bread, milk and a few bits which came to £7.10.

The Student discount was 71p and 14p was added to our reward, so the shopping was effectively £6.25. You see how quickly that saving would add up? Even more if you paid with a cashback credit card.

So, if you do have a Co-op near you, and/or visit one a few times a year when you go on holiday, then it’s still worth joining. If you can get money back without any extra effort, it’s definitely worth doing. And you’ll be helping the local community at the same time. Here is where you can sign up to become a member of the Co-op today. 

What do you need to know about Loyalty cards?

Loyalty cards are designed by stores for their benefit first and foremost. Learn how to play the loyalty card game to make sure you get as much benefit as you can in an article posted here soon.

Have a read of all our store Loyalty Card reviews and let us know which you use and which benefits you enjoy most.

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9 comments

  1. I have a Co-Op membership card but must admit I don’t shop there often as it’s not local to me. That said, I like the brand and the card is a great idea, especially if you already shop there like you said. Really well covered, fab overview of the membership and what it involves! xx

    Reply

  2. It takes a long time to build up points.

    I also don’t like the offer system. The fact that you can only activate 2 offers a week is poor. Compared to nectar you can use as many offers as you want build up lots of points quickly.

    Reply

    1. And last year Co-Op reduced drastically the value of its reward scheme. Originally it was 5p in the £ for all Co-Op items, but now it is just 2p. Admittedly the same amount is donated to charity, but customers have seen a 60% reduction in reward for their Co-Op spending.

      Reply

  3. I used to have a card but lost it in my last two cell phones.
    Wondering if I should just get another or keep the same number. Transfer points.
    Thankyou and have a great day 😊

    Reply

  4. I recently paid £1 for a CO-OP membership card, to then me told at my local store that I can’t use the BLUE membership card in any of our local stores. Therefore that was a waste of £1 and I don’t even know how to find a store that will accept my BLUE membership card. Very frustrating.

    Reply

    1. Hi Kim
      Thanks for letting us know.
      That is frustrating. Where is your local store? I’ve not heard this before, and it’s important. I will find out why and update you / the article.
      All the best
      Tracy 🎈

      Reply

      1. I have exactly the same problem tried 3 stores around me (Spalding area) and none will accept the blue card. Finding it difficult to search and work out where exactly I can use the blue card 🤷🏼‍♀️

        Reply

  5. I’ve noticed that my amount of cash reward has remained the same for the last couple of months. I use my rewards card everyday. Why has the amount not changed.

    Reply

    1. Hi Anne Marie, best contact them. The rewards balance should update instantly. Keep us posted, Tracy

      Reply

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