MAC are offering free makeup if you return your old containers
Tesco Clubcard Rewards warning, Benefit and MAC freebies for recycling, kids go free to West End theatre, and 2for1 theme parks. These are our Money Saving Expert Martin Lewis’ Deals of the Week.
Remember, deals can change quickly, even while I’m on the programme. So always double-check the terms and conditions before spending. Plus, while I hope these deals will save you cash, don’t spend if you can’t afford it, don’t need it, or won’t use it.
Warning - swap your Tesco Clubcard points now before the value changes
In January, Tesco announced that it’ll be changing its Clubcard Rewards system. At first it said it was going to implement changes immediately but then, after campaigning, including quite vociferously by me, it made a u-turn and said it won’t make any changes till mid-June – which is almost here.
From Monday (11 June), instead of being able to swap your Clubcard vouchers for two to four times the value in rewards, in its Clubcard Rewards scheme – they will all be worth three times the value.
So things that you should swap your points for by Sunday, as they’re currently four times (£5 gets £20) and going to three times (£5 gets £15) include Café Rouge, London Zoo, Pizza Express and Prezzo. And things you should wait for where £5 is worth £10 but will soon be worth £15 include APH Airport Parking, Evans Cycles, Megabus, RedSpottedHanky, it’ll now be worth £15.
So if you’re planning to redeem your vouchers, check now if you should do it asap or wait.
Beauty recycling for freebiesIf you take any size or brand of old mascara to any Benefit store, including concessions (find your nearest), you can exchange it for a £6ish Benefit mini-mascara (3g, choice of three), while stock lasts. You’ll only be able to exchange one mascara per visit.
Also, if you’re a fan of MAC products, you can get a free lipstick of your choice, excluding Viva Glam lipsticks, when you return six used MAC containers to a MAC counter or send them in the post to MAC Cosmetics Online (Back to MAC), Constellation House, 3 Kite’s Croft Business Park, Fareham, PO14 4FL. Its lipsticks are normally £17.50 each, so worth keeping the containers when you finish them.
Martin’s Quickies:
Kids go free to the theatre. Now I’m doing this one early, as last year over 100,000 tickets sold within the first 24 hours – many people coming from all around the country – so if you want to get it you’ll need to be on it. From 10am next Tuesday (12 June) you can get a free child’s ticket (ages 16 and under) to one of over 40 London theatre shows, when you buy a full-priced adult ticket on the Kids Week website. There are about 170,000 tickets available this time, including Disney’s Aladdin, Wicked, The Lion King, MatildaandSchool of Rock. There are no booking or postage fees. The savings can be decent, for example, go see Little Mermaid The Circus Sensation and you’d save £11.50 on a general admission seat, whereas for Les Misérables, you’d save £80 on a top-price seat in the stalls.
2for1 entry at Merlin attractions If you buy selected Cadbury chocolates, including Oreo Bites, Dairy Milk Giant Buttons and Crunchie Rocks (costs around £1ish at most supermarkets), you’ll find a 2for1 voucher to use at more than 20 Merlin attractions across the UK (there aren’t any in Wales and Northern Ireland), such as Alton Towers, Thorpe Park, Sea Life Centres (in Scotland and England), Madame Tussauds and The Dungeons (Edinburgh and London).
The voucher works when you buy a full-priced adult ticket at the entrance gate, usually up to £60 – so you can save yourself a fair bit if you’re planning on going to one of the big attractions. The voucher’s valid until 31 July 2019, so you can save it for next summer if you want (and buy more packs if you plan on visiting several times) or go during the winter – many theme parks have special attractions on, eg, for Halloween – though do check first as some parks have excluded dates, including weekends in August for some.
For lots more days out tips and holiday savings, Martin’s Live ITV special is next Tuesday at 8pm on ITV.
Keep an eye on Tesco Direct ‘closing down’ clearance sale. Tesco announced a couple of weeks ago that it would be closing Tesco Direct – its online non-food shop (originally a sort of competitor for an Argos catalogue) in July. As such, it’s got a clearance sale on that’s worth keeping an eye on if there’s something you need. I've seen up to half-price indoor furniture, clothing, sports and leisure, nursery, DIY and garden products. While the sale doesn’t include a huge selection of items right now, Tesco Direct says new product lines will be added regularly, so it could be worth checking back on other days for further reductions.
As stock is limited, it may involve a bit of pot luck and the discounts may vary. Some of the reductions I spotted earlier this week included a bookcase for £12.50 (was £25), a coffee table for £24.50 (was £49) and a kids’ BMX bike for £55 (was £130).
Of course, don’t assume everything will be cheapest in this sale and always do your own price comparisons before purchasing.