Coles rewards vs Woolworths rewards

Both Coles and Woolworths supermarkets have loyalty programs that offer customers rewards for their shopping loyalty.

But is one scheme better than the other? Let’s look at how the rewards programs stack up against each other.

Coles flybuys program

Members can earn flybuys points for a range of spending, including:

• Shopping – Generally, participating retailers offer 1 flybuys point per $1 spent at shops like Coles, Liquorland, Kmart and Target, whether in-store or online
• Household expenses – You can earn points with a range of providers for electricity, gas, insurance and telecommunications
• Travel – Points may be earned on flights, car hire, holiday packages and other travel expenses
• Lifestyle – You can earn points for spending on things like health insurance and gym memberships

You can also occasionally earn bonus points with specific retailers – for example, extra points per $1 spent, or a lump sum of points for spending a certain amount.

Once you have earned enough flybuys points, you can redeem them for various rewards like:

• Money off your shopping – Convert your points to flybuys dollars that can be used at participating retailers. The exchange rate is 2,000 points for $10 flybuys dollars
• Merchandise – Redeem points for a wide variety of items on the flybuys website, including homewares, phones and wine
• Travel and experiences – Get tickets to theme parks, cinemas, restaurants and travel
• Frequent flyer points – Convert your points into Etihad Guest Miles or Velocity Frequent Flyer Points

Woolworths Rewards program

Members earn points by scanning their Woolworths Rewards card at the checkout or entering their membership details when shopping online.

Members can earn points with the following retailers:

• Woolworths supermarkets
• BWS
• Some Caltex Woolworths co-branded fuel outlets

Points cannot currently be redeemed in Tasmania, but can be earned in some outlets there.

While most spending at participating stores earns points, some purchases are excluded, including:

• Smoking products
• Gift cards
• Mobile recharge
• Woolworths Mobile
• Travel cards and tickets
• Delivery charges
• Internet cafes
• Carpet care
• Woolworths flowers
• Lottery products

There are three ways to redeem your Woolworths Rewards points:

• Money off your shop – Offers automatic savings off your shopping at Woolworths or BWS. Every 2,000 points you earn is equal to $10 off your next shop
• Christmas specials – You can bank all your $10 savings for your Christmas shopping. These become available on your card between 15 December and 1 January each year. Any remaining points in your balance will be saved for next Christmas (if not used beforehand)
• Convert points to Qantas Points – Each 2,000 Woolworths points will be converted into 870 Qantas Points and transferred to your Qantas Frequent Flyer account each quarter

Woolies also provides bonus offers to members throughout the year.

Comparing the programs

Both programs give enough rewards to make it worth signing up. Generally, Coles flybuys has a bigger range of ways to earn points and to redeem them. Woolworths Rewards offers simple redemption options and you don’t need to log in to your account to redeem points for rewards.

Ultimately, it depends a lot on where you regularly shop, and consequently how quickly you will earn points. Otherwise, just sign up for both programs and get the best of both worlds.

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