Waterstones Card

...brought to my attention “The Waterstones Card”, _‘ooh,’_ I thought, _‘another card for my collection…’_

So, I signed up.

I got my card immediately after signing up, it’s not personalised with your name in anyway, just a plain card, designed to fit perfectly in your wallet/purse along with other cards, and is recognisable by the green stripes down the left hand side, and the little Waterstones “W” in the right hand corner.
...to enter for holders of Waterstones Cards! Others include weekend breaks, meeting authors right down to just winning a copy of a book. The competitions tend to revolve around newly released books, and they are obviously well worth entering.

Entering a competition is simple, I just entered one to win some Binoculars worth £1000, and the one for the Safari, and all I had to do was enter my Card Number, and my contact details – simple. ... more

Let’s face it, money for nothing is something that no-one would snub. Whether that is winning some money on the lottery, using your clubcard at Tesco, or, as I’m sure a number of you will obviously like – getting money from your reviews here on Ciao. I tend to be rather stingy sometimes, and hate spending money, I suppose most of my money at the moment goes on my weekends, the nights out, the alcohol and the food. Really, I suppose that is a bit of a waste, but anyway, I’m digressing..

So, I like getting money for stuff I would get anyway, that’s why I have my Tesco clubcard, my Boots advantage card, my Nectar Card, my Co-Operative Card, the list could go on really. One day, while getting some books in Waterstones, the person behind the counter brought to my attention “The Waterstones Card”, ‘ooh,’ I thought, ‘another card for my collection…’

So, I signed up.

I got my card immediately after signing up, it’s not personalised with your name in anyway, just a plain card, designed to fit perfectly in your wallet/purse along with other cards, and is recognisable by the green stripes down the left hand side, and the little Waterstones “W” in the right hand corner.

How does it work?

Very simply. Whenever you make a purchase in Waterstones, be this for books, bookmarks or whatever else they sell, you simply present your card to them, and they swipe it. You earn 3 points for every £1 you spend, which is in-line with most other reward cards (Tesco = 1 point per pound, Boots = 4 points per pound). These points are then stored in your account, and each point is equal to a penny. You can use the balance you have against any purchases in store, be that whether you have 45p or £100.

I think I have had my card for just over two years, although I am not 100% sure, and so far, my balance is just under £3. Which I don’t really think is too bad, considering I haven’t really brought loads in store.

Other Benefits

Not only can you earn points each time you spend, there are a ton of other advantages too…

Discounts

I am not talking in store here, at current, looking on the website, card holders can enjoy a few discounts. From saving £5 when joining the Royal Horticultural Society, to 20% off of tickets to the Dawin Exhibit at the Natural History Museum. You can get 2 for 1 tickets to see the Wildlife Photographer of the Year Exhibition, and you even get tickets to the “Henry VIII: Man and Monarch” exhibition at the British Library for just £7. While, these probably aren’t up everybody’s tree, the offers change regularly, although keeping the general theme of cultural activities.

Competitions

Fancy winning a nice Family Safari Tour in South Africa? Well that is just one of the competitions currently available to enter for holders of Waterstones Cards! Others include weekend breaks, meeting authors right down to just winning a copy of a book. The competitions tend to revolve around newly released books, and they are obviously well worth entering.

Entering a competition is simple, I just entered one to win some Binoculars worth £1000, and the one for the Safari, and all I had to do was enter my Card Number, and my contact details – simple. Let’s just hope I win ï�Š Others are more involved, such as requiring you to enter a photo that represents Britain today..

Points Offers

Fancy trying a new type of fiction? Well they are offering a bonus of 25 points if you purchase any of their recommended titles under the different categories, such as “The Surgeon by Tess Gerritsen”, under crime along with others. While maybe 25p doesn’t seem that alluring, if your stuck for a book to chose, it is worth giving it a go, and if one of the books you want is in the lists then that’s a pure bonus… There are loads of books to chose from, so there should be something you might like.

You can also get 100 bonus points on selected pre-order titles, again there is a diverse choice and options are updated monthly. If you are looking at getting a book when it comes out, why not pre-order it and get the bonuses of an extra £1 of points...

Books Quarterly

Normally priced at £2.95, if you have a Waterstones card, you can pick it up for free in Waterstones’ stores. It contains interviews with authors and other odd bits, about future releases etc. I myself have never bothered getting it, but I had a flick through once, and it did look like it could help pass some time if you don’t have anything better to do.

Signing Up

So, have I now managed to intrigue you? Signing up is simple, you can do it online. Simply going to the Waterstones website (www.waterstones.co.uk) then selected “Waterstones Card”, and then “Sign Up”. You do need a Waterstones online account to do this, but that just takes seconds to set up, they then send you your card, receiving it within 28 days. Alternatively, I think you can still sign up in store and get your card then and there.

Checking your Balance

Simple. Whenever you make a purchase in store, on the bottom of your receipt is your points balance, or if you want to check online, just go to the card section of the website, and you can check it there easily.

A good card?

I got mine because I like the idea of points cards. When there is things I am going to spend my money on anyway, then it makes sense to receive some benefit from it, likewise, if I am with any of my friends/family when they are making a purchase, I can pinch the points. It all adds up, and while at the moment I don’t have enough to actually buy a book, give it a few years and I will, in the mean time, it’s not like I am losing out. For those who buy loads of books then this will be even better for you, since you will inevitably earn points faster.

I gather that Waterstones intention is that by owning a card, you will be more likely to spend the money in store, and that definitely works with me. While I won’t pay any extra for a book, I am more likely to use Waterstones than, say W H Smith or Borders. It is always worth checking their website before buying in store too, since prices can differ by a fair bit – today I went into Peterborough to buy “Breaking Dawn”, the final in the Twilight series which I have read this week, and it was £12.99 in store, but just £6.49 on the web, so I saved myself a good few quid.

I definitely recommend this card, after all, the only cost to you is about 2 minutes signing up and an extra gram or two to carry around in your wallet!

 

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