New Lidl points scheme is disappointing
Key Points
- Lidl Plus Points launched on 5 May 2026, replacing Coupon Plus across UK stores.
- Shoppers earn 1 point per £1 spent, with each point worth 1p as money off.
- The 1% base return matches Tesco Clubcard and beats Nectar's 0.5p per point.
- Old Coupon Plus tiers returned up to 8% at the £250 monthly spend level.
- Lidl shoppers and Martin Lewis followers criticised the new scheme on social media.
Lidl GB launched Lidl Plus Points on Tuesday (5 May), replacing its Coupon Plus with a new points system in line with Tesco and Sainsbury’s.
The new system awards one point per £1 spent in store, rounding up to the nearest pound.
Shoppers swap points for either money-off coupons at 1p per point or for free product coupons in an in-app marketplace, with prices ranging from 70 points for a pain au chocolat to 100 points for items such as a banana bunch or a pack of cheese twists.
Lidl is offering 100 welcome points to anyone activating the feature between 5 May and 31 July 2026, plus double points on all fresh fruit until 22 May.
Coupon Plus, which ended on 4 May, gave automatic rewards at fixed monthly spending tiers.
Shoppers got a free bakery item at £10, free fruit or vegetables at £50, a free Fin Carré chocolate bar at £100, free Alesto nuts at £150 and 10% off their next shop after spending £250 in a calendar month, capped at £20.
This means that the same pain au chocolat that needed £10 of spend under Coupon Plus now requires 70 points, equal to £70 spent at the standard earn rate.
How it compares to Tesco and Nectar
Tesco Clubcard awards 1 point per £1 in store, with each point worth 1p when redeemed for vouchers and up to 2p when spent through Clubcard Reward Partners including Disney+ and Pizza Express.
Sainsbury’s Nectar matches the 1 point per £1 earn rate but values each point at 0.5p, giving shoppers half the base return of either Tesco or the new Lidl scheme.
That puts Lidl level with Tesco’s base value and twice as generous as Nectar at face value, but without the partner network that doubles Tesco redemptions or the personalised Nectar Prices that drive Sainsbury’s app discounts.
Unhappy customers
Lidl shoppers pushed back on social media within hours of the launch, with users tagging Lidl GB and Martin Lewis to complain that the new system delivered less than Coupon Plus.
One shopper highlighted that earning £5 off now requires 500 points, equal to a £500 spend, compared with £5 off after £250 under the old tier system.
Lidl GB Chief Customer Officer Louise Weis framed the change as a response to customer feedback, telling Grocery Gazette that shoppers wanted more freedom to choose their rewards.
Lidl said additional bonus campaigns, including double and triple points promotions on selected products, would lift the average earn rate above 1%.
What it means for your weekly shop
Points last two years, but once converted into a coupon shoppers have 30 days to redeem before it expires.
Shoppers cannot redeem money-off coupons against alcohol, gift cards, charitable donations or EV charging.
The underlying 1% return only beats Coupon Plus for households spending under £125 a month at Lidl, the level at which the old monthly tier rewards already returned little.
Lidl trialled Points in Switzerland in 2024 and rolled it out in Ireland in June 2025, where the chain now holds 14.3% market share according to Worldpanel by Numerator. In the UK, Lidl sits joint-fifth with Morrisons on 8.4%.
