The shelf shows a large discounted price and a smaller reference to membership. At checkout, the discount does not appear. Before deciding that the offer was false, check which conditions were attached and whether they were met for that purchase.
Which?’s comparison of supermarket loyalty schemes shows that membership arrangements and rewards differ between retailers. Treat the current retailer’s terms as the source for a particular offer rather than assuming every loyalty card works the same way.
Read the conditions while you can still compare
Check the eligible product, pack size, promotion dates and any quantity limit. Find out whether scanning the card is enough or whether a coupon must first be activated. If an app is required, confirm that you can access it before reaching the till.
Then compare the price you can actually obtain with alternatives. A hypothetical member price of 3.00 is not your saving if you need to buy an unwanted second item to qualify, or if a comparable product elsewhere costs 2.80 without membership. Use the quantity and unit price relevant to what you need.
Separate an immediate discount from a future reward
Points credited for later use are not necessarily money removed from today’s bill. Expiry dates, redemption thresholds and restrictions can affect whether the reward will be useful to you. Keep the immediate payment and the possible later benefit in separate mental columns.
If the discount is missing, keep the receipt and ask staff to check the offer and membership scan. Describe the exact product and displayed terms. A screenshot or shelf photograph taken where permitted can help resolve a genuine discrepancy without relying on memory.
Membership also involves an information exchange. Read the account and privacy options and decide whether the benefit suits how you shop. There is no need to join every scheme simply because one product has a member label.
The useful question is concrete: what will this basket cost me under the conditions I can meet today? Answering it before checkout makes the promotion easier to evaluate and keeps a prominent discount label from doing all the decision-making.