Jasmine Birtles
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Get a free coffee with a myWaitrose card
Isobel Lawrance
2nd Nov 2022
Supermarket Waitrose is bringing back its free coffee offer this month for those with a myWaitrose card. The offer was previously halted during the early days of the Coronavirus pandemic in 2020, much to the dismay of customers.
As customers tighten their belts during the cost-of-living crisis, Waitrose is hoping to lure back in regulars by offering free coffee once again. Cheaper supermarket rivals are causing profits to wane. The benefit is being restored to those with a myWaitrose loyalty card. It is free to sign up to the loyalty scheme and become a cardholder.
First introduced almost a decade ago in 2013, the widespread popularity of the free coffee amongst students and non-paying visitors to the store mean the supermarket had to change the rules. In 2017, Waitrose announced customers would have to make a purchase to get a free drink.
How to redeem your free coffee
Under the new version of the offer from Waitrose, those with a myWaitrose card can claim their free hot drink when they make a purchase. You must also bring your own cup, and can claim one hot drink per day. If you don’t bring your own cup, you may be charged £4 for a Waitrose reusable cup.
You can choose from a selection of different drinks, with Waitrose claiming the free coffee is now a higher quality grade than previous, upgrading to premium coffee beans.
A new partnership
The chain has announced they will partner with Caffè Nero for the scheme.
As part of the perk coming back to Waitrose, myWaitrose cardholders will be able to get 20% off Caffè Nero’s ‘Coffee at Home’ range in store and on the Waitrose website. This discount will be automatically applied when you scan your loyalty card.
Charlotte Di Cello, commercial director at Waitrose, said: “Our customers loved the myWaitrose free coffee offer, so we’re really excited to bring it back, with premium beans from the Nero Roasting Company.”
Will Stratton-Morris, chief executive of Caffè Nero UK, said it “feels like a natural collaboration”, with customers of each company getting mutual discounts and benefits.
What is the minimum spend?
There is no minimum spend on what you must purchase to redeem your free coffee or tea.
You can choose from lattes, americanos, cappuccinos and breakfast teas. You will need to pay for any other drinks, for example juices or smoothies, however you can choose from a range of milk and dairy alternatives for no added cost.
Previously, the offer included a free newspaper for any £10 spend for loyalty card holders. However, this has remained scrapped, with no plans to re-instate this perk.
When can I redeem the offer?
The offer relaunches on 7th November in all 331 Waitrose stores across the UK, however, this does not include garages or service stations.
Interesting. That’s fine if you have a Waitrose Store near your home. I have never seen a Waitrose Store. Just looked on the Waitrose site. Nearest is 44 miles away. An 88 mile round trip is a long way to go for a free coffee. Looks even worse for my friend who lives in Bala, N.Wales!! I looked further afield to find the densest majority of stores seem to be in the rich southern part of the UK.