WATCHING her four kids gasp in awe of the elephants and giraffes at Colchester Zoo, Heidi Flaherty is thrilled the Christmas day trip is going well.
“Look at how much fun the kids are having,” Heidi, 29, from Thetford, Norfolk, said to her pal.
But for Heidi the pricey experience is FREE – because she paid for it all by saving up store loyalty card points.
It’s also how she enabled her kids to have a £4k Christmas for nothing.
“I did it just by buying sausages, loo roll and bananas,” the ex-Sainsbury’s manager said. “I have a trip to Chessington planned as well. It’s my secret weapon to get family Christmas treats, gifts and days out all for free.”
People are stunned when they find out what Heidi’s managed.
“I have lost track of the number of people who are gobsmacked to learn how shopping points have paid for our family outings for the past four years,” she said.
“I am a Tesco Clubcard queen,” she said. “Loyalty points from buying petrol and groceries have paid for Christmas trips to Legoland, zoos and family adventures.
“Trips away are now free. I am having a ‘free Christmas’ and saving £4k this year instead of paying.”
“With a family of six I am beating the cost-of-living price hikes by making my groceries pay for our family fun.
“I don’t buy a packet of chewing gum or loo roll without knowing it points towards a family day trip or holiday.
“I’m obsessed with tripling or doubling my points to nab the best family days out or trips away. I’m not using a posh American Express or Avios card. I use an old fashioned Clubcard like most of us have,” she says.
“Swiping for eggs, bread and baby wipes got a free trip to Disneyland on the Eurotunnel just six weeks ago for a family of six. I am shocked that more people are not doing it.”
But it’s not just loyalty cards that Heidi is using for her Christmas splurge.
“I used discount codes and a cash back app to buy my two daughters designer label Ugg boots valued at £80 each,” she said. “I did not pay a penny.”
According to Heidi her ‘points addiction’ and money saving schemes means she gets ‘maximum value for minimum spend’.
“The economic crisis meant it was critical for me to find a solution to boost our family finances,” said Heidi, who lives in Norfolk, with her husband Declan Flaherty, 31 engineer and kids Willow, six, Aria, five, Eden, four, and Koen, two.
“As we added to our family, I knew I needed to find innovative ways to save money.
Heidi, who used to work as a manager of a Sainsbury petrol station admits she knew the value of always using her Nectar card.
“As a station manager always knew what Nectar card deal would reap the best deals.
“I often had customers coming in bragging about how they had spent their next points and wanting to know when the next double or treble your points promotion was on.”
But it wasn’t until November 2019 when Heidi was pregnant with her third child in three years did she become addicted to basic loyalty card points.
“I had two kids and one on the way and saw a triple your points offer on Clubcard points. It meant I could use their reward partners and get a free family day out which we took to Colchester Zoo.
“It was lifesaving.
“Since then, I’ve made sure I use the double or treble points offered and plan for Christmas, so I spend as little as possible and use points and cash back for Festive outings and gifts.
In the past four years Heidi has earnt free family trips to Legoland, Drayton Manor., Chessington World of Adventure, Longleat Animal Park, and West Midlands Safari Park.
“At one zoo visit we had the Father Christmas experience,” she said. “I never thought grocery shopping could help us have family days out in a cost-of-living crisis, but it does.”
Six weeks ago, the family of six spent four days at Disneyland Paris and used loyalty points to get there.
“We took the kids and car on the Eurotunnel for free, which saved us £160. The savings we put towards the gas and electric bill.,” she says.
Heidi has loyalty cards from Sainsbury, Tesco’s, Costa, Starbucks, The Perfume Shop and also uses Top Cash Back.
“I have £1125 on my Top Cash Back account which I’ve used to buy Christmas presents and it helped pay for Disneyland.”
Heidi and her husband have two cars and only fill up their vehicles if they can earn points.
When her mother-in-law heard of the free days out, she offered to help Heidi swipe for festive adventures for the grandkids.
“I nab their points and we have become a well-oiled loyalty points machine,” she explained.
Heidi admits she spends at least 12 hours a week ensuring she knows what double points and special deals are on offer.
She also dedicates the time to collecting a notebook of discount codes and vouchers.
And she’s spent nothing on Christmas presents using points to buy clothes, iPads, toys , bikes and stocking fillers for the kids
“That’s the gift I give myself this Christmas,” she said.
Heidi’s ‘free Christmas’ loyalty card top tips:
