The Lidl Plus card has changed: how the new points scheme really works

If you last read about the Lidl Plus card before May 2026, most of what you know is out of date. On 5 May, Lidl scrapped its Coupon Plus rewards, the ones that gave you a free bakery treat at £10 of monthly spend and 10% off after £250, and replaced the whole thing with a points scheme called Lidl Plus Points.

Plenty of guides online still describe the old system, so we've rewritten this one from scratch. Below you'll find how the Lidl Plus card works now, what a point is actually worth in pounds and pence, how to sign up for free, and an honest answer on whether it's still worth having. We've also included a simple rule for deciding whether to spend your points on freebies or money off, because the two options are not equal.

And if you're weighing up loyalty schemes generally, it's worth remembering they're only one way to cut your food bill. Our supermarket voucher codes and offers page rounds up the current deals across every major grocer.

What is the Lidl Plus card?

The Lidl Plus card is Lidl's free loyalty card, and it only exists inside the Lidl Plus app. There's no plastic version. You download the app, create an account, and a digital card with a scannable barcode appears on the home screen. Scan it at the checkout every time you shop and you'll collect points, unlock personalised coupons and get access to weekly member-only offers.

It's a genuinely popular scheme. When we surveyed UK shoppers with YouGov, Lidl Plus came out as the third most-used loyalty card in the country, behind only Tesco Clubcard and Sainsbury's Nectar. That's despite Lidl having far fewer stores than either, so the people who have it clearly use it.

Membership is free, but there are two conditions worth knowing upfront: you must be 18 or over, and you'll need a mobile number and email address to register.

Lidl Plus Points vs Coupon Plus: What changed in May 2026?

This is the bit that catches people out. Until 4 May 2026, Lidl Plus ran a monthly spending ladder called Coupon Plus. Spend £10 in a calendar month and you got a free bakery item, £50 got you free fruit or veg, and £250 unlocked 10% off your next shop, capped at £20. Hit the top tier and you were effectively earning back around 8% of your spend, which made it one of the most generous supermarket schemes going.

From 5 May, all of that disappeared. Lidl replaced the spending tiers with Lidl Plus Points, a collect-as-you-go system much closer to Tesco's Clubcard. The reaction was noisy. Shoppers worked out quickly that the same pain au chocolat that used to cost £10 of monthly spend now costs 70 points, which means £70 through the tills at the standard earning rate.

So the honest summary is this: the new scheme is simpler and more flexible, but for big monthly spenders it's less generous than what it replaced. For smaller-basket shoppers who rarely hit the old £50 and £100 targets, it's arguably fairer, because every pound now earns something.

How do the Lidl Plus Points work?

The mechanics are simple, and there are a few small rules that work in your favour.

You earn 1 point for every £1 you spend in store, and Lidl rounds your total up to the nearest pound before awarding points. A £2.85 basket earns 3 points, and even a 60p bakery run earns 1 point. Points don't land instantly. They usually appear in the app the next day, and Lidl says to allow up to 48 hours. You can check your balance by tapping the coin icon at the top of the app's home screen.

Once you've built up a balance, you spend it in the Rewards Marketplace inside the app. There are two types of reward: coupons for free products, like a bunch of bananas or a bakery item, and money-off coupons that knock a set amount off a future shop. When you pick a reward, it appears in your coupons section, and you must activate it before scanning your card at the till, otherwise it won't apply. Chosen coupons usually last 30 days, so don't cash points in until you know you'll shop again soon.

The points themselves are far more patient. They stay valid for two full years from the day you earn them, so there's no pressure to spend them quickly. A few things never earn points though: gift cards, EV charging and charitable donations are all excluded, and money-off coupons can't be redeemed against alcohol either. The full Lidl Plus terms list every exclusion, and it's worth knowing that returning items can also deduct points from your balance.

One more thing worth grabbing while it lasts: anyone opening the app for the first time under the new scheme before 31 July 2026 gets 100 welcome points with no spend required. That's a free reward from the Marketplace just for signing up.

Is the Lidl Plus card still worth it?

Yes, but with a more level-headed answer than before, and it depends on how you use your points.

As money off, a point is worth roughly 1p. Spend £60 a week at Lidl, which is about £3,120 a year, and you'll earn around £31 back at the base rate. That's a 1% return, the same as Tesco Clubcard vouchers and double Nectar's standard 0.5p per point. Under the old Coupon Plus tiers, a £250-a-month household could pull back closer to £15 to £20 monthly, so heavy spenders have taken a real cut. Lidl runs Extra Points promotions on selected products, like the double points on fresh fruit it offered at launch, which can nudge your effective rate above 1% if you buy those items anyway.

Here's the part most guides skip: freebies and money-off coupons are not equal value, and you can check which is better in about five seconds. Divide the shelf price of the free item by the points it costs. If the answer is more than 1p per point, the freebie beats money off. A £1.09 bunch of bananas for 100 points works out at 1.09p per point, so it edges ahead. A 75p pastry for 70 points is 1.07p, again slightly better than cash. But a £1 item priced at 150 points would be a poor trade at 0.67p per point, and you'd be better off taking the money-off coupon instead. Prices in the Marketplace change, so run the sum before you commit, because once points become a coupon the 30-day clock starts.

The other thing to remember is that points are the topping, not the meal. Lidl's everyday prices already trade blows with Aldi for the cheapest in the UK, and Aldi has no loyalty scheme at all. If Lidl is where you shop anyway, the app costs nothing and pays you something. If you're loyal to a different supermarket, schemes like the Morrisons More card work on a similar points basis and may suit you better.

How to get the Lidl Plus app and digital card

There's no application form, no waiting for anything in the post, and no way to apply for a physical card online, because the card is the app. Here's the whole process:

1. Download the Lidl Plus app from the App Store or Google Play. Links to both are on Lidl's official Lidl Plus page.
2. Tap 'Create a Lidl Plus account' and register with your mobile number and email address. You'll need to confirm a verification code sent by text.
3. Pick your usual store so your offers and leaflets match your local branch.
4. Open the card from the home screen at the checkout and scan the barcode before you pay. Scanning after payment doesn't work, so make it the first thing you do at the till.

The whole thing takes under five minutes, and if you do it before 31 July 2026 those 100 welcome points land automatically.

Can you get a physical Lidl Plus card?

No, and this is one of the most-asked questions about the scheme. Lidl doesn't issue plastic cards, keyring fobs or paper versions. The barcode in the app is the card, which does mean shoppers without a smartphone can't join, a genuine sore point that comes up constantly in reviews.

There are two workarounds worth knowing. If your store has patchy signal, a screenshot of your barcode scans perfectly well at the till, so save one to your camera roll as a backup. And although Lidl doesn't offer family or joint accounts, nothing stops a household signing into the same account on two phones. Both people's shopping then earns points into one balance, which gets you to rewards faster.

Lidl Plus app benefits and personalised coupons

Points grab the headlines, but the coupons are where regular shoppers quietly save the most. Every week the app loads a fresh batch of personalised coupons, typically percentage discounts on ranges you actually buy, and these often outvalue the points on a normal shop. The catch never changes: activate each coupon in the app before you scan, or it won't come off your bill.

Beyond that, members get weekly app-exclusive offers, digital receipts you can switch on from the card screen, and Lidl Pay, which links a payment card so one scan applies your discounts and pays in a single motion. There's also a rotating set of partner offers from brands like Jet2holidays and Tastecard, plus discounted EV charging at stores with chargers. None of these are reasons to join on their own, but together they make the app worth opening before every shop.

Lidl Plus FAQs

All scheme details checked against Lidl GB's official Lidl Plus pages and terms, correct as of 7 July 2026. Lidl can change points values, Marketplace pricing and promotions at any time, so always check the app for the latest rules.