On 1st June 2019, Esso dropped its relationship with Tesco Clubcard and signed up with Nectar. Most people thought that this was the end of earning Tesco Clubcard points, and therefore Avios or Virgin Flying Club miles, at Esso petrol stations.
This isn’t true. You can still earn Avios at Esso. Tesco and Esso have not done a good job of promoting this, however, which is why you might not know about it.
Can you still earn Avios via Tesco Clubcard points at Esso?
YES – but only if you shop at an Esso station which include a Tesco Express store. The Esso website confirms this.
For clarity, this applies to purchases of fuel as well as shop purchases.
How do I find a participating Esso garage?
There are almost 200 participating garages across the UK. The easiest way to find them is via the Esso Fuel Finder website here.
Esso Fuel Finder has an option for ‘Clubcard Points on Fuel and Shop’. Select this box and it will only highlight participating garages near you.
How many Avios do I earn?
At Esso garages with a Tesco Express store, you will earn:
1 Clubcard point (2.4 Avios) for every £3 spent on fuel, up to 100 litres per visit
1 Clubcard point (2.4 Avios) for every £1 spent in the Tesco Express shop
1 Clubcard point (2.4 Avios) for every £1 spent on car washes
For clarity, the only points you can collect at Esso garages which do not have a Tesco Express store are Nectar points.
Can I spend Clubcard vouchers at Esso garages?
You can spend Clubcard vouchers on fuel or store purchases at Esso garages with a Tesco Express onsite.
This is a VERY bad idea, however, and you should never use Clubcard vouchers at face value to pay for shopping if you can help it. You should know that already as a HFP reader!
How else can I earn Avios on fuel?
You can also collect Avios via Tesco Clubcard when you buy fuel at Tesco petrol stations. This is 50% more lucrative, at one Clubcard point for every £2 spent.
You can no longer earn Avios via Shell Drivers Club, as this scheme has been closed.
(Want to earn more Avios? Click here to visit our home page for the latest articles on earning and spending your Avios points and click here to see how to earn more Avios from current offers and promotions.)
About Head for Points
The Tesco website is so confusing when it comes to the fuel earning rates at Tesco petrol stations.
I have never filled up at my nearest Tesco before as Sainsbury’s was always 3-4p cheaper. But when driving past yesterday I noted that both supermarkets are now 99.9p, and the tank will be empty soon so I shall go to Tesco.
Does the Tesco debit card still earn 2 points per £ at Tesco fuel? This used to be the case many years ago, but I recall there was a time-limited offer for a higher earning rate which was meant to end in April 20XX (can’t remember which year) and I haven’t used it in a while.
What about the Tesco credit card? From what I can see it should be 1 point per £2 + 1 point per £4 = 0.75 points per £, but another source says 1.25 points per £.
Love the dedication of HfP followers! 99p a litre and we still chase down every last bonus point. Go for it.
Only in the UK would 99p/litre be considered cheap. Try telling that to your US-based friends (should you have any friends of course).
I can remember how bad it felt when petrol pricng broke the £1 per gallon barrier and I’m not that old that’s 4.5 litres but @Callum will be along soon to tell me it’s 4.54 🙂 )
I get 2 cc points / £. I set my debit card clubcard no as the clubcard no on the pay+ app and the debit card as the payment method in the app. Then there’s no double cards or whatever and attendants being confused.
So, you don’t get Nectar points from an Esso filling station where you pay at a Tescos? Or is there a double dip opportunity?
Yeah no Nectar
Or buy an electric car and spend next to nothing on fuel, cut deadly pollution and save lives?
The current situation has shown what we could actually achieve if people got onboard with EVs.
Until charging infrastructure is rolled out this will be difficult for a lot of people. Easy if you have off-street parking but not so much if you don’t.
There’s a lot of pollution and environmental issues with lithium mining. As well as associated human conditions in e.g. the DRC.
I’ll stick with my very frugal 1L petrol for now thank you.
Agree overall pollution is negligible but inner city air quality would be vastly improved. Though can do that by banning old diesels which would put lots of new buses etc out of service (buses have got away with old emissions standards with single or low volume type approvals)
Are not the recycling of electric car batteries still an issue environmentally?
And spend three days per week on the bus because you couldn’t find anywhere to charge it.
When is the problem of the batteries being so expensive, losing their capacity quite soon and needing to be replaced after very few years going to be solved?
An electric car, or better yet the Tesla pickup, would suit me perfectly but so far it seems there’s still a high cost to electric.
(let’s leave aside for now the pollution issues earlier in the chain of creating battery and car which are not zero)
I very seriously considered electric for my current car but economically and, more importantly, practically, it just didn’t make sense for my circumstances. Even my friends with an electric vehicle couldn’t argue once I explained my reasoning and research.
EVs are not the answer for everyone currently.
People are still buying petrol ?!?
Getting six weeks to the gallon
I’ve not filled up for 2 months now…
Some of us can’t work from home
Yes lots. Infact over 50% of combustion cars sold are petrol these days and most PHEVs use petrol engines too. Diesels only make sense if you make long commutes at steady speeds ie Motorway. But people were drawn by headline CO2 numbers rather than the real world application, I’ll add that legislation also pushed people that way.
I think charging infrastructure is in place for some people to make the switch to something more EV. My next car isn’t but I hope I can choose one for it’s replacement in 9-12 months time.
If I manage to keep my job in the current climate I’m going to get an EV. Free charging near the office, enough places locally for it to be viable at the weekend even though I can’t have a plug at home (live in a flat). A lot of people are still ‘scared’ to make the leap but actually for many it would work just fine.
My local Tesco express with petrol station was not able to give club card points or nectar when they changed over. They gave me club card points on shop purchases but no points at all on petrol. I did complain to Esso and Tesco and they said that was how it was but if I sent the receipt in etc they’d do a one-off for me. Maybe it has changed since then?
I sometimes drive vans hired from the Enterprise Car Club. They provide an Allstar fuel card to use when the van need filled up (there is a way to pay and then reclaim the cost but it is discouraged.
Is there any way to get points etc. from fueling these vehicles?
Good question. We use Zipcar quite a bit – although oddly I don’t think I’ve ever fuelled one – and it works the same way. Do fuel card purchases qualify for points?
One significant difference is that Enterprise Car Club charges per mile driven (Zipcar includes 60 miles per day in the UK) so it would not take a particularly long diversion for the mileage cost to offset any points potentially gained.
The times I filled up a van (about £100) I went to a petrol station that I was on my route and wasn’t one that I collect points at.