Is there an NHS discount at Boots? Take a look at how NHS employees can cut the cost of their shopping at the UK’s most popular health and beauty store.
In all honesty, Boots has been a bit of a life-saver over the years. Without fail, myself and 1000’s of other men descend on their gift section on the 23rd of December each year to buy presents for our female relatives.
But we shouldn’t forget that they stock a lot of other items too (apparently) and have some great bargains. But there’s always a way to get a better price, which I’ll go over below.
And why not also check out my list of the best NHS discounts?
Is there an NHS Discount at Boots?
The first question is – do NHS employees get a discount at Boots? Unfortunately, there is no direct discount available to NHS staff. Unlike some other retailers who will happily give you some money off by showing your ID, in Boots, you will just get a funny look.
So, where else can you look?
Blue Light Card
Ah, the good old Blue Light Card. This is one of the best discount schemes available to emergency service workers and works with most of the major retailers around the UK… except Boots. Unfortunately, the discount on offer was withdrawn a couple of years ago and never replaced. But never fear, there are still a few ways to save at Boots.
Airtime Rewards
This is a very handy app that rewards you with cashback when you shop in selected stores, including Boots. Just download the app to your smartphone and link your debit or credit card. When you make a purchase, cashback will be automatically credited to your account.
All the money you earn through Airtime Rewards can then be put towards your mobile phone bill.
Take a look at my Airtime Rewards review for the full list of participating retailers and how to get a bonus for signing up.
Cashback sites
If you’re shopping online, you should always take a look at cashback sites. There are plenty to choose from and they’re very easy to use. Once you have signed up for an account, click on the cashback site’s link to Boots and shop as usual. You’ll then be awarded with some money back.
Cashback rates vary for Boots, but expect to earn between 1-10% back. And the good news is, it can be combined with Airtime Rewards – so a double whammy!
If you haven’t used one before, take a look at some of the best Cashback sites in the UK.
Credit card cashback
This is a very useful way to get a discount on your shopping, whether it’s with Boots or any other retailer. There are several cards out there that will give you a small amount of cashback with every purchase you make – usually in the region of 0.5%. Although not a huge amount, over the course of a year, it soon adds up.
There is one thing you need to be careful of though. Interest rates on credit cards can be quite high, so it’s important that you clear your balance each month. Otherwise, the interest you pay will be far more than the cashback you earn.
Take a look at some of the best cashback credit cards.
Receipt scanning
Again, this isn’t just exclusive to Boots, but receipt scanning is a simple way of earning some money back. There are plenty of apps out there that will give you cash or vouchers for submitting photos of your receipts.
It takes seconds to do and you could make over £100 per year. Here are some of the best receipt scanning apps.
Boots Advantage Card
Finally, I couldn’t complete this post without mentioning one of the most generous reward schemes on offer. For every £1 you spend, you’ll get 4 Advantage points. Each point is worth 1 pence, meaning you get 4% back every time you swipe your card. The points you earn can be put towards discounts on future shops.
If you don’t already have a Boots Advantage card, you can sign up for one for free.
You can also take a look at some of the other great reward and loyalty schemes on offer.
Other NHS discounts
There are plenty of other discounts available for NHS staff too. Why not take a look at: