Countdown Christmas Club Vouchers Review

Get a bonus of up to 5% on money you spend on vouchers, with the option of spending the vouchers before Christmas if you need to
Savvy customers can get $25 free in one day by buying $500 to their club account
But, unlike New World and PAK'n'SAVE, Countdown does not offer a club and buying vouchers is paper-based and can be time consuming.
You also cannot use the vouchers to shop on Countdown online

Updated 10 January 2019

Countdown Christmas Club Voucher Summary

How it works: Countdown customers buy vouchers in denominations of $5, $10 and $20 - if the vouchers are spent in December or January, a 5% bonus is added.
Cut-off date for getting the 5% bonus: 30 November; any vouchers bought after that will only activate the 5% bonus in the following Christmas.

Our View:

Compared to the Christmas clubs operated by New World and PAK'n'SAVE, Countdown's offering is messy. It's paper-based and very manual.
We don't believe it is a "club" in the same way other retailers offer Christmas clubs. We believe it is more of a voucher offering.
Lose a voucher and there is no way to get the money back. Damage or deface it and you may have problems redeeming it.
Earning 5% on money spent on vouchers probably beats a bank or term deposit - the best way to maximise bonuses is to deposit money in November and use it December. A $500 contribution would turn into a $525 balance.
The vouchers are not tied to one store - you can use the balance at any Countdown anywhere in New Zealand.
We like the freedom of being able to use the money at any time of the year, with no restriction on what items you can buy.
But we don't like the fact that you can't register the vouchers, or how 'old school' the program is compared to its competitors.

How to participate in the Countdown Christmas Club?

Buy vouchers at the check out when you go shopping; you have the option of vouchers in $5, $10 or $20 denominations
Don't lose the vouchers - there is no way to trace them back to your purchase

What to watch out for:

You can only use it at Countdown stores, but there is almost no restriction on what you can purchase in store (tobacco products and Countdown vouchers/gift cards are excluded).
If your vouchers are lost or stolen, you'll lose your balance(s),
Vouchers do not expire
If items you want to buy are cheaper at another supermarket, you won't be able to use your vouchers and will either have to pay cash at the other supermarket or accept you will pay more at Countdown and use your vouchers.

7 Need to Knows About the Countdown Christmas Club vouchers

It's all paper based - you CANNOT register your vouchers, nor can you top up online or see your balance online

If you lose your vouchers or they get stolen, Countdown won't give you back your money.

Your funds are NOT safe if Countdown goes bankrupt

Usually, when a retailer goes bankrupt, people with gift cards or vouchers find themselves out of pocket. This has been the case with Dick Smith Electronics, Pumpkin Patch and TopShop among others. And the same applies to the Countdown Christmas vouchers - there is no protection on the value you hold. Comparatively, the Christmas clubs operated by PAK'N'SAVE and New World put your money in a trust account which means you won't lose the value if they go bankrupt.

You won't see the bonuses until the end of the "Christmas Club year"

The Countdown Christmas Club Year runs from "1 December of the first year to 30 November of the following year". This means that any vouchers bought during this period are eligible for bonuses, but you won't see it until the end of the Christmas Club Year - i.e. from 1 December.

You CAN use your Christmas Club money BEFORE and AFTER Christmas

Your vouchers are not locked up until Christmas - you can use them to purchase goods at Countdown any time of the year. The only drawback is you won't receive the Christmas bonus on the amount(s) used.

Example:
If you bought $100 of vouchers in March, the total balance on the Christmas Club card will be $105 but you won't be see the $5 bonus on the balance before the 1st of December. If you spend $50 of the $100 balance before December the 1st, you will only receive the bonus on the remaining $50 (which calculates to be $2.50).

Once you've bought Countdown Christmas Club vouchers, you can't withdraw them as cash or get a refund

Christmas Club vouchers cannot be exchanged for cash. So, once you've decided to buy the vouchers, all money must be redeemed at Countdown. There is no exception to this rule.

You can use an alternative payment method to part-pay if you don't have a sufficient number of Christmas Club vouchers

If you have insufficient funds as vouchers to complete a purchase, you can pay the balance with cash or EFTPOS.

Vouchers do NOT expire

Unlike the other supermarket clubs, your Christmas Club vouchers do not expire. But as mentioned above, there is no way to register them so you'll need to look after them carefully.