By Rosie Murray-West

Copyright metro

Grab a perk with your morning perk-up (Photo: Getty Images)

Small, independent coffee shops often have little cards you can get stamped on every visit, typically offering a free coffee every 10th drink

Whether you’re a regular customer or you only pop in from time to time, it’s a straightforward way to save on your caffeine fix.

But many of the large chains do something altogether more sophisticated, with confusing loyalty schemes that aren’t necessarily as generous as they seem.

Whatever your preference when it comes to the coffee itself, we have you covered money-wise, with a breakdown of the perks on offer at each major UK chain.

With the Costa Club rewards app, you’ll earn one ‘bean’ each time you buy a drink, or two if you use a reusable cup, so it’s definitely worth bringing your own.

Bring your own reusable cup to earn extra ‘beans’ at Costa (Picture: Getty Images)

Once you’ve got 10 beans, you can redeem them for a barista-made drink, meaning if you bought drinks only using a reusable cup, you’d only need to buy five drinks before getting a free one — not too bad at all.

You’ll also get free cake on your birthday – though you’ll need to give them that date if you want that perk – and there’s a ‘Treat Drop’ each month (but bear in mind that may tempt you into spending more).

It’s a fairly simple process at Caffè Nero: earn one stamp (either through the app or with the old-fashioned physical cards) every time you buy a drink, or two if you bring a cup.

Nine stamps will get you one free drink of any size, including specialty options, so you could potentially snag a freebie every five visits.

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Octopus Energy customers can also claim free drinks without any spend by going to the Octoplus section of the app and downloading a code, which will entitle you to one free barista-made drink a week. Similar offers are available through Three, Vitality Health Insurance and Compare the Market.

Sign up to Starbucks Rewards and earn 10 ‘stars’ per £1 spent. Then, once you have 130, you can swap them for a basic drink like an Americano or tea, while fancier options like the pumpkin spiced latte cost up to 500 and bakery items are available for around 300 stars.

It takes roughly four trips to Starbucks to be able to get a basic drink for free (Picture: Getty Images)

If you’re buying lattes and redeeming for a similarly basic drink, you’ll have enough stars after around four visits. For a pumpkin spice latte, you’ll need to buy 10 to get a free one, though.

Essentially, it’s great value if you are drinking something simple. But if you’re after barista-made drinks with syrups, use your stars when you want an English breakfast tea, not a frappuccino.

If you sign up to the Pret Perks app, Every time you spend £1.99 or above in store, you’ll get a ‘star’ — collect 10, and you can redeem them for a changeable ‘perk’ that Pret claims is based on your personal preferences.

Handy tip here: with the £1.99 transaction limit in place, there’s nothing to stop you splitting your larger transactions if you’re with a friend or buying several expensive items, to receive more stars.

At upmarket bakery Gail’s, you’ll earn one stamp per transaction, and an extra one if you spend more than £20.

Redeem nine stamps for a free loaf or barista-made drink. But note that the loaf of bread must be under 2kg and some ranges are excluded.

As part of the loyalty scheme, get a free treat on your birthday so ensure you input this when you sign up. And don’t forget to bring your reusable cup for a 20p discount on barista drinks.

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