Why Woolworths Everyday Extra is totally worth paying for

It's an easy way to spend less at the supermarket and score more points.

Woolworths Everyday Extra is an extension of the existing Everyday Rewards loyalty program, promising extra points and regular savings on your shopping – but you have to pay a monthly subscription fee.

The scheme was initially tested with a small group of customers in mid-2022. Now it's available to any Everyday Rewards member. Woolworths is Australia's most popular supermarket, favoured by 48% of us, so any chance to save is welcome.

In July 2023, the scheme was changed and some perks disappeared. But it's still one of my top recommendations as a way to save money and a way to earn more Everyday Rewards Points (or Qantas Points). Here's what you need to know.

What benefits does Everyday Extra offer?

Members of Everyday Extra get 4 main benefits in the current scheme:

• Double the normal Everyday Rewards points earned on every shop at Woolworths or Big W. So instead of earning 1 point per $1 spent, you get 2 points per $1 spent.
• 10% off 1 shop of your choice a month at Woolworths when shopping in store or online. You choose to apply the discount when paying. The discount is capped at $50, which is what you'd get for a $500 shop) Since November 2023, this has appied to both in-store and online orders. (In July 2023, Woolworths made this discount in-store only, but it reversed the decision after a consumer outcry.)
• 10% off 1 shop a month at Big W (same rules as the Woolworths discount).
• Woolworths also promises "subscriber-only free products, exclusive offers and Extra points boosters" for Extra members. In practice, this usually works out as a monthly offer for 1 free product.

To score those benefits, you have to pay $7 a month. If you pay for a year in advance, the cost is $70, which is a 16% discount. You can sign up for a 30-day free trial before paying.

As always, the fine print matters. Only Woolworths and Big W are included. Other stores which participate in Everyday Rewards such as BWS aren't eligible for bonus points.

Also, the double points only apply to base points, not any bonus offers. So if Woolworths is offering a bonus 100 points on a $5 packet of Solanato tomatoes, you'll get 110 Everyday Rewards points in total (2 times 5 as an Extra member, plus 100 as a bonus).

Is Everyday Extra worth it?

For most shoppers, the 10% discount alone makes Everyday Extra a solid proposition, even with the changes. If you spend more than $70 in a single grocery shop, the savings will be more than the $7 you pay each month – and you'll get extra points on top of that.

You'll almost certainly spend that much. Finder research shows the average weekly grocery bill for someone shopping at Woolworths is $193. Getting 10% off that means you've saved $19.30 - so you're $12.30 ahead even after the monthly fee.

You can stack those discounts with other offers. For instance, Woolworths Insurance customers get 10% off 1 shopping bill each month already. If you have both Woolworths Insurance and Everyday Extra, you can take 10% off 2 of your monthly shops, not just 1.

I'd recommend converting your Everyday Rewards points to Qantas Points to maximise their value. But even if you just want to use them for $10 off vouchers, you'll earn those quicker and potentially save more money with Everyday Extra.

To really maximise your savings, you'd also want to do a single big monthly shop and apply the 10% discount to that. That's good budget practice anyway, and you can choose whether to do this in-store or online.

My main quibble since joining? The Extra Perks products frequently aren't available in my local store. So I haven't considered them a real value-add. But that said, the discount on that single shop more than pays the membership fee anyway and I'm earning more Qantas Points too.

Bottom line? If you regularly shop at Woolworths, Everyday Extra will help you save money.

Coles Plus Saver vs Woolworths Everyday Extra vs: Which one is better?

Woolworths' biggest supermarket rival Coles also has a bonus points membership scheme, Coles Plus Saver. It's extremely similar:

• Coles Plus costs $7 a month (there's no annual discount).
• For that, you get double Flybuys points on your shopping.
• You also get 10% off just like Woolworths .

Note that Coles Plus Saver is different to Coles Plus, which charges more and is aimed at folks who want cheap delivery.

There's really nothing to split the schemes. If, like me, you shop at both supermarkets, it's worth being a member of both. You'll easily save more than the monthly fee.

We updated this guide in August 2024 with new statistics and a comparison to Coles Plus Saver.

Pictures: Angus Kidman/Woolworths