Want discounts in thousands of businesses across the UK? For those who work in the NHS, emergency services, armed forces and social care sector, the Blue Light Card offers exclusive savings and deals, including an enviable 10% discount on your grocery shopping at Asda.
Who wouldn’t want to save money on spending they were already making? And that’s the primary benefit of the Blue Light Card. It is widely accepted in over 15,000 locations across the UK. From restaurants to supermarkets, insurance companies and clothing stores, you can use your card in a huge variety of places you likely already shop.
The discounts associated with the card itself aren’t readily available for the public to use and have been exclusively negotiated by the Blue Light Card team for the benefit of its members.
How to apply for a blue light card
To sign up for a blue light card, visit https://www.bluelightcard.co.uk/newaccount.php. Once on that page you will be prompted to create an account to begin the application process. You will need ID or a recent payslip showing your eligibility and the payment of £4.99 to cover the cost of the card.
Asda blue light card
Earlier this year, Asda reinstated their partnership with the Blue Light Card and now members from across the UK can avail of 10% discount in all of Asda’s stores when they present their Blue Light Card at the checkout. A valid ID along with your membership card is required to verify your membership.
Asda Blue Light Card Terms and Conditions – https://www.asda.com/blue-light-card-terms-and-conditions
Eligibility to get the blue light card
To be eligible for the blue light card you need to work or volunteer with an organisation linked below.
- 4×4 Response
- Ambulance Service
- Blood Bikes
- Border Force
- British Army
- Cave Rescue
- Community First Responders
- Fire Service
- Highways England
- Traffic Officer
- HM Armed Forces Veterans
- HM Coastguard
- HM Prison Service
- Immigration Enforcement
- Lowland Search and Rescue
- MoD Fire Service
- MoD Police
- Mountain Rescue
- NHSPolice
- Red Cross
- Reserve Armed Forces
- RNLIRoyal Air Force
- Royal Marines
- Royal Navy
- Search and Rescue
- Social Care Workers
- St Andrews Ambulance
- St John Ambulance
- UK Visas and Immigration
Where can I use my Blue Light Card?
You can use your Blue Light Card on the high street and online at many of the largest retailers in the UK. These include HelloFresh, Asda, Iceland (Online), The Body Shop, New Look, River Island, Jo Malone, Hotels.com, Warehouse, EE, Apple, Superdry, Fat Face, Hotpoint, Halfords Starbucks, Boohoo, Domino’s, Myprotein, Alton Towers, Lovehoney, Charlotte Tillbury, Go Outdoors, Haven, JD Sports, Odeon, Ray Ban, Samsung, Sports Direct and Apple.
There are over 15,000 brand partners offering discounts on many favourite brands. There is an exclusive offer for everyone from coffee to cars, insurance, and sportswear.
Blue Light Card Discounts
Unless you are a member of the Blue light card, you will be unable to see the discounts or where you can save money in advance of signing up. But we’ve put together a list of places where you can use your card. The list is not exhaustive, as there are over 15,000 places to use your card in the UK.
Coffee Shops & Restaurants
- Starbucks
- Turtle Bay
- Toby Carvery
- Bill’s
- Greene King
- Hungry Horse Pubs
- Stonehouse Pizza
- Bella Italia
- Cafe Rouge
- Ask Italian
- Burger King
- Chopstix
- Pret a Manger
- Slug & Lettuce
- TGI Fridays
- Yo! Sushi
- Beefeater
- Las Iguanas
- Carluccio’s
- KFC
- Ember Inns
- Prezzo
- Zizzi’s
- Ember Inns
- Spaghetti House
- PizzaExpress
- Subway
- Chiquitos
- Wagamama
- Leon
Attractions
- Bristol Zoo
- Chester Zoo
- Lost Gardens of Heligan
- Colchester Zoo
- Odeon Cinemas
- Blackpool Zoo
- Fantasy Island
- Bewilderwood
- FollyFarm
- Flamingo Land
- Alton Towers
Retailers
- Urban Outfitters
- Decathlon
- HMV
- Charlotte Tillbury
- Halfords
- White Stuff
- EE
- Superdry
- Fat Face
- Argos
- American Golf
- Apple
- New Look
- Lovehoney
- Go Outdoors
- Sports Direct
- Ray Ban
- Samsung
- The Body Shop
Hotels & Holidays
- Village Hotel
- Hotels.com
- Haven
- Center Parcs
Negatives of the Blue Light Card
It can be incredibly worthwhile to get a Blue Light Card. However, it is not without criticism. Looking at some of the reviews on Trustpilot, it is evident to see that customer service from the card administration team has had a myriad of issues.
These mostly stem from renewal issues and the inability to speak directly to customer service. Secondly, a number of Blue Light Card holders suggest that the card itself is hard to use. Discounts are reportedly small and many of the offers seem to be available to anyone, not just Blue Light Card holders.
With that said though, Blue Light Card membership has 71% or 7,291 5* star reviews and plenty of people across the UK are using the Blue Light Card to save massively in-store and online. If you consider the Asda discount alone, the card would pay for itself after 1 average weekly shop.
Conclusion
If you want to avail of discounts in places you already shop, the Blue Light Card makes perfect sense. Alongside your budgeting plans, this can be a way to drop your monthly spending through the use of discounts. For the 10% Asda discount alone, it makes the decision to apply for the card a no-brainer.
If you are using the card for discounted travel or days out, the card can help keep the costs of this to a minimum, unless of course you’re splashing out on some needed rest and relaxation.
Frequently asked questions
How much does the blue light card cost?
The Blue Light Card is personalised and exclusively for use by members. It isn’t free as the card itself costs £4.99 and this allows you full access to all discounts and offers for 24 months.
Who can get the Blue Light Card?
The Blue Light Card is exclusively for NHS, emergency services, armed forces and social care sector workers. You must provide your identification and your latest payslip to become a member.
Can care assistants get a blue light card?
Care assistants are now eligible to get a blue light card. You will need to provide your ID and your last payslip as proof of employment. Or if an unpaid carer, relevant
Do NHS staff get a free blue light card?
All staff employed by the NHS are eligible for a FREE Blue Light Card.
Can foster carers get a blue light card?
From January 2022 foster carers are now eligible for a Blue Light Card.
What is the blue light card telephone number?
There is no contact telephone number to contact the Blue Light Card directly. To get in touch with them, you can email contact@bluelightcard.co.uk, or you can send them a ticket through your account when logged in.
Do any supermarkets accept the blue light card?
At the time of writing, the only supermarkets to accept Blue Light Cards are Asda and Iceland. Asda offer a flat 10% off all groceries, where Iceland shoppers can save up to £6 online.
Morrisons did have a discount period for members in 2022, but this was a time-restricted offer over Christmas.
Tesco, Aldi, Lidl and Sainsbury’s do not accept Blue Light Cards at this time.
Does Amazon offer a Blue Light Card discount?
Amazon do not currently offer a discount for holders of the Blue Light Card.
Is the Blue Light Card and NHS Discounts the same thing?
No, the Blue Light Card and NHS discounts are supplied by different companies. NHS Discounts is the official partner to 400+ NHS organisations. They offer similar levels of discount and both are free for NHS staff.
