How much do you love Marks & Spencer?

This is not just any loyalty card - this is Marks & Spencer's brand new loyalty card. But is it a rip-off in disguise?

High street goliath Marks and Spencer launched the 'M&S Premium Club' this week, designed to reward loyal customers with a mixture of treats and travel insurance.

The scheme will triple the reward points you receive in-store on your M&S credit card (currently one point for every £1 spent), as well as offer you a chance to recharge with a free hot drink once a week in its stores.

However, these perks come at a price, and to benefit from these offers, you'll have to fork out £120 a year. So is it just another 'packaged account' con?

The deal...

For a fee of £10 a month, M&S will give you:

• Triple loyalty points on all M&S spend.
• Free hot drinks at M&S cafes up to a value of £120 a year.
• Various 'special treats', including a gift on your birthday.
• Worldwide family multi-trip travel insurance, up to age 80.

Bolshy blogger Ed Bowsher dismissed the benefits of the M&S Premium Club as a waste of money - although it turns he does have a weakness for M&S scones..!

However, I think the deal isn't all just about coffee and cream cakes, and there's more to the club than meets the eye.

Sweet deal?

I'm not saying packaged deals are good, and on the whole, they are just a basket of unnecessary benefits that on most occasions you can buy cheaper elsewhere.

But M&S aren't trying to sell to the masses here, and are quite clear about who they are targeting. So, if you use the benefits to your advantage, and don't just drink coffee for the sake of it, you could save yourself some cash in the process.

Travel perks

The real gem of this package is the travel insurance. As many of us know, if you're over 65, insuring yourself can quickly become a lot more expensive.

The good news is, the M&S family travel insurance policy covers everyone up to 80 years old, plus all children up to 18 years.

For those of you who like to read the small print, The Premium Club travel policy varies slightly from its Premier and Standard travel equivalents, with cover sitting somewhere between the two.

So how much is this benefit worth? And who benefits from joining?

Sail away...

Take my mum for example. She is a fifty-something lady who likes to travel, but doesn't drink much coffee.

To see how much the travel insurance benefit would be worth to her, I got a separate quote from the M&S standalone insurance service which came to £95.99. With the extra benefits offered on top, you may think the Premium Club offered good value.

But using our travel insurance search engine, I found a slightly more basic family policy, which still includes sufficient emergency, cancellation and personal possessions cover for just £52.13.

In this case, even if you are a habitual coffee drinker, it will take some time before you can make-up the £70 difference you'd have to fork out in monthly premiums, so I don't think paying the fee is worth my mum's while.

However, fast forward twenty years to when my mum is 74, and the cheapest quote I found using the same engine was £169 - well above the £120 you'd pay for the membership fee.

It gets even more expensive when you need for winter sports cover, something which comes as standard with the M&S policy

So, if you're silver-haired and you like to travel (or ski), the Premium Club will give you both peace of mind and value for money. In your case, it's a worthwhile investment.

Points don't always mean prizes

Ed also makes a good point about the amount of extra points you'll actually earn for the money you'll spend.

Us Brits have a thing about loyalty points - similar to those 3 for 2 deals which weirdly trigger a hidden bulk buy gene within us.

It's important not to let this mentality take over, or you could end up spending more than you need to.

To put the points in context, you'd need to spend £4,000 a year, or £333 a month in order to make the cost of the membership fee back in shopping alone - now that's some serious bra buying!

Even if you like to splurge at M&S, you won't be rewarded for your efforts with cashback, but with more vouchers to spend at M&S.

So remember, before you get seduced by that shiny black membership card and travel insurance perks, compare insurance quotes and weigh up if it will be worth it for you.

If you're a dedicated M&S shopper who likes to travel and be treated while in-store, then by all means take the plunge.

But if all these perks don't add up financially, don't throw money down the drain. You'd probably be better off saving that £120, and nipping down to your local Starbucks once in a while instead...

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