Asda is to launch a new credit card next week offering spenders supermarket rewards - as Tesco kicks off its own major loyalty offensive.

The new Asda Money Credit Card will offer personalised rewards on shopping at Asda stores.

Although not a full-blown loyalty scheme to rival Clubcard and Nectar, the card would be the first store credit card geared towards encouraging loyalty, claimed Asda. “It’s been in development for a while,” an Asda spokeswoman said. “It will be different to what the other supermarkets are offering, like Sainsbury’s, Tesco and M&S, which push their cards quite heavily.”

The card would tie in “with how the customer shops and what Asda thinks the customer will want”, she said. As well as competing on APR, the card would also “offer specific rewards for how Asda shoppers shop,” she added.

The introduction of the card comes just days after Tesco revealed it would launch a huge offensive on Clubcard with personalised coupons and the return of Clubcard double points for customers using a new Share & Earn Facebook app.

Tesco CFO Laurie Mcllwee told The Grocer at the retailer’s agm last week a coupon drive would target customers with personalised offers based on previous spending data. The scheme would dwarf a previous trial of personalised offers on Clubcard, which reached seven million customers earlier this year, he added.

“None of our rivals can match the scale of Clubcard,” he said. “There’s only really Sainsbury’s with the Nectar card. Asda and Morrisons have nothing.”

Meanwhile, Facebook fans will be able to earn double Clubcard points by using the site to like, share and buy products with Tesco Direct as part of a new four-week trial.

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