Consumers are sitting on £5.2 billion worth of unused loyalty card points, according to a study commissioned by the Subway chain which today launched its Subcard Loyalty Scheme.

The survey revealed that one in five people sign up for loyalty cards without having any idea of what they can be used for, and the average Brit has been collecting points for up to five years, with three quarters of people believing that loyalty cards are a good way of saving money – and 61 per cent stating that this is why they signed up for loyalty cards in the first place.

Surveying 3,000 people, the poll highlighted that the typical adult has at least three loyalty cards, but a third don’t use them because they forget to carry them around and a quarter can’t be bothered to work out what the points mean.

Subway have launched The Subcard Loyalty Scheme which will allow customers to collect loyalty points via almost any mobile phone handset and then track their balance online transaction history, offering ease of use. Customers will also be able to keep track of their balance and online. For iPhone users an App is available with the added benefit of a GPS function that will find your nearest Subway store.

Alex Cacouris, head of marketing for the Subway chain says: “This research shows that many Brits are not taking full advantage of their loyalty cards and don’t understand what their points entitle them to. The research has allowed us to further develop the Subcard Loyalty Scheme, which we hope will provide an efficient, easy to use point redemption scheme that allows customers to collect their loyalty points completely hassle free and then track their balance online.”

“No-one leaves their house without their mobile phone, and we hope that this new system will allow our customers to fully benefit from our high redemption reward scheme.”