End of an era for Woolworths
Woolworths has alerted its customers that their WRewards and MySchool cards will stop working at the end of June, which has implications for Discovery Vitality members as well.
From 30 June 2026, the Woolworths WRewards and MySchool cards will stop working and Vitality will no longer receive the data needed to reward customers.
The end of the cards marks the end of Woolworths’ original 15-year-old rewards programme, which has now been replaced with the new MyDifference loyalty programme.
The MyDifference programme launched a year ago, in June 2025.
The WRewards programme officially launched in 2010, but has seen several updates over the last 15 years, including a ‘relaunch’ in 2015.
The MySchool and WReward loyalty cards worked in tandem, allocating a percentage of customers’ spending to their chosen causes and granting access to specials.
With the MyDifference programme, these benefits remain in play, but customers now get access to instant rewards and vouchers, similar to other major retailer schemes like Pick n Pay’s SmartShopper and Shoprite’s Xtra Savings.
The new programme works through a physical and virtual rewards card.
Physical cards can be signed up for and collected in-store, while the virtual card is accessed through the Woolworths app.
However, Woolworths stressed that to access all MyDifference benefits, customers must download the Woolies App and successfully register for the programme.
Members using only a physical card without linking it to the Woolies app will only receive instant savings on selected items when shopping in-store, on the Woolies app, or online.
These customers won’t access personalised or exclusive app-only rewards, so using the app is recommended.
Woolworths said that, once customers have completed the sign-up process, they will see that they are linked and will continue earning HealthyFood Vitality rewards.
The card can be scanned at any Woolworths, Country Road, Trenery, Witchery, selected WCafés, NOW NOW, or other partner stores in South Africa.
How the new programme works
Reward levels are determined by how much a member spends at Woolworths and its various store brands.
The reward level is calculated based solely on swiping or scanning a linked MyDifference card when shopping.
The levels carry thresholds of R0, R12,000 and R36,000 a year, with the latter being “VIP” level.
Woolworths noted that the annual spend is calculated from the first to the last day of each calendar year and is based on swiping or scanning the MyDifference card.
Upgrades to higher reward levels happen automatically once a customer hits the required spend. Conversely, downgrades only occur once a year.
This is how customers can qualify for each level and the benefits they can expect:
Loyal <R12,000 a year
To get to the Loyal reward level, customers need to spend up to R12,000 per year. Customers can also give back to their linked cause(s) every time they use their MyDifference card, at no cost to them.
Other benefits include:
- Instant savings;
- Access to the best promos;
- Earn at least 4 vouchers per year; and
- Unlock select Play & Win games.
Ambassador R12,000 to R35,999 a year
To get to the Ambassador reward level, you need to spend from R12,000 to R35,999 per year.
Benefits include:
- Access to all Loyal benefits;
- Earning at least 16 vouchers per year;
- Unlocking all Play & Win games, and
- Get access to shopping goals to earn more rewards.
VIP >R36,000 a year
To get to the VIP reward level, customers need to spend more than R36,000 per year.
VIP benefits include:
- Access to all Loyal and Ambassador benefits;
- Earning at least 24 vouchers per year;
- Early access to online promos;
- Access to Play & Win bonus games;
- Request extra goals once you have achieved your allocated goals; and
- Exclusive invitations to events and more.
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