Savings and soft serve: The Ikea Family program makes my shopping trips even more fun

I live nearly two hours away from the closest Ikea store, but my family happily makes the pilgrimage several times each year — and not just because we can catch a Cincinnati Reds game or stop at our favorite Belgian waffle restaurant to make a day trip out of it.It's because, as a member of the Ikea Family program, I earn rewards every time I shop that I can redeem in-store or online for shopping and delivery discounts, free meals, snacks and more. But I don't even have to spend any money to earn points. With Ikea Family, I earn points for logging in to my account, creating wish lists and other pre-shopping-trip activities I'd be doing anyway.Here's how Ikea Family makes my shopping trips fun and rewarding.How I earn — and save — with Ikea FamilyIkea Family is Ikea's free membership rewards program. The program's biggest draw is that members can earn rewards that can be redeemed toward everything from free in-store meals and treats to discounts on purchases, order delivery and furniture assembly.Earning points with Ikea Rewards is simple, and there are a few ways to earn points without setting foot in an Ikea store or spending a single penny. Here's the full breakdownActivityPoints earnedSpend $1Earn 1 pointCreate an Ikea Family profile50 pointsLog in to your Ikea Family account25 pointsCreate and save a product wish list25 pointsUse Ikea's Kitchen Planner tool25 pointsRegister and attend a planning appointment50 pointsRegister and attend an Ikea Family event50 pointsThere are limitations, of course (and some specific terms and conditions). For some of these, such as logging in or creating a wish list, you can earn points only once per week. But there is no limit to how many points you can earn for shopping at Ikea.In addition to the points-earning potential, Ikea Family members get everyday savings on a rotating selection of items, free in-store and virtual workshops and events, a free coffee or tea at every visit, extended 90-day price protection, discounted large item delivery and the ability to participate in Ikea's furniture buyback program.We love Ikea. TARAH CHIEFFI/THE POINTS GUYI already love shopping at Ikea with my family. It feels more like an experience than a chore, and the Ikea Family program makes it even better. Ikea overhauled the Ikea Family program in 2025. Once I read up on the program and realized I could earn points for all the Ikea-related things I was already doing, I saw no reason not to join.The program is free to sign up for, and there is no confusing tier system; you just shop, earn and watch the rewards add up.Reward your inbox with the TPG Daily newsletterJoin over 700,000 readers for breaking news, in-depth guides and exclusive deals from TPG’s expertsBy signing up, you will receive newsletters and promotional content and agree to our Terms of Use and acknowledge the data practices in our Privacy Policy. You may unsubscribe at any time.How valuable are Ikea Family rewards points?A point is somewhat meaningless until you assign a value to it. Luckily, Ikea Family makes that calculation easy. As an example, you earn one point for every $1 spent (not counting the other tasks you can complete to earn points). It takes 175 points to take $5 off a purchase, making each point worth 2.86 cents.Ikea goodies. TARAH CHIEFFI/THE POINTS GUYMost Ikea Family redemptions match that rate, with only slight deviations. Funnily enough, you can get a slightly better rate of return (2.92 cents) when you use your points to cover the cost of a $1.75 soft serve (in a cup or a cone, no less), while redeeming points toward a free restaurant entree (up to $12.99) is valued slightly lower at 2.6 cents per point.Here's a full breakdown of the redemption options and their value:RedemptionPoints neededValue per pointFrozen treat602.92 cents$5 off restaurant, bistro or packaged food1752.86 cents$5 off product purchase1752.86 cents$10 off delivery service3502.86 cents$10 off product purchase3502.86 centsRestaurant entree for one (up tp $12.99)5002.6 cents for $12.99 purchase$20 off delivery service7002.86 cents$20 off product purcahse7002.86 centsRestaurant entree for two (up to $25.99)9002.88 cents for $25.99 purcase$50 off delivery service17502.86 cents$50 off assembly service via Taskrabbit17502.86 cents$50 off product purchase17502.86 centsBut, with the redemption rates being nearly identical, you really can't go wrong. If you were going to shop at Ikea anyway, why not have a little fun and redeem your points for a free plate of their famous Swedish meatballs and a coffee during your visit?Related: The best credit cards for online shoppingTPG pegs most airline, hotel and credit card program points at less than 2 cents per point (with a few exceptions), so Ikea Family points are actually pretty valuable without needing to do any legwork to find a "good" redemption; something you can spend a lot of time searching for when booking award travel.Ikea. TARAH CHIEFFI/THE POINTS GUYI've been a member of Ikea Family for years, but I didn't even realize I was earning points for making wish lists or logging in to my account, something I do often leading up to a visit. By the time we drove to Ikea for our last shopping trip, I had enough points to take $5 off my purchase without even trying.Not to overshare on my shopping habits, but I earned enough points during that trip to take $20 off my next purchase.After doing a deep dive into the Ikea Family program, it's pretty clear there are no drawbacks to joining, whether you shop at Ikea occasionally or all the time:Ikea Family is free to joinIkea Family has no tier system; every member enjoys the same benefitsYou can earn points without spending any moneyIkea Family points have a solid redemption rateThere are no drawbacks to the Ikea Family, per se, but there are a few things to keep in mind. Ikea Family points do expire after 18 months, but if you shop at Ikea at least once per year, you shouldn't have any issue using them.If you're a points maximizer, you can earn points through Ikea Family and get cash back through online shopping portals like Rakuten and Capital One Shopping. To do so, you would need to shop online rather than in-store, however.Alternatively, you can occasionally find offers for Ikea in Amex Offers or similar programs that let you earn a percentage of your purchase back as a statement credit. These are usually good for online or in-store purchases and also stack with your Ikea Family earnings.Who is Ikea Family best for?As an Ikea fan, I'm apt to say Ikea Family is best for everybody. If you don't visit Ikea at least once per year, you may not benefit much from the program. But if you love the Ikea shopping experience as much as I do and want an easy way to earn and redeem rewards, you've got nothing to lose and everything to gain by becoming an Ikea Family member.Bottom lineI would shop at Ikea whether they had a rewards program or not. I love the aesthetic, the prices are great and visiting the store always inspires me to get creative with my home decor. The fact that I can earn points on top of getting affordable furniture is just the Swedish flag on top of my meatball.