Sainsbury’s Nectar Card: Benefits, and How to Earn and Spend Points
Benefits of Having a Sainsbury’s Nectar Card
Nectar Prices: An increasing number of products now have discounted prices for Nectar card members, with supermarket chains in general raising prices on items and then offering a “loyalty price” to try to encourage customers to sign-up to their loyalty programmes. Ultimately leveraging these Nectar Prices can offer significant savings on your shopping.
Save Time with Smart Shop: Scan and bag items as you go with Smart Shop enabling you to check-out automatically through the app, without needing to queue or spend time on check-out at the end. Smart Shop is available only in selected stores currently, but is being rolled out quickly, and requires a Nectar card to work.
Collecting Points: With each purchase in Sainsbury’s or with partners, you earn Nectar points. Points can be redeemed for money off future shops, typically at a value of 0.5p per point. Whilst this is a relatively small return (0.5%), it can add up quickly, and given you will likely be doing your shopping anyway, you may as well get something from it.
How to Earn Nectar Points
Shopping at Sainsbury’s: The primary way to earn Nectar points is by shopping at Sainsbury’s. You earn 1 point for every £1 you spend in-store and online. There are also often promotions that offer bonus points on specific products.
Special Offers in Sainsbury’s: Nectar members receive weekly personalised offers based on their shopping habits. These targeted promotions can help you gain extra points on the items you frequently buy. You can find these in the app.
Shopping at Argos: Link your Nectar and Argos accounts to collect 1 point per £1 both instore and online - there are also often Argos offers in the app for additional points.
Buying Fuel with Esso: Collect 1 point per £1 when purchasing fuel and 2 points per £1 on things bought in the Esso shop.
Using the Amex Nectar Credit Card: 2 points per £1 for spend on the card, and 3 points per £1 on spend at Nectar partners when also using the Nectar loyalty card. The card has an annual fee of £30, which can be waived for the first year. Note - this is not the most lucrative credit card for every day spending...
Partner Offers: Collect additional points by shopping through their partners. Bonus offers vary by partner, with some earning you points per pound for shopping online via Nectar (for example earning 4 points per £1 at Disneyland Paris), and others will give you a set amount of points (e.g. earning 20K points for getting the Amex Nectar Credit Card). The offers available change frequently so you will need to explore the app to see the latest.
Competitions: After shopping, you often get a chance to win bonus points by scratching off a “scratch-card” on the app. They also have competitions with their partners that you get entered into for buying specific products. You can see the latest offerings on the app.
Best Ways to Spend Your Nectar Points
Sainsbury’s Nectar points offer more than just savings on your weekly shop. With a range of options to maximise their value. In the past couple of years, Nectar points have become less valuable, as they have weakened certain partnerships (e.g. with Avios), and removed some other major ones entirely such as with Ebay and Marks & Spencers. Nectar points are worth 0.5p per point on most redemptions. These include:
Travel Rewards
Eurostar Tickets: Redeem points to travel by train to European destinations.
Hotels.com: Use your Nectar points towards hotel stays in a range of accommodation options through Hotels.com.
Car Hire with Europcar: Cover part or all of your car hire costs using your Nectar points.
Entertainment and Experiences
Cinema Tickets: Many cinemas, such as Vue and Cineworld, accept Nectar points. Use them for a night out without dipping into your wallet.
Theme Parks and Attractions: Redeem points for entry to theme parks like Thorpe Park, Chessington World of Adventures, and Madame Tussauds.
Experiences: Look for deals on activities such as spa days, driving experiences, or family days out through Nectar’s experience partners.
Eating Out: Use Nectar points to enjoy meals at popular restaurants and pubs, such as PizzaExpress, Bella Italia and Ask Italian
Boost your Points with special offers:
Nectar frequently partners with brands to offer point-boosting deals or high-value redemptions. Keep an eye out for these limited-time promotions:
Avios Conversion: Nectar devalued their partnership with Avios, but still remains one of the top conversions if you want to put your Nectar towards flights with British Airways. Each 400 Nectar points equals 250 Avios. Occasionally, they also offer bonuses when transferring points, increasing the value of your redemptions.
Double Up Events: Sainsbury’s runs occasional “Double Up” events where you can double the value of your points on selected items such as clothing, homewares, and toys.