Reward cards can be rewarding, but it’s not always easy to understand how your hard earned points translate into cold hard cash. In our former Q&A sectionMarco asked the question “How much are my Nectar points worth?” to help we’ve created a tool to allow you to quickly and easily work out the true value of your Nectar points. How much are yours worth?
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How much is a Nectar point worth?
1 Nectar point is worth 0.5p. And if you’re wondering how many Nectar points for £1, it’s easy. There’s 200 Nectar points to a £1.
We’ve listed out some of the most common Nectar point values below.
1 Nectar point = 0.5p
2 Nectar points = 1p
100 Nectar points = 50p
200 Nectar points = £1
500 Nectar points = £2.50
1,000 Nectar points = £5
2,500 Nectar points = £12.50
5,000 Nectar points = £25
Unfortunately Nectar points aren’t always dished out in nice even numbers. That’s where our calculator below comes in.
What is Nectar?
Nectar is a popular reward card used by stores such as Sainsburys, Argos, Homebase, and even ebay. Every time you make a purchase at one of these stores, your Nectar card is swiped and points are added to your account. These points can be converted into cash, vouchers, or even used for purchases. Nectar has a reputation for being one of the lowest paying reward cards (see our article on the best reward cards to carry), but while Amazon and Debenhams have both pulled out of the program, we think it’s still worthwhile for those who regularly shop at Sainsbury’s, or fill up with fuel at BP.
How do I get a nectar card?
You can apply for a Nectar card online at Nectar.comor pick one up in selected participating stores. If you do the latter, you can begin using it straight away, then register it with Nectar once you get home.
Nectar points value calculator
There are 200 Nectar points to £1, not including bonuses or special offers. If you use Nectar regularly it’s not uncommon to have thousands or tens of thousands of points. Rather than doing the maths yourself, just enter the number of points you have, and our Nectar points calculator will return the cash value.
Tip: OurNectar points calculator displays the value of your points in pounds, but Nectar regularly runs offers that when redeemed can boost the value of your points.
Where can I collect Nectar points?
There are several large retailers signed to the Nectar rewards program, so be sure to scan your card wherever you see the Nectar sign. Outside of the Sainsburys group, i.e. Sainsburys’ supermarkets, Argos, and Homebase, we’ve listed some of the less obvious places you can collect Nectar points.
Esso Petrol Stations
If you regularly visit Esso petrol stations then collecting Nectar points is a no-brainer. You’ll get one point per litre on fuel and 2 point for every £1 spent in store.
Be sure to check fuel prices locally though to ensure you get the best possible deal. If there is more than 0.5p (one nectar point) difference between the best available price and your local Esso, then you’ll save more by filling up elsewhere.
eBay
Frequent eBay shoppers can collect Nectar points on auctions and ‘buy it now’ items. You’ll earn one point for every pound spent. You need to link your Nectar account to eBay to collect the points, but you only have to do that once. Then it’s fire and forget. Points collection is limited to a maximum of 300 per item.
You can also spend your Nectar points on eBay, but you need to convert them into eBay vouchers first. This is done by hovering over the ‘My eBay’ menu option then clicking the ‘Collect and Spend’ Nectar option at the bottom. You can covert points in increments of 500. Once converted you have 12 months to spend the eBay voucher before it expires.
ASOS
Proof that thrifty is fashionable. ASOS is amongst one of the most generous retailers when it comes to collecting Nectar points. Customers earn 6 points per pound when shopping online, including on sale items. However, this can often be beaten by collecting cashback instead which can be up as much as 10% off.
See below for more information on getting cashback when you shop online.
Just Eat
Love a takeaway on a Friday night? You can now collect Nectar points when ordering viaJust Eat. To earn these point though you have to click through to Just Eat from your account on the Nectar website or App, so not quite as convenient as just firing up the Just App and ordering your favourite dish.
Where can I Spend Nectar points
Nectar points can be spent in many of the same stores and retailers where they are collected.
Popular stores include Sainsbury’s, Argos, Vue cinemas and Cafe Nero. If you’re feeling altruistic, you can even donate Nectar points to charities.
Below are some of the top ways to spend your Nectar points.
Nectar double events
Nectar and its partners used to run annual ‘double up‘ events. Often held in spring or autumn, these events were popular as they allowed Nectar card holders to effectively double the value of their Nectar points. For example 2,000 Nectar points would normally be worth £10, but during a double up event, you could swap these 2,000 points for a £20 voucher and thus doubling the value of your Nectar points.
Unfortunately, Sainsbury’s cancelled the Nectar double up event in 2021, claiming that fewer users had been making use of it. Instead it trialed a promotion called ‘My Nectar Prices‘ that offers tailored priced based on your individual spending habits.
Many customers have been critical of the new offer as it is limited to specific items at Sainsbury’s whereas double up vouchers could be spent on a wider range of items and stores. It is unclear if double up events will return in the future particular in 2022, however if they do, November would be a perfect time to hold one.
Nectar prices – (discounts plus points)
Nectar prices is a new initiative by Sainsbury’s to turn the Nectar card into more of a rewards cards like Tesco’s club card. If you regularly shop at Sainsbury’s using your Nectar card, you’ll be offered discounts on items based on your spending habits. Here’s an example of the type of discounts available.
The average discount is 25%, and it is a true discount, meaning you won’t find the products have been cheaper before. Unfortunately, you only get around 4-5 discounted offers a week. The good news though is that you still earn Nectar point even on the discounted items.
Get Cashback instead
As mentioned earlier, Nectar is one of the lowest paying reward cards out there. A better way to earn cash from your spending is to use a cashback site. Cashback websites pay you when you spend a retailers via their links.
It doesn’t cost you anything extra and doesn’t affect your purchase or relationship with the retailer in any way at all. The cashback is effectively a bribe by the retailer to the cashback website to encourage you to visit them. The cashback website then pays some or all of this money to you.
The two best cashback websites are Quicdo which is currently offering a £10 bonus if you sign up through the links on this site, and Top Cashback(also offering a £10 bonus). Your bonus will be added to your account once you’ve earned at least £5 cashback. That could be as quickly as a single purchase.
See our guide to cashback websites
Free £10 with Top Cashback
We've got a deal for you. Join Top Cashback today using our link and you'll get £10 free.
The £10 is payable once you earn £10 worth of cashback. Easily done with a single purchase.
Top Cashback1
Use a cashback debit or credit card to increase value
In some cases when using cashback sites above, retails might not add Nectar points in addition to the cashback. Yet if you use a specialist cashback debit or credit, you can earn as well as collect, thus increasing your overall value.
We previously published our long term review of the Chase UK bank account, this is a digital bank account with full FSCS protection, that offers 1% cashback on spending. Due to the ease and speed at which the account can be opened, it’s our go to card for cashback.
For larger purchases (over £100) a cashback credit card such as the Amex Platinum Everyday card could be the one to opt for. In additional to 5% cashback for the first three months, you’ll also benefit from Section 75 protection, so if there is a problem with your purchase and the issue can’t be remedied by the retailer, you can claim via the credit card provider.
There are also two Nectar points cards to consider. The Amex Nectar and the Sainsbury’s Bank Nectar Mastercard. The Amex Nectar card offers a 20,000 Nectar points bonus (worth £100) on a £2,000 spend within the first three months. While the Sainsbury’s card offers 8,000 Nectar points (worth £40) on a £400 spend in the first 2 months.
Swap your Nectar points for Avios (air miles)
The Nectar – Avios partnership means you can swap your Nectar point for Avios points which can then be spent on flights (with British Airways and partners), hotels, and car hire. Due to the limited number of places Nectar points can be spent, this can be a great way to make use of points that would otherwise be sitting doing nothing.
You’ll need a British Airways Executive Club account to collect Avios points, but once you have that you will be able to convert either Nectar to Avios or Avios to Nectar. Here is the Nectar link to connect your two accounts together and begin converting points
The conversion rate is 400 Nectar points to 250 Avios, or 250 Avios to 400 Nectar points.
There are minimum and maximum limits on the number of points you can covert. The lower limit is 250 Nectar points, and the maximum is 40,000. You must convert the points in multiples of 250, 500, 750, 1,000 etc..
We know that one Nectar points is worth 0.5p, that makes one Avios point worth 0.8p when when do the reverse conversion. That means that:
- 1,000 Avios points are worth £8 in Nectar points
- 5,000 Avios points are worth £40 in Nectar points
- 10,000 Avios points are worth £80 in Nectar points
You need around 4,000 Avios to get a free short haul flight from London to Paris, where you’ll still have to pay £17.50 in taxes. In Nectar that works out around 6,400 points or £32.
UPADTE November 2022: British Airways will be devaluing Avios points as of 16 November 2022. While 400 Nectar points will still buy 250 Avios points, conversion in the opposite direction will now require 300 Avios points to 400 Nectar points. That effectively lowers the value of Avios points from 0.8p to 0.67p per point, or 16.25%.
MyMail and Nectar
If you’re a Daily Mail reader and signed up to itsMyMail rewards programme, you could earn up to 80 Nectar points a week with the newspaper. We’ve separate this out into its own article so we could better detail the process, and assess whether or not it’s worth it.
See our breakdown on the Daily Mail Rewards programme, and MyMail Nectar Points.
