If you regularly shop at Sainsbury’s, eBay, and Expedia, and buy petrol at Esso and Sainsbury’s, you should have a Nectar card. Why? Because you get rewarded points for shopping with them.

But how does it work? What are Nectar points worth, and where can you spend them? How do you join? Read on to discover The Nectar Card – what you need to know. 

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Table of contents

How Does the Nectar card Work?

Available as a physical or digital card, the Nectar card is a loyalty scheme where you earn points and use those points to save money on purchases.

Owned by parent company Sainsbury’s, you can collect points at the outlets mentioned above, as well as Argos, VUE Cinemas, and more. These points can then be redeemed on your Sainsbury’s shopping, eBay or Argos purchases, or with other Nectar partners. 

There are over 350 partners with whom you can collect bonus points when shopping through Nectar online. These offers are easy to find if you have the Nectar App or you can just register your card and you’ll get regular emails with offers.

The offers presented to you are tailored for you based on your spending habits. For example, you might be offered 40 extra points when you buy bananas. Or you could be offered up to 8,000 points when you purchase a Sainsbury’s Bank Product. A partner offer might provide 2 points for every £1 spent, plus 15% off your next booking.com staycation.

As your points add up, you can redeem them to spend on shopping via the partners detailed below. 

Where Can I Spend Nectar Points?

You can redeem your points to spend at Sainsbury’s online and in-store, eBay, and Argos online and in-store.

A minimum of 500 points gives you a £2.50 voucher, which you can spend in store. It’s worth saving them up though as there’s plenty of ways to get much more value for your £2.50

Sainsburys do a ‘double up’ event a couple of times a year where you take your vouchers to store and exchange them for new vouchers worth yep – double.

And have a look at the Other partner offers . See if you can use them to save where you normally spend. You choices include LNER Advance train tickets, Eurostar, Caffe Nero, Vue Cinema, and Sky Store. (Details correct August 2021).

How Much Are Nectar Points Worth?

The amount of points you can collect varies depending on where you shop. You get 1 point for every £1 qualifying spend at Sainsbury’s, and 1 point for every litre of Sainsbury’s fuel. With some retailers through Nectar online, you can collect 2, 3, or 4 points for every pound you spend. 

But what is one of those points worth? Well, 1 point is the monetary equivalent of £0.005, or half a penny. So, 2 points is worth 1p, 100 points is worth 50p, and 500 points is worth £2.50. So an £80 shop at Sainsbury’s will get you 80 points, which works out as 40p. 

But that’s not really the way to look at it. If you use the Nectar card when you can, with purchases you’re making anyway, then the points will add up, and when you have a decent amount then it’s free money.

Are Nectar Points Worth It?

A £500 per month grocery spend at Sainsbury’s will get you 500 points, or £2.50. Add a £100 monthly fuel spend and you’ve got £3.00 to redeem off the cost of a week’s food shop or an Argos/eBay purchase. While it doesn’t sound a lot, the points can add up without you even noticing. 

If you’re a regular online shopper, you could make bigger savings just by clicking through Nectar online to your chosen retailer. Examples include Boohoo.com, Lastminute.com, Blacks, Millets, Groupon, Wowcher, American Express, Carphone Warehouse, Plusnet, BT, o2, Vodafone. Just Eat, Domino’s Pizza, Laithwaites Wine… The list goes on. 

Keep collecting and saving your points and you could pay for a night out at the cinema. Or use your vouchers towards the cost of train tickets. Alternatively, you could save your points all year to put towards a Eurostar escape. 

Is it worth having? Well, loyal Sainsbury’s customers should certainly be utilising the rewards. Without shopping at Sainsbury’s, you can still collect points through other partners. You can even download the Nectar notifier browser extension, where you can collect points just for searching online!

Ultimately, it’s worth having one. Even if you only remember to use it when getting Esso petrol, or connect your eBay account. Eventually, those points will add up. The points don’t expire, so you can use them whenever you like. There’s nothing to lose, so get swiping.

How do we use our Nectar points?

We do our main shopping at Tesco and have a Sainsburys local and a Co-op within walking distance so top up shops, bread, milk etc are done at either Sainburys or The Co-op. Over 6 months I amassed £30 worth of Nectar points – It’s not just the basic shopping. Each week new targeted extra points offers are available on my app – pretty much what I buy week in week out. You have to go into the app and add the ones you want, if I have extra points for milk and rolls, I’ll buy those items in Sainsburys, the rest in the Co-op.

When you have shopped in Sainsburys and used your Nectar card, often a notification will pop up on the Nectar App – thanks for shopping, rub here for extra points. Sometimes its 5 points, sometimes 25. They all add up.

I was just letting the points accrue as I had no need to spend them until…….

Nectar is now an Avios Partner

Yes, it used to be Tesco Clubcard that had the partnership but Nectar is now an Avios partner. WooHoo. For us this is brilliant. You know we love our Air Miles. You can now exchange your Nectar points for Avios. Which is what we will be doing with ours. There’s a welcome bonus on this too until 14th February.

Get 2 x at Sainsburys until 19th April plus 500 bonus Avios when you convert 1600 Nectar Points to Avios on your first transaction by 14th February.

You link your Nectar and Avios accounts (this is easy to do on on either App) and you can transfer Nectar points to Avios. And Avios to Nectar if you like. The transfer is instant.

The transfer rate without the bonuses is fixed at 400 Nectar points = 250 Avios

So the bonus transfer means you’ll get 1500 Avios for 1600 points . 1600 points is about £8 off your shopping. For us 1500 Avios is worth more than £8. Have a read of what Air Miles can be worth.

What would you spend your Nectar points on?

How do I Join the Nectar Loyalty Scheme?

It’s pretty simple, really. You can join online, in-store at Sainsbury’s, or through the Nectar app. If you join online, your Nectar card gets posted out to you within 14 days. Fill out the form in-store, and you can start collecting points immediately. Alternatively, the Nectar app gives you all the instructions you need to get started.

Here are some frequently asked questions about the Sainsburys Nectar card.

Do add your questions in the comments and I’ll add them to this list to help other readers.

How do I maximise Nectar points?

Here is a great article from The Financial Wilderness on How to maximise nectar points.

How do I change my Nectar card details?

Log into your Sainsburys online account at sainsburys.co.uk/shop/MyAccount.
Click Personal details or Click Addresses.
From here you can update your details.

Can I transfer Nectar points to another card?

Generally no, unless the card holder has died or divorced and sufficient evidence is provided

Do Nectar points expire?

Nectar points do not have an expiry date.

I forgot to swipe my card and collect points, can I add them later?

You have 14 days to get the points added, take the receipt and card to Customer services in Sainsburys

What if I’ve lost my Nectar card?


You need to contact Nectar to report your Nectar card as lost or stolen and they will issue you with a new card. They will automatically update your Nectar Connect details with the new Nectar card so your bank link(s) will remain in place.

How do I contact Sainsburys Nectar Card?


You can do this by calling the Nectar helpline on 0344 811 0 811 or visiting nectar.com.

How can I check my Nectar points?

Easiest way to do this is via the app. Make sure you download the app as it also has your Nectar card stored, plus you get bonus points when you shop.

What do you need to know about Loyalty cards?

Loyalty cards are designed by stores for their benefit first and foremost. Learn how to play the loyalty card game to make sure you get as much benefit as you can in an article posted here soon.

Have a read of all our store Loyalty Card reviews and let us know which you use and which benefits you enjoy most.

And find out about Sainsburys SmartShop

With Sainsburys SmartShop you get special prices (bit like Tescos clubcard prices) and other great benefits. Have a read of this great article from David at Money for Monday with all the all the info you need on Sainsburys Smart Prices.

Have a look round our website, there are plenty of articles you will enjoy

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