The Nectar card is one of the most popular loyalty scheme memberships for consumers in the UK. Most people will link it to Sainsbury’s, but there are lots of other retailers allowing customers to earn Nectar points with them. These include Argos and Homebase. You can build up Nectar points and then convert them into vouchers or cash to use towards other purchases. The rate of points earned per pound spent varies from retailer to retailer, but each point generally has a cash value of 0.5p. They are usually only redeemable in blocks of 500 points, or £2.50. Sometimes there are offers boosting the value of your points. You should save your Nectar points and keep checking for these.
How to Boost Nectar Points
If you are planning a purchase that you want to use Nectar points to pay for, it is worth trying to earn more points beforehand. Look out for the aforementioned promotions, when Nectar doubles or even triples points for selected retail partners. There are more than 450 retailers offering Nectar points to customers, but here are the best ones:
- Accessorize, Adidas, American Golf, Apple, ASOS
- Banana Republic, Benefit, Boden, Boohoo, Booking.com, BT
- Canon, Carphone Warehouse, Cath Kidston, Claire’s, Clarks, Currys PC World
- Debenhams, DHL, Dominos, Dreams, Dyson
- eBay, Esso, Evans, Europcar, Expedia
- Firebox, Forever 21, Furniture Village
- GAME, GAP, GHD, GoDaddy, Goldsmiths, Groupon
- Halfords, Hamleys, Harrods, Harvey Nichols, HP, H&M, Holland & Barrett, House of Fraser, H Samuel
- I Want One of Those
- Jacamo, Jack Wills, JD Sports, JD Williams, Jessops, Just Eat
- Karen Millen, Kurt Geiger
- La Redoute, Laura Ashley, LEGO, Littlewoods, LV
- Made, Matalan, Megabus, Microsoft, Miss Selfridge, Missguided, Monki, Monsoon, Mothercare, MyProtein
- National Trust, New Look, Next, Nike, Not on the High Street, Now TV
- O2, Oasis, On the Beach, Oxfam
- Pandora, Papa Johns, Pets at Home, Philips, Plusnet, Pretty Little Thing, Prezzybox, Puma
- Radley, Ralph Lauren, Reebok, River Island
- Sainsbury’s, Samsung, Scholastic, Schuh, Selfridges, Simply Be, Sky, Smyths, Snow + Rock, Sports Direct, Superdry
- TalkTalk, Ted Baker, The Body Shop, The Perfume Shop, The Toy Shop, The Works, Thorntons, Ticketmaster, TK Maxx, TomTom, Topshop, TUI
- UNIQLO, Urban Outfitters
- Very, Virgin Media, Vodafone
- Warehouse, Waterstones, Wayfair, Wickes, Wiggle, Wowcher
- Zaavi
Use your Nectar card and shop through Nectar to earn points on every purchase from any of these brands. Lots of them are places which customers shop at all the time, so points should build up quickly through general spending.
Where to Spend Nectar Points
Though there are hundreds of retail partners where you can collect Nectar points, there are only a few where you can spend them. This is why it is a good idea to keep building your points balance and saving them for something you really want. You can sign up for the Nectar e-mail newsletter or download the app to check for limited-time-only promotions. Or you can keep one of the fixed offers in mind and save the points up to redeem one of the following:
- Sainsbury’s shop – £2.50 for every 500 points
- Vue cinema tickets – £2.50 for every 500 points
- Expedia holidays – £10 for 2,000 points
- Caffe Nero drink – 350 points (worth £1.75) for any drink
- Pizza Express meal – £3.75 for every 500 points
- Argos shop – £2.50 for every 500 points
- eBay order – £2.50 voucher for every 500 points (up to £200)
- Eurostar tickets – £2.50 for every 500 points
- Pizza Hut meal – 1,000 points (£5) for an individual pizza
- Oxfam Unwrapped – 500-5,200 points (£2.50-£26) for a selected type of charity donation
It’s a good idea to redeem points for their cash value at Sainsbury’s, Expedia, and eBay. This is because any excess that you spend will, in turn, be earning more Nectar points for you. However, if you want more of a treat for yourself, then the best value for your points is to get a drink from Caffe Nero or eat at Pizza Express. You’ll get more money for your points in these places than at other retailers. The standard value can still come in handy if you want to go to the cinema or shop online, as it can chip some money off your purchase or maybe even pay for the entire thing.
