How To Work Out Nectar Points Value?

When deciding what loyalty scheme to join or credit card to get it’s important to know the value of the loyalty ‘currency’ you get as ‘cashback’ to see if collecting them makes sense for you. Whilst that sounds easy enough…the problem is your valuation could vary depending on numerous different factors. I’m going to cover some of the factors that might influence your Nectar Points value below to help you decide…

Why is it important to know your own Nectar Points Value?

It’s important because you want to get the most value or cash back from your spending. It’s silly collecting 0.5p per £1 on something if you could collect 1p per £1 on something else… as long as the 1p you get back is something you get value from!

Remember by collecting Nectar Points you are missing out on cashback or points from other cards you could use. So there is an ‘opportunity cost’ for your point collecting. To view some of the top cashback credit cards check out Money Saving Expert’s guide here – https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/credit-cards/best-credit-card-rewards/

Working out your Nectar points value will allow you to compare to other cards on the market. For example, if you end up valuing a Nectar Point at 0.5p (it’s nearly always what they are worth), this is what your ‘cashback’ maybe on some popular cards…

Please note…

This is my experience using the points system and is not a recommendation of any financial product. There are other credit cards which can earn you travel points including IHG credit card, Tesco Credit Cards (by exchanging Clubcard points for avios, hotel stays and more) & Virgin Atlantic credit card. If you use my link for a referral to an American Express card upon you being accepted I will receive points, this varies between 9,000 – 18,000 depending on the card I refer you from

Get a referral for bonus points on American Express cards here – https://pointsuncovered.com/amex-referral-link-uk/

American Express Nectar Credit Card (FREE first year, £25 annual fee afterwards)

On the American Express Nectar Credit Card, you are getting 1% ‘back’ (2 Nectar Points per £1) on general spend. The card has a sign-up bonus of 20,000 Nectar Points (You’ll need to spend £2000 within 3 months to get it.)

Want to know what you can do with 20,000 Nectar Points? Check out our article here – https://pointsuncovered.com/american-express/what-can-i-do-with-20000-nectar-points/

Sainsbury’s Nectar Credit Card (no annual fee)

On the Sainsbury’s Nectar Credit Card, you are getting 0.2% ‘back’ (1 Nectar Point per £5) on general spend. The card has a sign-up bonus of 10,000 Nectar Points (You’ll need to spend £400 at Sainsbury’s, Tu Clothing or Argos within 2 months to get it.)

Want to know what you can do with 10,000 Nectar Points? Check out our article here – https://pointsuncovered.com/nectar/what-can-i-do-with-10000-nectar-points/

Gold Amex Gold (FREE first year, £140 annual fee afterwards)

On the Gold Amex Card, you are getting 0.5% ‘back’ (1 Membership reward point per £1) on general spend. Membership reward points transfer 1:1 into Nectar.

Nectar Points Value

Your Nectar Points Value is nearly always 0.5p per point. Why? Because 500 points will get you £2.50 off at Sainsbury’s, Argos, eBay & Vue to name a few partners. You can view all the partners you can spend with and what your points will be worth on Nectar’s website here – https://www.nectar.com/card/spend

The main instance where your Nectar Points Value may change from 0.5p a point is when redeeming your points for British Airways Avios. When converted to Avios, 2 Nectar points are worth 1.25 Avios. If you value Avios at 1p a point it means you are getting 0.625p per Nectar point. Want to work out what an Avios is worth to you? Check out our article here – https://pointsuncovered.com/avios/how-to-work-out-avios-point-value/

This means on the American Express Nectar Credit Card you are getting 1.25% (1.25 Avios per £1) back on your spend when redeeming for Avios. That’s higher than the Free BA Amex which earns 1 Avios per £1 and just below the BA Premium Amex which earns 1.5 Avios per £1

If you are interested in redeeming your Nectar Points for Avios take a look at our article on How to work out Avios Point Value?

Other things to note

Sign-up bonuses

If you are new to Amex/Sainsburys Bank you may be eligible for a sign-up bonus. (check here to read about the eligibility rules for Amex cards.) This can massively boost your earnings in your first year with the card. I’ve included a few examples below so you can see how lucrative they can be!

The American Express Nectar Credit Card comes with a 20,000 Nectar Points welcome bonus if you spend £2000 in 3 months. To earn that normally on the card you’d need to spend £10,000 on general spend.

What can I do with 20000 Nectar Points?

The Sainsburys Nectar Card comes with a 10,000 Nectar Points welcome bonus if you spend £400 at Sainsbury’s, Tu Clothing or Argos within 2 months to get it. To put that into context you’d need to spend £50,000 on general spend to get that many Nectar points!

What can I do with 10000 Nectar Points?

The Gold Amex Card comes with a 10,000 membership reward points (equal to 10,000 Nectar Points) welcome bonus. You would need to spend £10,000 to earn those points on general spend!

What can I do with 10000 Nectar Points?

Annual fees

Some American Express cards have annual fees. Whether or not these represent good value to you is down to your personal preference/spending. The ones that have annual fees tend to have higher sign-up bonuses, increased earn-rates and other benefits. It’s worth noting that Amex annual fees are pro-rata refunded on cancellation. That means if you kept the American Express Nectar Credit Card (annual fee £25 after the first year) for 3 months after your free year you’d receive a refund of £12.50 which means your total outlay would be £12.50.

Different earn rates

Different cards earn different rates on different things! For example, the Sainsbury’s Nectar Credit Card earns 2 points per £1 at Sainsbury’s, Argos and Tu Clothing.

Earning with your Nectar loyalty card (not credit card)

If you frequently shop at a Nectar partner remember to take into consideration you will earn points on your spend through your Nectar loyalty card too, typically 1 point per £1 but often more, particularly if you take advantage of the bonus offers.

Sainsbury’s ‘Double Up’ promotions

If you redeem during one of Sainsbury’s double up promotions you will get 1p per Nectar point rather than 0.5p. Unfortunately, it is only limited categories and there is a cap of 10,000 Nectar points (£100) per account but you may find it useful when redeeming. You can view the categories that were included previously here – https://www.sainsburys.co.uk/shop/gb/groceries/get-ideas/values/our-brand-features/what-you-can-buy-with-your-double-up-vouchers

Conclusion

As you can see Nectar points generally have a value of 0.5p unless you redeem for Avios or use in one of Sainsbury’s double up promotions run during the year. Do you collect Nectar points? If so, what do you redeem yours for?