You can now spend £500 of Nectar points (62,500 Avios) at Argos and Habitat

Back in March, we wrote about an increase in the number of Avios / Nectar points that you could spend in one go at Argos and Habitat.

It seemed that Nectar had jumped the gun, however. Whilst it was promoting a new £500 cap, the Argos website still said £200. It turned out that the company had not fully completed the task of updating all its tills and the website.

It now seems to be working. Both Argos and Nectar are saying that you can spend 100,000 Nectar points (£500) in one transaction at Argos or Habitat, instead of £200.

For HfP readers with large Avios balances, could be very attractive.

You can now convert 62,500 Avios into 100,000 Nectar points and spend them on a £500+ item at Argos or Habitat.

This is potentially a good way to, for example, pick up a new iPhone 12 mini – see here at argos.co.uk for £624.

Remember that the maximum monthly transfer of Avios to Nectar points is 50,000 Avios. If you do want to make a major purchase at Argos you will need to move 50,000 Avios by Monday, in May, and the rest on 1st June.

Avios to Nectar transfers are currently only possible by telephone whilst ‘two factor authentication’ is added to the website. You are told to wait 10 days for the transfer to be processed – many are quicker but some readers are also reporting them taking longer.

Argos will be better value for some people than Sainsbury’s

Whilst a Nectar point is worth the same 0.5p at Sainsbury’s, Argos or Habitat – or indeed eBay, Eurostar or various other partners – some readers felt that you weren’t getting ‘true’ value at Sainsbury’s.

True or false, some people see Sainsbury’s as overpriced or poor value for money compared to Waitrose at the higher end or Aldi / Lidl at the lower end.

You can’t say that about Argos which is well known for its competitive pricing, and of course convenience.

Can I use Nectar points for online shopping at Argos?

Yes.

You need to go to this page of the Argos website and link your Nectar card to your Argos account.

You will then be offered the opportunity to pay with Nectar points during checkout. You can top up your purchase with a credit card as usual, although you cannot pay the balance with an Argos gift card.

As we found out when buying a new monitor for my wife’s home office last year, Argos has a very efficient ‘click and collect’ service. Many items are available for next day collection from your local Sainsbury’s store, including Sainsbury’s Local.

Can I use Nectar points for in-store shopping at Argos?

Yes. You can swipe your Nectar card, or scan your Nectar app, at the till and pay any remaining balance separately.

The Argos website now reflects the £500 limit

This page of the Argos website explains how the Nectar deal works. It is also where you need to go to link your accounts.

It now shows that the maximum Nectar spend is 100,000 points (£500) per transaction. If you look on the Nectar website here it also says, in multiple places, that the cap is now 100,000 points (£500) per transaction.

The Argos home page is here if you want to have a look around for ideas.

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How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (April 2024)

As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Avios points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses!

In February 2022, Barclaycard launched two exciting new Barclaycard Avios Mastercard cards with a bonus of up to 25,000 Avios. You can apply here.

You qualify for the bonus on these cards even if you have a British Airways American Express card:

There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:

You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points. These points convert at 1:1 into Avios.

Run your own business?

We recommend Capital on Tap for limited companies. You earn 1 Avios per £1 which is impressive for a Visa card, along with a sign-up bonus worth 10,500 Avios.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 12th May 2024, the Capital on Tap Business Rewards Visa card is offering a bonus of 30,000 points, convertible into 30,000 Avios. You must have a Limited Company to apply. Click here to learn more and click here to apply.

You should also consider the British Airways Accelerating Business credit card. This is open to sole traders as well as limited companies and has a 30,000 Avios sign-up bonus.

There are also generous bonuses on the two American Express Business cards, with the points converting at 1:1 into Avios. These cards are open to sole traders as well as limited companies.

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.