How can you earn Nectar points? (Part 2 – financial)

How do Nectar points work?

It is now two years since the Avios and Nectar partnership was announced. I thought it was worth updating our introductory pieces on the Nectar loyalty scheme for those who are not familiar with it.

There are two articles on how to earn Nectar points. This one looks at credit card and other financial partners. The first part, click here, looks at how to earn Nectar points from traditional in-store shopping partners.

What is a Nectar point worth?

Here is a reminder of what a Nectar point is worth, because you need to know this to put the ‘earn and burn’ sections in context.

A Nectar point is worth 0.5p, in virtually all cases.

Since Avios transfer to Nectar at a rate of 1 to 1.33, Avios points now have a floor value of (0.5p x 1.33) 0.66p.

Where can I earn Nectar points from finance partners?

American Express – the dedicated Nectar card

American Express issues its own Nectar American Express credit card.

Here are the headline details:

• Get 20,000 Nectar points when you spend £2,000 within 90 days
• Earn 2 Nectar points (1.25 Avios) per £1 of qualifying spend
• No fee in Year 1, £25 annual fee thereafter

The representative APR from year 2 is 37.8% variable.  The representative APR on purchases, and in the first year, is 31.0% variable.

For the first year, with no annual fee and 2 Nectar points (1.25 Avios) earned per £1 spent, this is not a bad product. It becomes harder to justify the £25 fee from Year 2.

You will not receive the sign-up bonus if you have had any other personal American Express cards in the last 24 months. This is a shame as the 20,000 Nectar points bonus transfers into 12,500 Avios.

You can apply for the Amex Nectar card here.

American Express – via Membership Rewards points transfers

You can transfer American Express Membership Rewards points into Nectar points at the rate of 1 to 1.

American Express cards which issue Membership Rewards points include:

• Preferred Rewards Gold, reviewed here
• The Platinum Card, reviewed here
• American Express Rewards, reviewed here
• Business Gold, reviewed here
• Business Platinum, reviewed here

But you shouldn’t do this, because ….

With the launch of the Avios partnership, it no longer makes sense to transfer Membership Rewards points to Nectar at 1 to 1.

Instead, you should transfer your Membership Rewards points to Avios at 1:1 and then on to Nectar at 1:1.33. You receive 33% more Nectar points.

You will effectively get 0.66p of Nectar points for every 1 Membership Rewards point via this route.

There is one occasion when you may want to transfer directly to Nectar. Amex transfers to Avios must be done as a minimum of 1,000 Membership Rewards points and then in blocks of 500. Transfers directly to Nectar can be done for any amount.

If you are closing a Membership Rewards account, transferring your last few points to Nectar is the best way of getting your points down to zero.

Sainsbury’s Bank – credit cards

Sainsbury’s Bank issues its own range of credit cards. These are Mastercard products and are useful where American Express is not accepted.

There is a range of cards, each with different features – low balance transfer fees, 0% interest on purchases etc.

The cards are all free. The earning rate from ongoing spend is VERY weak, however, at 1 Nectar point per £5 spent. I don’t recommend using these cards for daily spend.

Spending at Sainsbury’s and Argos earns at a higher rate of 1 Nectar point per £2. The credit card website implies you receive 3 points per £2 but this includes the standard 1 point per £1 you receive in Sainsbury’s irrespective of how you pay.

The best offer, from a points perspective, is the Nectar Credit Card. It offers a sign-up bonus of 8,000 Nectar points if you spend £400 at Sainsbury’s, Argos or Tu Clothing within two months of acceptance. You may occasionally see a higher offer off 10,000 points in the Nectar app. Picking up this card would get you (8,000 Nectar points x 0.625) 5,000 Avios.

Sainsbury’s Bank – insurance

Sainsbury’s Bank offers regular sign-up offers of bonus points on selected insurance products.

There are also ongoing benefits depending on product. This includes double base points on all your Sainsbury’s shopping.

These offers may be personal to you, in which case you will only see them promoted via the Nectar app or may be available to all via the website.

Sainsbury’s Bank – loans

Similarly, Sainsbury’s Bank offers regular bonus points offers if you take out a personal loan.

These offers may be personal to you, in which case you will only see them promoted via the Nectar app or may be available to all via the website.

Conclusion

As you can see, there are numerous opportunities to earn Nectar points – and therefore Avios – via financial partnerships.

If you haven’t already seen it, click here to read Part 1 which looks at how to earn Nectar points from traditional in-store shopping partners.

We will keep you informed of the best new Nectar offers via Head for Points.

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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.