Maximise your Avios, air miles and hotel points

How to use Avios for £500 off a new iPhone 14 at Argos

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Today is the day that the new iPhone 14 is available for sale, although you will need to wait until 7th October for the larger iPhone 14 Plus.

As I’m sure many HfP readers will be considering an upgrade, I thought it was worth a reminder of how you can use your Avios to buy items from Argos.

Argos stocks the full range of iPhone 14 smartphones as you can see here and the prices are no different to what you will find elsewhere.

Use Avios for an iPhone

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

You can now, at the cap, convert 62,500 Avios into 100,000 Nectar points and get £500 to spend at Argos.

One snag is that the maximum monthly transfer of Avios to Nectar points is 50,000 Avios. If you do want to make a £500+ purchase at Argos you will need to move 50,000 Avios during September and the rest on 1st October.

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.

How do you transfer Avios into Nectar points?

The conversion rate between Avios and Nectar is:

  • 250 Avios = 400 Nectar points
  • 400 Nectar points = 250 Avios

Here is the key thing: there is no value loss in either direction. You can transfer your points as often as you want and you will still have the same amount you started with.

You can convert Nectar points to Avios via the British Airways website here.

The transfer is INSTANT if you are transferring TO Avios from Nectar but there is a 10-day delay if you are going in the opposite direction as you would be here.

Nectar Avios light

Let’s look at the maths.

400 Nectar points, if spent at Argos or indeed Sainsburys, eBay.co.uk etc would get you £2 off your shopping. As you are giving up 250 Avios, you are getting 0.8p per Avios. (250 Avios are given up in return for 200p and 200/250 = 0.8.)

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 limit is £500 of points per transaction

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

The site confirms that the maximum Nectar spend is 100,000 points (£500) per transaction. You need to redeem in multiples of 500 Nectar points.

PS. If you are looking for a new computer at the moment, you will earn 3,000 bonus Nectar points (1,875 Avios) when you spend £250 or more on laptops or PCs at Argos, online or instore, until 9th October. Full details are here.

How to earn Avios from UK credit cards

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:

Barclaycard Avios Plus card

Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard

Get 25,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £10,000 Read our full review

Barclaycard Avios card

Barclaycard Avios Mastercard

5,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £20,000 Read our full review

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

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

25,000 Avios and the famous annual 2-4-1 voucher Read our full review

British Airways American Express

5,000 Avios for signing up and an Economy 2-4-1 voucher for spending £15,000 Read our full review

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.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express

40,000 bonus points and a huge range of valuable benefits – for a fee Read our full review

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.

Capital on Tap Business Rewards Visa

Huge 30,000 points bonus until 12th May 2024 Read our full review

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.

British Airways Accelerating Business American Express

30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios Read our full review

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.

American Express Business Platinum

40,000 points sign-up bonus and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review

American Express Business Gold

20,000 points sign-up bonus and FREE for a year Read our full review

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

Category

British Airways and Avios, Sainsbury's and Nectar

Comments (160)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • Ls says:
    16 Sep16 September 05:33

    Argos don’t have the higher capacity iPhone pros.

    • The Savage Squirrel says:
      16 Sep16 September 07:04

      “there’s also multiple avenues to obtain discounts on iphones across a wide range of retailers?“

      I’ll bite as I’m in the market for a new 14pro. Contract or sim-only + handset both work for me. Where should I be looking?

      • The Savage Squirrel says:
        16 Sep16 September 07:05

        This was meant to be a reply to BJ below 😂

        • BJ says:
          16 Sep16 September 09:53

          Others already mentioned Morrisons and Monese. Education discounts. Amex offers sometimes come around for Apple. Opening a Very credit account as new customer has sometimes yielded substantial discounts. Rhe places we do not talk about on here.

      • Rhys says:
        16 Sep16 September 09:49

        Cheaper to buy in the US…

        • Manuel says:
          16 Sep16 September 10:03

          But apparently the new iPhone 14 pro’s being sold in the US don’t have a SIM card slot.

          • Rhys says:
            16 Sep16 September 13:55

            They don’t. Most UK carriers support eSIM though so it’s not really a problem…

        • AJA says:
          16 Sep16 September 10:11

          @Rhys it’s only cheaper to buy in the US if you don’t declare the item and pay the taxes and import duties to HMRC when you import the phone on your return to the UK. You’re breaking the law if you don’t declare it.

          Also a special trip to the US to buy a phone is rather expensive and adds quite a bit to the cost of the phone.

          • Rhys says:
            16 Sep16 September 13:54

            Obviously it doesn’t make sense to fly to the US just to buy a phone! I was living there at the time.

          • AJA says:
            16 Sep16 September 16:03

            @ Rhys But on the basis that you were living in the US at the time you could also claim that it is cheaper to buy a phone in Malaysia. Either way you still need to pay import duties and VAT if you permanently import a phone purchased elsewhere into the UK which you should do if you live here permanently. Those additional costs make the retail cost of the phone in the UK more equitable. It only makes sense to potentially buy one elsewhere if you happen to be travelling there anyway or your employer is paying your airfare and the additional costs incurred on importing to the UK still make it viable.

        • CarpalTravel says:
          16 Sep16 September 10:32

          And don’t care about a warranty.

          • Jonathan says:
            16 Sep16 September 11:53

            Apple warranty will cover you wherever in the world you buy one of their products, providing it’s brought from them or one of their approved retailers

            Anyway, anyone who’s looking at buying an iPhone 14 cheaply with the SIM card slot, go to Canada 🇨🇦 ! You don’t also have to target a state without high rates of sales tax charges !

          • Jonathan says:
            16 Sep16 September 12:14

            My bad, I made a mistake, I thought that only the US doesn’t include sales tax in the price that’s shown on the store shelf / website.
            Although Alberta is the lowest places of all in Canada, only charging the federal level of sales tax of 5%

          • CarpalTravel says:
            16 Sep16 September 13:23

            @Jonathan – That is not true. Nowhere is it specifically stated as being so, only with AppleCare. I have read anecdotes about people having had items repaired under warranty, but it likely was as goodwill or under AppleCare.

            “If you seek service in a country that is not the original country of purchase, you will comply with all applicable import and export laws and regulations and be responsible for all custom duties, V.A.T. and other associated taxes and charges. Where international service is available, Apple may repair or replace Apple Products and parts with comparable Apple Product and parts that comply with local standards.”

            May, and likely will, but you cannot and should not bank on it.

            https://www.apple.com/legal/warranty/products/ios-warranty-document-us.html

        • Brian78 says:
          16 Sep16 September 10:37

          Even with the recent plummet in the value of the pound versus the dollar?

          • Rhys says:
            16 Sep16 September 13:53

            Dunno, haven’t checked!

          • Lady London says:
            16 Sep16 September 21:25

            I have found recently the gbp/usd rate is so bad, actually a relatively small discount on the UK price will unfortunately be same price as what you’d actually pay in the US

        • Numpty says:
          16 Sep16 September 12:32

          iPhones in the US are a different version from that’s sold in Europe, UK and certain other countries. To do with cellular bandwidths or frequencies.

          The version sold in Malaysia is same as UKs, and one of the cheapest places to buy.

          • Rhys says:
            16 Sep16 September 13:47

            Not always. I believe the iPhone 13 is the same US and Europe. I do remember I had to get a specific model US iPhone when I lived in the US so that it would be more compatible with Europe, though.

  • BJ says:
    16 Sep16 September 05:41

    Why would anyone do this though when you can get more than 0.8ppa from BA flights, and there’s also multiple avenues to obtain discounts on iphones across a wide range of retailers? Even if you had a huge stash of avios that you didn’t want to burn on BA for whatever reason then it would still make more sense to burn them at Sainsbury’s and then use the money saved on groceries or whatever to avail of those other avenues to purchase the iphone. The likelyhood of a double up or similar promotion returning to Sainsbury’s before Xmas is high. There will likely also be a half price toy sale too which might appeal to some who don’t want to shop groceries.

    • Ls says:
      16 Sep16 September 06:02

      With sky-high co-pays with avios redemptions, poor availability, and the fact many people wouldn’t actually pay the £kkks being asked for a business ticket at the moment (so it isn’t a genuine saving). With the amount I would *actually* pay, I get far less than 0.8p per avios on airline redemptions. I have only made one airline redemption in the last three years. Other than that, it is far better for me to cash out at 0.8p via nectar. Genuine saving.

      • BJ says:
        16 Sep16 September 06:34

        That only answers the first part of my question from your perspective though, not the second. Besides, there is still HUGE value in flight awards, especially if used in conjunction with vouchers. My latest return to East Asia cost me less than £650 total tax and fees for two (not one) passengers. Most people also overlook that they are buying a fully flexible ticket (£35 fee) when booking an award flight and mistakenly compare value to discounted cash tickets. The value is even greater if you want only a one way ticket or the added flexibility of two one ways instead of a return. And after all that, there remains the fact that we are not currently seeing as many cheap premium flights as we once were.

        • Andrew J says:
          16 Sep16 September 06:44

          And for destinations like the USA where a Saturday night is required to make a cash ticket a reasonable price, Avios tickets are not priced any higher without a Saturday night.

        • Brian78 says:
          16 Sep16 September 06:49

          “ Most people also overlook that they are buying a fully flexible ticket (£35 fee)”

          Probably because the flexibility is of no real benefit to them. When people book flights for holidays they tend not to change their plans (travel insurance exists for exceptional situations).

          • BJ says:
            16 Sep16 September 07:03

            Granted, but in the case one doesn’t like the structure of BAECthen more fundamental consideration of the earning and burning of avios is needed, they should not be collected merely for the sake of it. However, Bectar with two way transfers was a game changer and provided to opportunity to divert to shopping and use cash saved on other miles-earning revenue flights as Andrew has frequently advocated.

          • Rob says:
            16 Sep16 September 08:27

            Cause or effect? Apart from our annual ski trip, which is fixed, I would say the majority of our holidays are changed BECAUSE they are on Avios.

            Add an extra day or so, come back from another city, change class of travel, swap flights if a better timed option comes up ….

            Just yesterday I moved my wife’s flight for October half term because something has come up at work and she’d now prefer to join us later.

          • CarpalTravel says:
            16 Sep16 September 10:04

            Ah, the old “something at work” excuse……

            (Just kidding!)

        • Wollhouse says:
          16 Sep16 September 07:31

          BJ, I’m just jealous you found 241 tickets to Asia! … I think you’re Edinburgh area like me? I want to get to Samui and will go via any reasonable connection and whenever I’ve looked, there has been nothing regardless of month searched. anyway, glad you found something. I’m quite small.. perhaps I could fit in your hand luggage 😉

          • Brian78 says:
            16 Sep16 September 09:01

            “ if a better timed option comes up ”

            Once I’ve booked a flight I don’t keep checking for alternative times so I’m not sure how I would even become aware of a better timed flight?

          • BJ says:
            16 Sep16 September 10:01

            I gambled INV-LHR-HND and HKG-LHR-EDI. I’m increasingly confident it will pay off, it’s not until June. Our November trip was originally BA but following 5 changes and cancellations is now EDI-LHR-HEL-BKK and BKK-HEL-EDI. Good luck with yours, hopefully BA will return for winter 23-34.

        • Harry T says:
          16 Sep16 September 08:03

          I think the extra flexibility with redemptions has become more valuable since the demise of Book with Confidence – I was certainly more likely to book flights and holidays for cash when I could voucher them or be rebooked more flexibility. As BJ says, cash prices are also bananas for a lot of routes due to the various factors affecting supply and demand in the travel industry.

          • Brian78 says:
            16 Sep16 September 08:56

            “ Just yesterday I moved my wife’s flight for October half term because something has come up at work and she’d now prefer to join us later.”

            Most people don’t change stuff because something comes up at work though. It’s not relevant if you work in a company that employs hundreds of people, for example, as someone else can pick up things if the company is structured correctly.

          • Rob says:
            16 Sep16 September 11:00

            I secretly think part of it is because she’d prefer a quiet travelling day by herself without me and the kids 🙂

          • BJ says:
            16 Sep16 September 10:04

            I’ve relied on the flexibilty so many time s that I really value it. I’m dreading they change it.

    • Brian78 says:
      16 Sep16 September 06:06

      “ you can get more than 0.8ppa from BA flights”

      Only relevant if you like flying with BA

      • BJ says:
        16 Sep16 September 06:40

        Not a problem in my recent experience … last three booking I booked BA metal and ended up with JAL, Finnair and Qatar 🙂

        • Harry T says:
          16 Sep16 September 07:16

          Likewise, I’m flying QR to Cape Town now after booking BA 😂

        • Brian78 says:
          16 Sep16 September 09:26

          Good point. Is that possible on a 241? (Genuine question rather than a statement disguised as a question)

          • BJ says:
            16 Sep16 September 10:10

            You mean the alternate airlines? No, it’s not, 241 needs to be used on BA metal. But thanks to LadyLobdon, meta, JDB etc we are all well armoured to get the best we can out of BA when they fail us 🙂 i just regret I could not get BA in F as I’d mow be looking forward to JAL F.

    • Track says:
      16 Sep16 September 07:52

      YQ that BA requests became a problem. 600-800.

      In most cases, its better to shop for a non-refundable lowest business class fare — and use the insurance if things don’t go to plan.

      If someone goes to the US for 3-5 days and does not need Saturday night — that’s a definition of a business trip!

    • zapato1060 says:
      16 Sep16 September 08:53

      I would say its relative to your budget and what your using them for. I have 100MR points, I know I could transfer them to get first class/biz tickets cheaply or at a fantastic price but I am going to Puerto Rico where budget hotels are nearly £85-100 pn. So will transfer them to Marriott works much better for us to cover the nights we are there.

    • memesweeper says:
      16 Sep16 September 09:27

      “Why would anyone do this though when you can get more than 0.8ppa from BA flights”

      … because they have more than enough MR/Avios/HSBC points to fully meet all their flying needs, and need another way to use up their stash perhaps?

      It’s not either/or for me, it’s both. Incidentally, I used to hate redeeming for non-sexy things like grocercies and Argos essentials, now I put the equivalent cash amount into my “holiday fund” when selling Avios to Nectar. Even if your flight and hotel are on points, you need some spending money 😀

      • BJ says:
        16 Sep16 September 10:21

        Yes but even so then why argos as opposed to other avenues after fiverting avios and spend to Sainsbury’s? Apart from keeping things simple and easy, I see no compelling reason to go avios-argos-apple.

        Some sad redefinition of “sexy things” going on there 🙂

    • JerrySignfield says:
      16 Sep16 September 11:19

      1. Good Point on discounts
      2. Sainsburys is a good option as replaces spend that would have been made anyway on groceries, the double up promo hasn’t happened properly for a long time, selected people received the offer earlier this year

  • Andrew J says:
    16 Sep16 September 05:58

    I think the headline is misleading to say you’re getting £500 “off” an iPhone 14 – this suggests a discount on the price, but you’re actually spending your Avios on the iPhone, which you could spend on something else. “How to convert your Avios to spend £500 towards iPhone 14 at Argos” would be more accurate. It’s a bit clickbait as it reads now.

  • The Urbanite says:
    16 Sep16 September 06:18

    With respect to spending in store, take your physical Nectar card with you just in case. I don’t know if it was a lack of equipment or training issue but I was unable to use the app to scan to redeem points at Old Street Argos a few months back, they wanted the card itself.

    • 2ilent8cho says:
      16 Sep16 September 08:27

      Surely you would be going via shopping.ba.com and getting the extra Avios of 1 Avios per £1 spent and selecting collect in store than walking in and buying at the till?

  • Billy says:
    16 Sep16 September 06:38

    Not the best deal, instead I used the 20% off for gift vouchers that Monese do from time to time. I Bought £750 Asda gift vouchers for £600 which I then used to buy Intune gift cards. From June this year Intune gift vouchers can be used to purchase hardware. My iPhone 14 pro max arrives today.

    I should have bought the gift vouchers from Sainsbury’s and could have earned extra nectar points.

    • Billy says:
      16 Sep16 September 06:39

      That should be ITunes. Intune is a Microsoft mobile platform management tool.

      • Peter says:
        16 Sep16 September 08:13

        And plenty of people called Intune, iTunes… I work with it and get every combination every other day 😂

        • Billy says:
          16 Sep16 September 09:35

          Same here, I product manage mobile devices for the company I work at so intune is my bread and butter

    • Alan says:
      16 Sep16 September 08:40

      Agree, those recurring 20% off deals are excellent.

      • andiron says:
        16 Sep16 September 17:50

        Shame they last for 5 minutes now, when you get email it’s already too late..

    • Points Hound says:
      16 Sep16 September 09:07

      The Max model isn’t available in the UK until October so you can’t be receiving a 14 Pro Max today.

      • Billy says:
        16 Sep16 September 09:34

        Pre orders went live last Friday and every model was available at the time. They sold out quick but I placed my order within one minute of the Apple site going live.

        It’s out for delivery today confirmed both by the courier and Apple.

      • Chas says:
        16 Sep16 September 09:38

        You will be getting the 14 Pro Max today. It’s just the 14 Max (non-Pro version) that isn’t available for another 3 weeks.

    • Reney says:
      16 Sep16 September 11:22

      I went to Apple in covent garden and brought a lot of £50 gift cards with the Covent Garden spend £50 get £10 back amex offer. 😃 Saving my monese gift cards for petrol as was too slow last month and most were sold out!

  • Terry Butcher says:
    16 Sep16 September 06:44

    So, this doesn’t just apply to the new iPhone? One could transfer Avios to achieve £500 towards anything at Argos? Personally, I would buy my iPhone at John Lewis – and do – to receive the second-year warranty.

    • Brian78 says:
      16 Sep16 September 07:07

      “ One could transfer Avios to achieve £500 towards anything at Argos?”

      Yes

  • vol says:
    16 Sep16 September 07:01

    Re 3000 Nectar pts – article says laptops and PCs, but would buying a tablet qualify for this, or is this a bit of a stretch? 🙃

  • Spurs drive me mad says:
    16 Sep16 September 07:25

    I’ve just transferred 50k avois to nectar it took 14 days from BA to Nectar. Don’t forget to go thru BA portal for extra points. I was pleasantly surprised how easy it was to use my points at Argos.

    • BuildBackBetter says:
      16 Sep16 September 08:11

      And get your points clawed back by BA portal. Make sure you read all T&Cs – they usually find a way to refuse points.

      • jj says:
        16 Sep16 September 08:27

        Your experience doesn’t reflect mine.

        I’ve earned around 30,000 Avios through the store this year and more than 100,000 last year with no issues. I’ve had to chase 2-3 purchases but never had an unfair clawback.

        All of that was normal spend, although sometimes I delay purchases when the earn rate is lower than usual. I’m fortunate that many retailers that I use regularly offer 10 or more points per pound so things mount up quickly.

      • Doug M says:
        16 Sep16 September 08:28

        Disagree. Whilst there are issues to say usually is untrue for me.

      • Spurs drive me mad says:
        16 Sep16 September 08:58

        In over 20 years of points collecting I’ve never had points clawed back. I read T&c on everything so rarely caught out.

      • Points Hound says:
        16 Sep16 September 09:09

        You’re doing something wrong if you usually get your points clawed back.

        Not my experience at all.

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