Why Caffe Nero remains a better Nectar redemption than Avios

Caffe Nero is, perhaps oddly, the best value Nectar redemption partner.

400 Nectar points will get you a voucher (in the form of a QR code, saved in the Nectar app, to be scanned in-store) for ANY hot or iced drink, of any size.

With most drinks now costing over £3.50, at least in London, you are certain to get more than the usual 0.5p per Nectar point.

A regular Americano costs £3.60 in Central London. Using 400 Nectar points instead (which is the equivalent of 250 Avios) means you’d need to value Avios at more than 1.44p before it made more sense to transfer them there.

(There’s no point ordering a regular drink, of course, because the voucher is good for any size. Make it a large one, even if you’d usually have a regular coffee when using cash!)

Go for anything more exciting than a regular Americano – for example a £5+ frappe, or a £5.45 tiramisu latte – and you’d need to value an Avios at 2p+ before it made more sense to convert.

Should you convert Avios into Nectar points?

This is only a great deal if you already have the Nectar points from shopping and are considering the trade-off between Avios and free coffee.

It is a worse deal if you don’t already have Nectar points and intend to convert some from Avios. The Avios transfer rate INTO Nectar is now 400 Avios = 400 Nectar points, so a 400 Nectar point drink will require you to transfer 400 Avios in. You are still getting 0.9p per Avios based on a £3.60 drink which isn’t very exciting.

Admittedly, if you’re addicted to £5+ frappes, it may make sense! You’d be getting at least 1.25p per Avios.

Should you convert American Express points into Nectar points?

Not really.

You can turn 1 American Express Membership Rewards point into 1 Avios (or many other airline currencies) or 1 Nectar point. If you are only getting 0.9p by converting 400 points to Nectar and redeeming for a £3.60, you are probably losing out compared to taking airline miles.

Of course, this is still FAR better value than using your Membership Rewards points for statement credit (0.45p per point) or shopping vouchers (0.5p per point).

It also makes sense if your preferred Caffe Nero drink is one of the pricier £5+ ones.

How do you redeem Nectar points for Caffe Nero drinks?

The deal is a bit fiddly to find in the Nectar app. You need to scroll down the home page to the bottom until you get to ‘Explore partner offers’. Type ‘Nero’ into the search box and the deal will pop up.

You can order drinks vouchers via your phone as long as you have access to your email, as 2FA is in place. Click on the ‘Saved’ tab in the app menu and it will take you to your voucher bar codes for scanning in the store.

You can learn more about this deal on the Caffe Nero page of the Nectar website here.

PS. Don’t forget that Marriott Bonvoy will become a Nectar partner very soon. We don’t know what the exchange rate will be, but you may want to hold off getting free coffee until you know how good the deal is.