Want to work out the cash value of your Nectar card points?
Although the scheme isn’t quite as generous as it used to be it’s still well worth having a Nectar card and remembering to link your account with the various brand partners.
Although every point isn’t worth much on its own, it does soon add up.
We shop at Sainsbury’s every week and I tend to save up our Nectar points to put towards a big Christmas grocery shop at the end of the year. It always makes that huge shop feel a little less painful when we are trying to save cash on our grocery bill!
Of course this isn’t the only option for your Nectar card points. There are many different ways to spend your Nectar card points that may give you much better rewards than spending them in store at Sainsbury’s.
Nectar points value
The best starting point for figuring out your Nectar points cash worth is knowing how much just one Nectar point is worth.
As a guide 1 Nectar point is worth 0.5p.
To get £1 worth of Nectar points you would need to collect 200 Nectar points.
How much are Nectar points worth?
So what does this mean when you have a ton of Nectar points? This gives you a rough guide of how your growing tally of Nectar points gives you more and more money to spend.
- 100 Nectar points are worth 50p
- 500 Nectar points are worth £2.50
- 1000 Nectar points are worth £5
- 5000 Nectar points are worth £25
- 10,000 Nectar points are worth £50
- 1 million Nectar points are worth £5,000
So that you can calculate the exact value of your Nectar points my handy calculator will help you.
Simply put in the number of points you have accrued on your card and this will tell you exactly what they’re worth.
Nectar Points calculator
This is our Nectar Points calculator. It’s super easy to use, so check out how much your points are worth!
What is the Nectar card scheme?
Nectar is the largest loyalty scheme in the UK. It is made up of a number of partner companies include Sainsbury’s, eBay and Esso.
There are more than 400 online retailers and 14 companies that are partnered with the Nectar scheme.
After signing up to a loyalty card you can collect points on purchases you make through the retail partners in the scheme.
These points can then be converted to cash that you spend in store on your shopping at Sainsbury’s or Argos.
You can also convert your points to evouchers to spend on a huge range of deals from partner retailers such as Argos, Caffe Nero, and Caffe Nero.
Points do not expire, so it’s possible to save your points long-term for a big purchase, such as train tickets and holidays.
You can see how Nectar stacks up against its biggest rival Tesco Clubcard in this Clubcard vs Nectar article.
How many Nectar card points can you collect in Sainsbury’s
You will receive one Nectar point for every £1 qualifying spend in store. So it’s important you remember it every time you go shopping – something I have struggled with in the past. I now have a keyring fob for my Nectar card so it’s always with me.
You won’t get Nectar points on things like cash back, stamps, baby milk products, car parking and mobile phone cards. There’s a full exempt list at the Sainsbury’s website.
Don’t forget to keep an eye out for Sainsbury’s bonus points vouchers too. They sometimes give you a voucher that will let you earn double points on your next shop. This is usually when you spend over a certain amount in store.
What are Nectar Prices?
If you scan your Nectar card at the checkout then you will benefit from Nectar Prices discounts on a range of items around the store.
There will be tickets showing which items are discounted. So in order to get Nectar prices in store simply:
- Look out for Nectar Price items around the store. They will be labelled.
- Scan your Nectar card or app at the checkout.
- Your receipt will show what you saved!
It’s a good reason to never forget your Nectar card! If you sometimes struggle then download the Nectar app to your phone and add your card to that so you can always have the card available.
What are SmartShop My Nectar Prices?
You can benefit from specific offers tailored to you and your typically shop by using SmartShop – either one of the handheld self-scanners or with the SmartShop app on your phone.
I tend to use the app on my phone – it’s so easy! Just scan the QR code as you enter the store and the My Nectar Prices are applied as you shop.
You can check what your latest Nectar Prices deals are in the app on in your account on a computer.
Some examples of my SmartShop prices right now include:
- Large bag of Cadbury Buttons for £1.80 instead of £2.25
- Surcare Laundry Detergent for £5.10 instead of £6
- Sainsbury’s Tenderstem Broccoli for £2.13 instead of £2.30
Although I think Nectar overall is less generous than it used to be, I do really rate the My Nectar Prices as there are genuine deals in there.
I don’t benefit from them every single week – as I don’t always buy the stuff they have placed into an offer. But the deals are genuine and a good saving, unlike some other loyalty card discounts.
Where else can you collect Nectar points?
There are more than 300 partners where you can get Nectar points by shopping with them.
Big names include Argos, Dulux, Asos, Sky, ebay, Just Eat, Lakeland, Dunelm, Clarks, Domino’s Pizza, and Expedia.
Because the Nectar scheme has so many partners it can be difficult to keep track of which ones to use your Nectar card with.
This is made easier for online spending with the Nectar notifier extension which automatically links up your account to relevant partners. You will need to download it and install it to your browser.
The number of points you get when shopping with different brands may vary. Here’s a summary of some of the biggest names showing how much you can get when shopping with them.
Esso petrol stations
When you fill up at Esso you will receive 1 point per litre of fuel and 2 points for every £1 spent in-store or when you get your car washed.
It’s worth keeping an eye out for special deals too, as they sometimes offer bonus points if you fill up over a set time period.
eBay
Like at Sainsbury’s you can earn 1 point for every £1 you spend. You will need to make sure you link your eBay online account with your Nectar card. But once you’ve done this, every time you buy through eBay you will be collecting points!
Daily Mail
If you already buy the Daily Mail regularly (of course it’s not everyone’s cup of tea) then you should definitely be using the opportunity to increase your Nectar points tally.
When you buy a paper copy of the Mail or the Mail on Sunday you can earn Nectar points. If you buy a copy daily then you can collect up to 50 Nectar points in one week! This is about 25p worth of Nectar points so if you buy it anyway, then definitely start collecting your points.
The paper prints a unique number on the back page of every copy of the Mail. You need to enter this number into your MyMail account to release your points. You will need to link your MyMail and Nectar accounts for this to work. There are more details on the My Mail website.
ASOS
At ASOS you can collect two points per £1 spent. There have been offers that have cropped up from ASOS in the past where you can get six points per £1 spent. It’s always worth checking your app or the Nectar website for these deals.
BUT, remember this. If you shop at ASOS through Top Cashback you get up to 11.6 per cent of your purchase back. This works out as a much more attractive offer than Nectar points.
Domino’s Pizza
In my humble opinion they make the absolute best takeaway pizza!
You receive 1 point per £1 spent, but keep an eye out for offers! Sometimes you will get 9 additional points per £1 spent, for example as a Black Friday offer. To qualify for the points you need to make your Domino’s purchase via the website eShops. More details on the Domino’s terms and conditions over at the Nectar site.
Expedia
You can collect up to 2 points per £1 when you book a holiday with Expedia.
To qualify you need to access the Expedia website via the Nectar website.
Collecting Nectar points with Sainsbury’s Bank credit card
I am not a big fan of credit cards. But sometimes you may get a nice bonus for signing up.
In terms of value this one isn’t amazing compared to others, so if you may be tempted to overspend on this credit card I suggest giving it a swerve.
Sainsbury’s Bank will give you 10,000 points when you take out one of their Nectar Credit Cards and spend £400 or more in Sainsbury’s or Argos within two months of opening the card.
10,000 points sounds a lot but it’s only worth £50 if spent in-store.
Nectar double up
Once a year Sainsbury’s used to offer a Nectar double-up event. This offer has happened annually for several years now and allows you to double your points to spend in Sainsbury’s on certain goods such as clothing, homeware and electricals.
Sainsbury’s cancelled this offer in 2021 and has not hosted it since.Sainsbury’s says use of the promotion has dropped, and it is replacing the promotion with My Nectar Prices.
Read more about Sainsbury’s Double Up plus dates for the next event.
Where to spend your Nectar points
There are 14 companies where you can spend your Nectar points. So there’s way fewer opportunities to spend the points compared to where you can collect them.
But there are some good opportunities for saving money here, although most partners offer the same cash value for your points as in Sainsbury’s.
When you spend your points in Sainsbury’s (apart from when using the Double Up promotion) you can simply present your card and the cashier will swipe it then take the cash value off your bill.
With other partners you will need to go to the Nectar website to swap your points for evouchers. Always double check how to do this before making your purchase, as getting retrospective money off doesn’t work.
These partners are:
- Brakes
- Caffe Nero
- Daily Mail
- DFDS
- eBay
- Esso
- Eurostar
- Expedia
- First Group
- ICI Dulux Decorator Centres
- Viking-Direct
- VUE Cinemas
Most of these partners offer a similar deal to Sainsbury’s in terms of value for your points. Here’s a summary of some of the ways you could spent your points:
- The VUE Cinema scheme is currently suspended. Hopefully it will come back soon, and if it does the deal tends to be 500 points for £2.50 off your cinema ticket.
- Some deals are a little tricky such as the Dulux one. You will need a minimum of 4,000 Nectar points to get one credit voucher. The 4,000 points are worth £20 when spent in Dulux.
- It’s a similar story with Eurostar. They require you to have a minimum of 2,000 points in order to get a credit voucher. Under this scheme 500 points is worth £2.50.
How to register for the Nectar card scheme
Signing up for a Nectar card is very easy. You can do it online at the Nectar website or you can pick up a card in a Sainsbury’s store or Esso petrol station.
You will need to give a few basic details such as your name, date of birth, address and your email address.
Your card will arrive in the post. You can download the app to keep track of your points, but you cannot use your phone as a Nectar card in all Nectar partner stores due to technical limitations.
I recommend getting a key fob Nectar card so that you are never without it.
Final thoughts on the Nectar card scheme
If you don’t already have a Nectar card, then definitely get one.
It’s absolutely worth having if you shop at any of the brand partners that are a part of the scheme. And chances are you do at least once a year!
Even if Sainsbury’s isn’t your main supermarket of choice then I still recommend having a Nectar card as there are so many other opportunities for collecting points and where to spend them.
