The best ways to collect and spend your Nectar points

Are you looking for ways to make the most of your Nectar points?

The ultimate answer to how you spend your Nectar points will be specific to you and where you like to shop.

Maybe you’ll get best use out of them by spending them on a Sainsbury’s shop, or you may want to buy a must-have movie through Sky to enjoy at home as a family.

It’s always best to check the latest offers – along with your points balance – to see what would make the most sense for you.

Many people used to save their Nectar points up for the big Sainsbury’s Double Up event which used to take place towards the end of the year, around November.

This doubled the value of points and gave people huge savings on things like clothing, wine, food and gifts.

However now that Double Up has been axed in favour of My Nectar Prices you may be wondering what’s the best thing to spend your Nectar points on.

This article is going to explore the various ways you can spend your Nectar points. Remember to always log in on your app or the Nectar website to look for the very latest deals!

What are Nectar points?

Nectar is a loyalty scheme where customers can collect and spend points with various retail and business partners such as Sainsbury’s, Argos, eBay, Esso and Habitat.

Scan your card – or the barcode on your Nectar app – at the checkout for participating stores and you’ll collect points every time you shop. You can also connect your Nectar account to online accounts with brands such as eBay.

If you shop at any of the retail partners then it is well worth having a Nectar card to collect the points.

The Nectar card can also unlock additional offers, such as My Nectar Prices at Sainsbury’s. Under this scheme you get regular offers for money off products that you regularly purchase.

How much are Nectar points worth?

You will generally receive 1 Nectar point for every £1 spent. Every Nectar point is worth 0.5p.

The value of Nectar points, and how many you can collect, is sometimes slightly more if you come across a deal.

It’s always worth keeping your eye on offers in the Nectar app or on the Nectar website to see ways you can boost your points total or get more in return.

You may also be given vouchers when shopping in Sainsbury’s that occasionally allow you to double your points value, so keep hold of them and remember to use them.

eBay currently has an offer on my Nectar account giving an extra 250 points when I link my Nectar account to my eBay account and spend £10 or more.

You can get up to 30 points per £1 you spend if you sign up to Nectar Connect. This asks you to link your bank account or credit card to your Nectar account, so data can be collected on your spending. It won’t be for everyone – especially if you are wary of your privacy – but it’s worth having a full read of the terms and conditions in your account to see if it will benefit you.

You can find offers in the “Explore Partner Offers” section of Nectar.

Value of Nectar points

1 Nectar point = 0.5p

2 Nectar points = 1p

100 Nectar points = 50p

200 Nectar points = £1

500 Nectar points = £2.50

1,000 Nectar points = £5

2,500 Nectar points = £12.50

5,000 Nectar points = £25

Check the value of your Nectar points with my Nectar points calculator here.

Best ways to collect Nectar points

The key to collecting Nectar points is to know which retailers participate in the scheme and be sure to swipe your card at every opportunity.

There are several big retail names signed up to the Nectar including:

Sainsbury’s
Habitat
eBay
Esso
Dulux Decorator Centre
British Airways
Caffe Nero
Sky
Brakes
ao.com
Just Eat
Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday

Sometimes brands will run a bonus offer where you can collect additional points for spending with them – you can browse these by logging into your Nectar account online.

For example Sky is currently (February 2022) offering 10,000 Nectar points when you sign up to a Sky TV and Broadband deal.

eBay has recently run a promotion where it quadruples the value of your Nectar points collected on spends worth over £10.

Always keep an eye out for the latest offers when you’re in the market to buy something new to be sure that you’re taking advantage of your Nectar membership.

Collecting Nectar points with My Mail

If you read the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday then you can and should be collecting points.

Every paper has a unique number which you can input into the MyMail rewards website to collect Nectar points. You will receive 5 Nectar points whenever you enter a unique number from the Mail. The Mail claims it is “the most generous place to collect Nectar points”.

You can collect up to 70 Nectar points weekly with the paper, so it’s worth collecting those points if you already read the paper. If you become a subscriber then you can double your Nectar points.

Getting started is easy – simply set up an account on MyMail and link it to your Nectar account by inputting your card number and Nectar password.

There are more details about the My Mail scheme here.

Where to collect Nectar points online

There are more than 500 online partners where you can collect Nectar points.

The scheme has a Nectar Toolbar which you can download to your browser and remind you when you are shopping on a site that allows your to collect points.

There’s a summary of Nectar partners where you can collect points here.

How do I redeem Nectar points?

How you redeem your Nectar points depends on where you want to spend them.

The two main ways are to physically hand over your card (or show the barcode on your app) when paying at a Nectar partner retail checkout or to connect your Nectar account to your shopping accounts with partnered brands. When online shopping you will normally need to redeem your points for vouchers to use them for money off your shopping with partnered brands.

Retail outlets such as Sainsbury’s and Argos give you the option to spend in store or online.

For other offers, such as movie purchases or rentals with Sky or Dulux, you need to sign in to your Nectar account online and get a voucher – purchased with your points – so you can redeem the deal with Sky. You don’t have to have Sky TV to do this.

To redeem your Nectar points on hotels you will need to go through the scheme’s own Nectar Hotels booking website, which you can access via your Nectar account online.

The best ways to spend your Nectar points

You can spend your Nectar points at participating retailers in store and online.

There’s range of things you could spend your Nectar points on, but for me personally the best way to use Nectar points is on stuff I actually need to buy.

The key to making the most out of reward schemes like these ones is to use them to pay towards existing expenses, rather than creating new ones. That way you’re actually making a saving.

Because the places where you can actually spend your Nectar points is limited to the partners signed up to the scheme you don’t have tons of options, however the retail partners are quite varied with shops like Habitat, Argos, eBay and Sainsbury’s.

So, for example, if your kids need a new pair of school shoes then check out the Tu Clothing range at Sainsbury’s or eBay to find something suitable. If you need to paint a room then use your points to purchase paint from a Dulux Decorator Centre.

Your options for boosting the value of the points is pretty limited – although options come up occasionally so keep an eye out for those.

But generally the retailers that allow you to spend your points all offer the same value – 200 Nectar points are worth £1.

Here are a few ways you can spend your Nectar points.

Just to add that Nectar also offers you the opportunity to donate your points to charity, such as Comic Relief.

Sainsbury’s

When Sainsbury’s ran its popular Double Up offer once a year this used to be the best way to spend your Nectar points.

However it axed the scheme in 2021 and there’s no sign of its return as of yet.

I still like to spend my points in Sainsbury’s, as its the Nectar retail partner where I shop the most. Spending Nectar points there is easy. At checkout all you need to do is swipe your card and ask for the points to be used towards the cost of your shopping.

You can also spend on your online shopping with Sainsbury’s.

Argos

You will need a minimum of 500 Nectar points – worth £2.50 – to spend then at Argos.

Using them towards purchases in store is easy, as you just hand your Nectar card over at the till and ask to use points towards your bill.

When spending online with Argos you will need to link your Nectar account details and card number to your Argos account. Then you will have an option to “Spend your Nectar points” when checking out.

eBay

You can redeem your points at eBay in multiples of 500 points once you have linked your eBay account with your Nectar account. Every 500 points are worth £2.50 in vouchers.

You’re limited to purchases of £10 or more when using Nectar vouchers to spend online here.

However eBay is a great option for spending your points because of the sheer volume of product selection the online marketplace has.

Esso

Drivers can use 300 Nectar points to get 5p off every litre of fuel at Esso garages.

Dulux Decorator Centre

You will need a minimum of 4,000 points to redeem them for a voucher to spend at a Dulux Decorator Centre. You will also need to call Nectar’s customer services number AND wait up to 21 days to get your hands on the voucher, so it’s not as convenient as other spending options.

However 4,000 Nectar points are worth £20 so it could be a nice saving on a pot of paint.

Nectar Hotels

Your can spend as well as collect Nectar points through Nectar’s own Nectar Hotels booking website.

The value of Nectar points is the same – 2,000 points are worth £10 – when using points to pay for your hotel room. If you want to collect Nectar points by booking via Nectar Hotels you will receive between 1,000 and 2,000 point per night.

Head For Points has reviewed Nectar Hotels and concludes you can probably find better deals on hotels elsewhere.

Caffe Nero

If you are a regular visitor to Caffe Nero then you could use 350 points to get any sized hot drink.

As 350 points are worth £1.75 you can certainly get more for your money compared to other Nectar retailers here, if you pick the right drink!

Choose an Espresso and you’ll be losing value on your points, however most other things on the menu are worth more than £1.75.

Final thoughts on spending and collecting Nectar points

Nectar doesn’t have a great reputation since Sainsbury’s ditched its popular Nectar Double Up event.

However if you shop regularly at Sainsbury’s and other participating retailers its still worth swiping your card to collect points every time you shop.

There are rare opportunities to boost your value of points which are worth keeping an eye on.

For example eBay had a promotion during one week in February 2022 where you could quadruple your points every time you spend £10 or more.

In order to make the most of your Nectar points be sure to connect your card to your relevant online accounts – such as eBay and Argos – and to show your card at participating retailers like Esso so you can collect as many points as possible.

I personally like to save my points up until Christmas – even though Double Up no longer takes place – and use them towards the Christmas food shopping.

However you spend them be sure to browse the offers on the Nectar website to select the best deal for you!

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