This week sees a fantastic new partnership between Nectar Points and Avios. You can now switch Nectar points to Avios or vice versa, Avios points can be converted into Nectar points. I really love the flexibility of this offer and freedom it gives you to convert your loyalty points into so much more!
It feels like a game changer in the world of loyalty schemes and reward points and is doing something very different to the many loyalty schemes that already exist. It really is exciting news for Nectar and Avios point collectors.
How to Collect Nectar Points and how much are they worth?
Nectar points can be collected when you shop at some of the biggest and most popular retailers including Sainsbury’s, Esso, eBay and Argos. For the most part of your spending, you get 1 nectar point for every £1 you spend with many bonus offers where you will earn bonus points.
Just check your Nectar app or online account and you will see offers on products that you normally would buy. A quick check of my personal offers and I can see plenty of Sainsbury’s offers of 50 points for buying avocados, 60 points for buying milk, 120 points for buying strawberries. These really are items that I buy at every shop no fail!
Plus, there are plenty of partner offers for other participating retailers, including 3 x points when for shopping online at Very via Nectar or 5 x points for shopping online at Boohoo via Nectar. Its always worth looking at the offers before you are about to make an online purchase.
Each Nectar point is usually worth 0.5p in Nectar rewards, these can be spent in store with a £2.50 voucher for every 500 Nectar points you have. Or many people chose to save up these rewards for closer to Christmas.
Convert points in either direction
The new partnership means you can transfer your Nectar points into Avios.
400 Nectar points = 250 Avios
Or you can convert the other way so 250 Avios can be converted into 400 Nectar points. This means that each Avios point is worth a bit more than the Nectar point at 0.8p.
You can convert between Nectar and Avios multiple times subject to T’s &C’s
What Are Avios?
Avios is a loyalty scheme from British Airways and can be used for many travel bookings including flights purchases in full or part-payment, upgrading your flight, car hire, hotel stays and wine!
My Nectar Points and Avios Points
I already have accounts and collect points for both Nectar and Avios, as you would expect of a personal finance expert! As at the 26th January I have checked both my Nectar and Avios accounts and have 1,300 Nectar points plus 10,300 Avios points. I have earned my Avios points using my British Airways American Express card that rewards me in Avios points, 1 point for every £1 I spend using my American Express card. It has taken me six months to build this balance with spending plus I received a bonus award when I opened the account.
I linked up my accounts, easily done via my British Airways Executive Club account, and converted most of my Nectar points into Avios points. You can convert in chunks of 400 Nectar points into Avios, so I redeemed 1,200 of Nectar points into Avios. You can set up an automated transfer of points every month for ease if you prefer. After this transfer I now have a healthy balance of 11, 416 points.
What could 11,416 Avios get me?
I am hugely missing travelling and cannot wait for that first trip abroad once lockdown ends and we can travel again. My first trip on my list is a weekend away to Barcelona with my best friend.
A return British Airways flight to Barcelona at the beginning of June, leaving on Thursday 3rd June at 10am and returning on Monday 7th June at 9pm is 22,000 Avios Points plus a £1 payment. This includes all flights costs including taxes and fees. The actual price of these flights was £182.
I don’t quite have enough points to book these flights yet but give me a few months of spending at eBay, Sainsburys, Esso and Argos, plus all the spending on my American Express card and I will most likely get there.
Then there is also the wine offer and was very pleased to see that my 11,416 Avios would get me a case of six bottles of specially selected Rose wine for 10,300 points. I am torn! Six lovely bottles of wine for now or keep saving up the points for a flight to Barcelona!
I could convert my Avios points back into Nectar Points
Let’s look at the reverse if I convert my Avios points back into Nectar Points. My 11,216 Avios would give me 45 lots of 400 Nectar points, so 18,000 Nectar points and each 500 Nectar points is worth a £2.50 voucher. Meaning I would have £90 to spend in store at any of the participating retailers. I could buy many more than 6 bottles of rose wine for £90 or it would make more money saving sense to keep my Avios for flights or upgrades.
There is a bonus available for the launch of the Partnership
If you convert at least 1,600 Nectar points over to Avios before 14th February, you will get double Nectar points (2 points per £1 spent) on your Sainsbury’s shopping until 19th April (starting from the day you convert 1,600 Nectar points). Plus if you convert 1,600 Nectar points or more in your first conversion before 14th February you’ll receive a one off bonus of 500 Avios.
A Flexible Approach to Points and Redemption
I love the ability to switch between the Avios points or the Nectar points. It really gives you the flexibility to choose your rewards depending on your wants or needs. And there are now so many ways to earn your Nectar points and Avios. Find out more here.
If you don’t have a Nectar card, you can register via nectar.com, via the Nectar app or by picking up a temporary card in a Sainsbury’s store. Likewise, you can set up an Avios account with British Airways Executive Club via this link
This is a collaborative post with Nectar and Avios.
