Nectar online on the road or on the high street! (Nectar Card)

Member Name: xannus

Product:	Nectar Card
Date:	17/02/09 (645 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Collect points at hundreds of places online

Disadvantages: Few retailers accept it on the high street

~ Introduction ~

First of all I have been with nectar for a couple of years now so I think it is about time I reviewed it. When I first saw this loyalty card I was exited by the fact that I could use it at Sainsbury's - my preferred supermarket. It can also be used at their petrol stations and also at BP garages. When I joined up, it could also be used at Debenhams but they have since pulled out of the scheme, which is a real shame. Once you have collected so many nectar points, you can earn rewards through their website or money off at certain stores - more on this later.


~ The Website ~

The homepage is very clearly laid out and well presented. There are usually mainly offers here which are often very good value and should be checked regularly for new ones. There are also tips on the best ways to collect points. Across the top you can access different parts of the site if you want to collect points or spend them, as well as managing your account and viewing your bonus points.

On your account it is easy to change your details and view when and were you points have come from. If you need to you can easily send off for a new card and/or key fob if yours has been lost, stolen or damaged. You can also add a collector onto your account so more than one person can collect points on one account. This is very good if you have a partner because you do not have to have a separate card number and account (like the boots advantage card). As the main card holder, I can decide whether the other holders can redeem points or not, so they can't get something you don't want!

If you click on 'shop now' it takes you to the nectar estores page (more on this later) where you have the choice to search through retailers, look and use exclusive nectar voucher codes and view the best offers. This page will also display the bonus point retailers were you can collect more points than usual. This is explained under the collecting points through nectar estores section.


~ Collecting Points ~

On the high street points can be collected at the following stores:
(2/£ = 2 nectar points per one pound spent)

Sainsbury's - 2/£
Sainsbury's petrol stations - 1/litre
D&A opticians - 2/£
The AA - 2/£
BP - 1/litre
Ford - 2/£
Hertz (car hire company) - 2/£
Beefeater restaurant - 2/£
TableTable restaurant - 2/£
Brewers Fayre restaurant - 2/£
Gala Bingo - 2/£ (varies)

Online you can also collect many more points at these places:

Expedia - up to 1000 points
Child Trust Fund - Collect 1000 points when you open an account and another 1000 when you set up a direct debit.
EDF Energy - Varies
American Express - Transfer your membership rewards into nectar points
Mobile to points - Send in your old mobile to collect points (varies)
Nectar Credit Card - Varies
Nectar DVD Rentals (Lovefilm) - 2/£
Nectar Wine Club - Varies
Sainsbury's Finance - Varies
Thomson Local - 50/call
TNS - Convert your survey points into nectar points. 100 sign up points.


~ Collecting Points through Nectar eStores ~

One of the best ways to collect points is through nectar eStores. If you do a lot of online shopping then this is a great way to rack up your nectar points as there are hundreds of shops that are available and you will collect 2 points per pound spent at them (apart from ebay and Amazon were it is 1 point). There are always offers on where some retailers offer double or triple points for a certain length of time, very often around Christmas but there are always some on throughout the year. To earn these points all you have to do is click on the retailers page on nectar estores and click on the 'shop now' button which takes you through to their website were you can then shop as you normally would. There is nothing else you have to do like put in your card number or any other details. Standard points are awarded within 28 days but bonus points take much longer, usually by the end of the following month or two months. If you do not shop through nectar estores then you cannot collect your points at all, so you have to try and remember!

To see all of the retailers available to shop through, visit the website: http://www.nectar.com/dynamic/estores/retailer/lis t
Some of the more popular ones include:

Amazon, ebay, play.com, HMV, Sainsbury's, Comet, Argos, DELL, Dixons, Currys, Expedia, Apple, House of Fraser, Thornton's, Hotel Chocolat, Dabs, Sony, Firebox, HP, Halfords, iTunes, La Senza, Lakelands, Misco, Pixmania, Schuh, Superdrug, Waterstone's, Inkclub and Game plus many many more.


~ Sainsbury's ~

There is no doubt that if it were not for Sainsbury's the nectar programme would be non existent compared to what it is today. You can collect points in their stores and petrol stations as I previously mentioned but they also have a few other ways. First of all they have an online store called Sainsbury's kitchen appliances which you can shop through nectar estores to collect points on. They also seem to always have the double points offer on so you get 4 points per pound spent. As the name suggest, you can only get appliances such as fridges, freezers and cookers, etc. but they have over 4000 products available so it is certainly worth checking out when you happen to need one.

The other way to collect points with Sainsbury's is online shopping with them. Very recently they have appeared in nectar estores so you can collect points on your online shopping with them. As a bonus though, you collect 50 points per order as well as 2 more points per pound spent. And as an introductory offer, you get 150 points instead of 50 up until the 30th April 2009. So if you would rather have your weekly shop delivered straight to your door instead of fighting off the crowds and collect more nectar points than ever, this is definitely a welcome boost to the nectar loyalty scheme.

Finally, you can collect points through Sainsbury's finance. This includes savings accounts, loans, insurance and credit cards. Points vary depending on the service and you should access it through nectar rather than directly. I personally have not used and of Sainsbury's finance products so cannot really go into detail about how your nectar card will benefit from using them.


~ Bonus Points & Offers ~

Every quarter nectar sends out bonus point offers and occasionally Sainsbury's send out some of their own bonus points offers depending on how much you shop with them (they know from how much you use your nectar card). In my last set of vouchers I got:

Beefeater - 400 bonus points
TableTable - Triple points
Expedia - 3000 points for booking a holiday
Sainsbury's - 100 bonus points when you spend £3 on soft drinks
Sainsbury's - 200 bonus points when you spend £4 on toiletries
The AA - 1000 points for sign up
Nectar Credit Card - 5000 bonus points

These vouchers do differ depending on you spending habits, for example, someone who has never used nectar estores received a voucher giving them 200 bonus points when they used it for the first time.

Other retailers may also send you point offers by email. I occasionally get emails from TableTable with vouchers entitling me to triple points when I go out for a meal there.

If you are a nectar user or are going to sign up, keep an eye on their site because it is regularly updated with easy point opportunities. For example, not long ago there were 5 movie trailers on the site which you got 10 points for watching each one as well as an entry into winning some expensive electrical items. There are also the occasional surveys which tend to offer 100 points.


~ Spending Points ~

*In store
You can spend your nectar points in Sainsbury's and Argos stores at a rate of 500 points = £2.50. So you can pay your shopping bills in part or full if you wanted at these two stores.

*CD's, DVD's, Games & Blu-ray
Through nectars website you can spend your points on hundreds of things. My personal favourite is CD's, DVD's, games and anything else that you could otherwise buy off CD WOW's website. If you go to CD's and DVD's on the nectar website you will be able to choose from all of the above which are stocked at CD WOW as well as games and Blu-ray films. This is because CD WOW are nectars rewards partner and is where these products will come from if you spend your points on them. You only have to go to nectars web site to do this and not CD WOW's.
The points value for these products vary on their format and age but are typically around 800 points up to 5600, or much more if it is a Blu-ray box set that you are after for example.

*Books & Magazines
You can get certain magazine subscriptions and a wide range of books in a similar way to the above. Books cost anything from 1300+ and magazine subscriptions from one to eleven thousand.

*Travel & Holidays
You can get money off of all things travel. For example if you wanted a trip on the orient express, you can get 35% off your booking for 3000 points, or you can save 15% if you book through octopus travel in exchange for 2000 points. A return journey on the eurostar will cost you 14000 points or you can get up to £600 off your booking with Norwegian Cruise Liners for 4000 points. These are just some of the options available to you.

*Electricals
Electricals start at 1600 points for a memory card and go up to 109,000 for a Sony 32" TV! If you have the patience and time to let your points build up for a long time, then you may be surprised by how quickly you could get yourself a TV, satnav or camcorder!

*Days Out
One of the best rewards is redeeming your points for a fun day out with your family or loved ones that you can all enjoy. For example you can get Merlin group annual pass for places like Alton Towers Resort, Legoland Windsor, Thorpe Park, Chessington World of Adventures & Zoo, Madame Tussauds, London Eye, Warwick Castle, Sea Life centres and the Dungeons for 20000 points. Or if you prefer, tickets to the Eden Project or your local cinema!

There are also many other things you can spend your points on so be sure to have a look at the whole range for yourself.


~ Summary ~

Overall, the nectar scheme is widely known but has a potential of so much more. Since Debenhams dropped out it has left Sainsbury's as the only big name left on the high street were you can still collect points and this is a big limitation to people who don't shop online much. Online shopping is now the easiest way to collect points and a couple more big high street names is really what is needed to lift nectar above the rest and become the biggest loyalty scheme available in the UK.


Thank you for reading! This is certainly my longest review and I hope that you found it helpful =)

Summary: One of the best ways to get something for nothing