What you need to know about Sainsbury’s Nectar Double Up in 2021.
Unlike Tesco’s Clubcard Boost offers, I think Nectar is a loyalty deal which is more marketing than reward, even with its recent overhaul.
The only real opportunity to get more for your points has been the Double Up event. I used to really hate this promotion. It was a nightmare to redeem and had very little worth buying. It did improve a little, so now I guess I should say I actively dislike it.
However, in September 2021 it was revealed the scheme has been scrapped and won’t run any more. I’ve kept the article below as it was for previous years, but sadly you won’t be able to take advantage.
Here’s what you need to know about how it worked, along with some other gripes I have with Nectar.
Some articles on the blog contain affiliate links, which provide a small commission to help fund the blog. However, they won’t affect the price you pay or the blog’s independence. Read more here.
When is the 2021 Nectar Double Up?
Sainsbury’s and Nectar have announced that the Nectar Double Up offer won’t run in 2021 and has been replaced by the new My Nectar Prices promotion.
Why Nectar Double Up has been cancelled
I reached out to Sainsbury’s to find out why they won’t be running Double Up anymore.
A Sainsbury’s spokesperson replied, “At Sainsbury’s we’re committed to giving our customers delicious food at low prices. Fewer customers have been using Double Up over the last few years and so it’s only benefitted a small minority of our customers. We know some people will be disappointed to see it go, but we hope more customers will be able to take advantage of our new My Nectar Prices offer. This gives customers access to lower prices and personalised offers year-round.”
A large number of people are understandably frustrated that they won’t be able to boost their points as hoped, especially as they’d been saving them for this very purpose.
My issues with normal Nectar spending
As I explained below, I has issues with Double Up – but there are other frustrations with Nectar when compared to other loyalty schemes.
You don’t get many points
You earn one point per full pound spent – that’s roughly 0.5% of your shop, half of what you’ll get at Tesco.
The points system is complicated
Tesco and Boots value one point as 1 penny and you get 1 point for ever pound you spend. It’s pretty easy to work out what you have. Nectar value one point at a less convenient 0.5 pence. You can also read my blogpost about what loyalty points are worth.
It can even be tricky spending points in-store
I’m not sure if this is still the case, but when I first wrote this article in 2014 I’d just stopped off on the way to a friend’s house to buy some odds and ends. Having checked out the double up deal and realised there was nothing for me there, I thought it would be a good idea to use some of the points I’ve earned.
Well, the dreaded “Home store” problem came up. It turned out you could also only spend your points if you’ve swiped your card – and earned points – in that store more than 24 hours earlier and within the last 12 months.
You can also only spend in portions of £2.50 (or 500 points). I’ve no idea why they make it so difficult!
The everyday Nectar deals are rarely any good
Most of the ways to exchange points work out at the same value wherever they are spent. 500 points are worth £2.50. That’s the same if you’re spending in Sainsbury’s or buying cinema tickets.
Sometimes the Nectar website does have a special offer, but I find you can normally beat them through cashback sites or simply comparing prices elsewhere.
Which really just leaves the Double Up event as your only opportunity to get more for your points.
If you shop at Sainsbury’s it’s still worth using Nectar
If you’re a regular shopper in Sainsbury’s or at one of the online partners, then you may as well collect the points. It’s a little bit of money for nothing. But don’t expect to get any standout savings, and certainly don’t go out of your way to shop for Nectar points.
What is Nectar Double Up?
The offer last ran in November and December 2020.
Once a year (Sainsbury’s cut the spring Double Up event in 2017) you can swap your Nectar points for vouchers worth double to spend in Sainsbury’s stores.
There are very few chances to increase the value of your Nectar points. So when events like the Double Up week happen, it’s worth checking out the offer.
Sounds good yeah? Well keep on reading…
How the Nectar Double Up worked
Getting a Double Up Nectar voucher is more complicated than it needs to be. And there are also restrictions on where you can spend them. I’ve found it can often be more trouble than it’s worth.
Here’s what you need to know:
Getting the Double Up vouchers
It’s generally got a lot easier in the last couple of years to get the vouchers, but there are still things to watch out for.
One big change last year was that you can’t swap points for vouchers in-store – which is bad news for people who aren’t great with computers or don’t have a smartphone.
Here’s how you get the vouchers:
- This year you can only exchange vouchers via the app or online.
- Online it’s between Wednesday 28th October and Tuesday 3rd November. Vouchers are posted to your home address. The risk here is you get the voucher but the stores don’t have what you need in stock – so you end up wasting your voucher.
- However via the Nectar app you can swap between the 11th and 17th November 2020, meaning you can find what you want to buy in the supermarket before converting your points. You’ll scan the vouchers from your phone.
- You can only double up £5, £10 or £25 worth of points into a voucher worth £10, £10 or £50 respectively.
- You can only use vouchers in superstores. That’s no good if you shop at a Local or Central.
- There’s a cap of £100 in vouchers per Nectar account (down from £200 in previous years).
In the past you’ve only been to swap for vouchers at a Sainsbury’s you’ve shopped at in the last 12 months and earned Nectar points at. I don’t know if this is still the case, but it’s worth popping into your local big shop now and buying something before it’s time to use the vouchers.
Our podcast
Listen to Cash Chats, our award-winning podcast, presented by Editor-in-chief Andy Webb.
Episodes every Tuesday.
If you can, don’t get the vouchers before you shop
Please try to avoid getting your vouchers before you know what you want to buy, and that it’s in stock. If you order your vouchers online in the first week of the promotion you are stuck with them, whether you spend them or not.
Now you can’t get the vouchers in-store, you’ll have to get the vouchers on the Nectar app. But don’t do this straight away. Before you swap those vouchers over, check the shelves for what you want to buy and put it in your trolley. Then you’ll know exactly how much you’ll need to buy the items.
I can imagine this is also going to be a pain with the mobile signal in some supermarkets. If the service is bad at your Sainsbury’s then you might need to bring someone with you to watch your trolley while you pop out to get some bars on your phone!
Using Double Up vouchers
Again it’s hardly simple. However there were a few changes in 2018 that made it a little easier. The main one was that you no longer had to choose which department you want the voucher for, so any voucher can be used on products from any of the included categories.
But there are still issues. I’ve gone through the Ts&Cs for you and here are the main things to know:
- You can’t spend the vouchers on everything in the shop as they’re only valid in certain departments, and this excludes food and most drink. I generally find these are either niche, or products you’ll probably get cheaper elsewhere.
- You can’t use them in Sainsbury’s Local or petrol stations.
- You have to buy items totalling at least 5p less than the value of the voucher to use it (e.g. £9.95 for a £10 voucher). If the items cost less you must buy more items to use it.
- There’s no change given unless it’s less than 5p.
- The voucher only lasts until the end of the promotion period. If you don’t spend it before the last day and you lose it all.
- If the store doesn’t have what you want, you can’t get a refund. So you’ll need to check they have in stock what you want before exchanging for the voucher.
** UPDATE 10/11/20: Due to the lockdown in England preventing the most vulnerable from going to Sainsbury’s stores to exchange their vouchers, Sainsbury’s has agreed to refund affected people.
This only applies to those who had already switched their points for vouchers but are shielding as a clinically extremely vulnerable person following a letter from their GP.
They need to call 0800 636 262 to get their points refunded. Thanks to campaigning by Martin Lewis they’ll also get the full value of the Double Up voucher added to their account rather than just the initial points total.
What’s included in the 2020 Nectar Double Up?
You can use your vouchers in any of these departments:
- Tu Clothing
- Electricals
- Toys
- Entertainment
- Taste the Difference: Wine, Champagne, Sparkling, Sherry & Port (not Scotland or Wales)
- Homeware
- Seasonal
- Fragrance
- Cosmetics
- Skincare
Use our best buy tables to get the best rate on your savings.
Find out if you can get free cash for switching bank.
Get the best of our money saving content every Thursday, straight to your inbox
+ Get a £20 Quidco bonus (new members only). More details
The things I use Double Up for
As with the last three years, the main thing on the Nectar Double Up list that gets my interest is Taste The Difference wine. If you saw my video and blog about how to find good value supermarket wine you’ll know there was a pretty tasty New Zealand Pinot Noir which was part of that range.
Electrical items could be decent value too. For the last two years I’ve also picked up a reduced to clear NOW TV box and pass. It worked out at £10 when using the Double Up voucher, a couple of quid less than buying it elsewhere. However, a lot of the other tech was available for less in other shops, even with the double points discount. Even so, it’s worth looking.
And if you’re going to buy toys, homeware or clothes in the next few months then it’s worth looking at how much they are in Sainsbury’s and compare the prices with elsewhere.
**This post was originally written in November 2014 and has been updated for each subsequent Double Up event. My opinions have mellowed a little since then – thanks in part to that half-price wine – but I’m still not a huge fan. However, I know for some people who regularly shop in Sainsbury’s think it’s great. Do check out the comments at the bottom and add your thoughts.**
You are not warned about the convoluted method of using this offer instore. As I found out, doing my double-up yesterday, you have to input a validation code which arrives by e-mail. It appears to be valid for 10 minutes from when it is sent. I had to open my e-mails on my phone, turn off sync and then turn it back on to see the mail within the time frame (because my phone will only automatically sync every 15 minutes so the first time the code had already expired). Then when I went back to the confirmation screen, it had disappeared and I had to start going through the loop again. After a few repeats, I noticed that the code appeared to be the same if it was issued in a 10-minute time frame so I tried it after the nth time and it worked. But this was so frustrating. There surely must have been a better way of delivering this? My older phone would not have handled this at all.
On what basis do you say the alcohol department is excluded in Scotland? I’ve read T&Cs and can’t find it mentioned anywhere. I know the law is different here but I also know I’ve used Double Up for wine in previous years
I’ve thought for some time now that Nectar is all about the marketing and less about the rewards. Slowly, but surely I have earned less and less points since they took away extra points for re-using bags. I very rarely get vouchers for extra points on items I wish to buy and they consistently give me a voucher for extra points on my next spend that is at least £20 more than I spend which would equate to no saving whatsoever. However, I keep it so I can use the shop and scan and it’s a waste to drive 20 minutes to an alternative supermarket. This double up event is just another annoying way to not get extra points as there is nothing I need from the listed sections.
I get points offers through my Nectar account on instore Sainsbury’s groceries – as much as 60 points for a 4pint carton of milk which I buy, 40 points for a 6-pack of tomatoes, etc ( gone down to 10 on loose carrots recently), plus similar offers for things I never buy. These usually amount to about 8 per week and last for 7 days. The offers pop up via my mobil app or when I sign in to the website, and you have to save the offer(s) you want before buying the item(s). They are the only things that have helped me rack up Nectar points which I save for double-up.
Two points:
First: The boots card does not offer one point per £. It offers four points per £, so if you spend £10 you are getting 40p as a reward. Loo out also for Boots ten points per £ promotions. Everyone should buy their toiletries, healthcare and make up at Boots. Don’t forget to compare the prices but account for the fact that with Sainsburys it’s half a pence per £, with Tescos it’s one pence per pound and with Boots it’s four pence per £.
Second: Having acquired Argos, you now cannot get a TV from Sainsburys online. I just checked. They sell TV accessories, but the don’t sell TVs. All of the razzamatazz about “now we have halved the points, you will see special offers”, but what profit is there assiduously collecting Nectar points only to discover that they have halved the double up exchange threshhold and done away with access to high value items by shifting them over to Argos.
I’m pretty sure that in previous years they made a big deal about the event, and I have used it to buy stuff for Christmas, (including an Xbox one year and a few cases of wine another), but this year I managed to miss it, even though I visit Sainsbury’s fairly regularly and have the Nectar app installed. It’s almost like they don’t want people to actually use the promotion anymore….
Now that they want us to get the double up vouchers online or via the app, why won’t they let us spend them online on certain products at sainsburys website online? All the extremely vulnerable people such as my mum with chronic asthma that have been having home deliveries from sainsburys in 2020 should be able to take part in the double up event without having to go in store. Please sainsburys, let’s have a double up spending opportunity on some food products online.
I totally agree with Michelle Callis’s comment on 2/11/20.
I have never seen so many stipulations regarding redeeming Nectar points!! It could not have come at a worse time. I have to stay at home during this lockdown and to redeem a double points voucher in store is out of the question. I find the offer discriminatory. There needs to be another option where points can be redeemed online when ordering groceries at Sainsbury’s, doubling the points for a two week period during the Double Up offer.
Come on Sainsbury’s and Nectar , you can do better.
Hi,
I purchased some Tu clothing yesterday, but I need to return this and pick something else from this double up voucher, can anyone tell me, do I still get the full amount that I paid yesterday, or do I loose the double points because I am returning the goods, but I will purchase something else to the same value.
You could try exchanging it rather than returning it and buying something new?
I don’t / won’t shop anywhere with any points system, if I can possibly avoid it.
The cost of running these schemes must run into thousands a month and there is yet another piece of plastic tat in your wallet; why not just reduce the prices; SIMPLES..!
Give me ALDI all day long.
No daft points to collect; really quality food—- and cheap as chips.
Keith
SALFORD.
……………………wish we had an ALDI on the Regent Rd. retail park here and shut the Sainsbury’s and its sky-high prices that we’re stuck with..!
We don’t have Aldi at all in Northern Ireland. Less choice for consumers if you’re not prepared to drive across the border to ROI.
Careful what you wish for. Neither Aldi nor LIDL have anywhere near the range of items that Tescos or Sainsbury’s have. They are useful for cheap shopping with good quality but their range is a fraction of what the larger stores offer. If you shop in Aldi or LIDL you also need to shop elsewhere, I’m afraid.
Not me.
ALDI and LIDL have more than enough stuff to choose from; you can only eat one meal at a time and in my case that is 2x meals a day max.
Of course if you are into -& cannot possibly live without – foie gras and Camembert, then I take your point but a nice packet of haddock fillet and /or smoked haddock and some Maris Pipers or Jersey Royals….that’ll do me gradely…
Who needs all that range of stuff, anyway..?
Keith
SALFORD
I do the majority of my shops at Sainsbury’s as Waitrose is my only alternative (I don’t agree with driving 20min to go to a cheaper shop). I find the app really good as after ever shop if you go on the app you have a scratch card where you can win 5-40 points. Recently they have offers where if you collect a certain amount of points in a month you get an extra 100 points. I agree that the total points system is better at Tesco. But your points do last forever unlike at Tesco. If it’s your local shop or it’s your favourite supermarket then at least you are getting a bit of each month which is better than nothing. If you are choosing your supermarket based on the reward system then ultimately the supermarket has one and it may not be the cheapest option for you.
5 stars for the points. Easy doing normal shopping BUT! When you buy anything through the Nectar App beware! I’ve only done it twice through the app 1 was double points meaning I would get 240, the second was also double points meaning I would get 120, where the BUT! Comes in both times I had to get in touch to get the points added, the 120 points was only yesterday and that purchase was on the 14th of April. So people keep a tight check when you have offers through the Nectar App
i cannot get a straight answer from nectar i want a replacement card same number not a new numbered card i do not do e mail so cannot get token vouchers that i order from the mail no voucher for 1000 points marks and spencers October 2018 now no m&S here now so no voucher and nowhere to spend it i also asked for a heart finger monitor no voucher this year A sainsurys small store no use as both of us disabled cannot get infrom paking car
I got through the post sainsburys nector vouchers that allowed me to spend £40 and get £6 off, there was a time limit to the offer so I used it for xmas eve shopping which I spent £41.15p on, but when I handed over the voucher to the cashier she told me the voucher would not scan, so she called her supervisor and she said we can’t used the voucher because I have brought some beer.
I think this is really stupid and in a way a con its dose say on the voucher you can’t use it on spirits but its so small you need a high powered glasses to read it.
Its so strange I though shopping was shopping but not according to sainsburys.
Seriously considering dumping my Nectar card! Can you tell me how much I have to spend to get £5worth of points, please.My maths can’t cope!????
Yeah, it’s not easy is it!! So you get one point per pound spent at Sainsbury’s (more at a few other places). But each point is worth 0.5p. So you need 1,000 points, which is a spend of £1,000
Worst double up year ever. Three different stores had hardly any stock in electricals (really the only department worth using vouchers in) no decent offline computer storage, very limited dvd boxset selection, very limited cd selection, lots of empty shelves advertising products they don’t have. Complete waste of time and not a patch on Tesco clubcard.
This is a helpful article andy. However, I have another tip – you can exchange nectar points for ebay vouchers (and earn points on ebay too). I wait until I have a decent number of points and am buying something on ebay anyway and then do this. You can part pay with this method too.
That’s good, especially if you don’t have a Sainsbury’s nearby. Shame it’s face value still…
I was in Sainsburys for 3 hours tonight trying to use my double points absolute nightmare the staff are clueless said my seasonal goods were not on the offer ie tubs if chocolates, selection box cheese biscuitskept having to replace my items after 3 hours gave up dumped my shopping out of the bags at the till made them check i still had my points and left, am going to have to find another store where the staff have more than one brain cell between them, and once i have spent all the points will not be shopping at sainsburys ever again nectar is a complete rip off takes all year to get enough points to make it worthwhile then you do not get to choose how you spend them!!!I had points put on from ebay the following week they removed them still not been reinstated another rip off connected to nectar
I couldn’t agree more …and what’s more, you wrote this at 4 in the morning, I notice…!
Not worth it babes, losing sleep over bleeding Sainsbury’s; they won’t lose sleep over you..!
Their prices are a joke and ALLLLLLL they need to do, is ditch the whole NECTAR POINTS fiasco – which must cost thousands of
£££’s a week to run….and…..justttt……reduuuuuce…….their pricesssssssss…!
Keith
SALFORD
I shop at Sainsbury’s so collect Nectar points on that basis. However, I don’t use this double up promo – as has been said before, identical/better items can often be found cheaper elsewhere.
What I do like is the bonus Nectar points you often get at Sainsbury’s – last week’s online shop unexpectedly netted me a 5,000 bonus points (£25) voucher clipped to my receipt. I had to nip into any store, buy something and scan the voucher to redeem it. I spent less than £1 on a bottle of ketchup that I needed as I had forgotten to add it to my online order – bingo!
But I find the best place to swap Nectar points is on Ebay. They do regular Nectar promotions, usually around bank holidays and often they run for a week or so, giving you time to really price compare before committing to buy. Sometimes these promos are as much as 10x points per £ spent. I add the more expensive items I’d like to buy to my watch list and when these promotions come round I swap some Nectar points for online vouchers and buy the item, making the rest of the spend on Paypal/card if needed. The real beauty of this is I get 10x points on the whole price, so my spent Nectar points are earning me bonus Nectar points, plus I have used my points to reduce the cost of a big ticket item and make it ‘cheaper’ to treat myself. I also buy ALL my train tickets through whichever rail company currently has a bonus points promotion with Nectar – it doesn’t matter if I’m going from London to Brighton, if Trans Penine are offering 10x points, then that’s the portal I book the tickets through – easy!
I had an email today saying it was my 10 year Nectar ‘anniversary’ and over that time I had collected £854 of points, including £105 in bonus points this year alone.
I agree Nectar is not the most generous discount scheme, but if you are canny and take advantage of the bonus points promotions on your weekly shop, you can use the points to make decent savings on expensive things like tablets/phones/fragrances from Ebay, where prices are keener and the selection is greater.
That’s a great trick to spend and earn multiple points on eBay
They seemed to have had some issues in getting the pre-orders of the double up vouchers right.
I received an email from Sainsburys warning me that I may not receive the correct number of vouchers.
Sure enough, I didn’t!
I ordered 5 x £10 and 5 x £20 worth and have only received 1 x £10 and 1 x £20 worth in the post today
Ridiculous. At least you can swap points for vouchers in store
Can you use your double up points at argos as i wanted to get a phone but sainsburys has stopped doing mobiles
Hi Amy, no just the categories listed for Sainsbury’s
NECTAR, CREATED BY CHEATS TO PERFECT THIEVERY
I had my Nectar card on or around 2000-01. I never spent the points until 2017 as I had 22000 points when I tried to buy the iPhone 7 off the Sainsbury site. I couldn’t get it to go through, so called Nectar.
That was a poor connection and the person was of Asian origin. His speech wasn’t great, but he kept directing me to the food section of Sainsbury.
In the end I gave up trying, and Nectar sent me an evoucher for 10000 points to redeem. Unknown to me, this had to be redeemed within one year.
I tried to use the points 28 months later, (when I remembered) but Nectar or Sainsbury, (I have no idea, but they can’t both be telling the truth) refused to let me spend the unused points.
The Nectar scheme and the people who run it are nothing more than thieves, and the bigger the business name, the bigger the scam.
As I have not bothered collecting any Nectar points since the episode in 2017, I will use up the remaining points, if I am allowed to use them on items of my own choosing, and then cut up the card.
In furtherance, I have done my shopping, including petrol, with Morrison’s, whose prices are a lot more competitive than stuffy dishonest Sainsbury. (the very reason they weren’t allowed to merge with Asda)
The Morrison card is has some crinkles at the edges, but it is more honest and of much more use.
I have used the double up event every time.
Best thing to do is grab item you want, Take it to Customer services, get the double up voucher, go buy the product.
I tend to get PS4 games for the kids but have also bought new Plates, Knives and clothes.
If you know what you want how can you even fail not to get stuff for half price ?!
It’s a no brainer
you know some people are WHAT!! greedy. Sainsbury’s double the points Great Can only spend in certain Departments Great!! They don’t need to do it. £40 to spend on points well now you have £80 or what ever……….
No one has mentioned the daily mail for points every day.
Just got an £80 coffee maker on half price already for £20 after doubling up, plus 1.5 litres of taste the difference fizz for £10 instead of £20 – with £25 of coffee pods at normal point rates I got £125 of stuff for nowt.
Great promotion – well worth it.
its “piqued my interest” by the way – not peaked 🙂 (Pique means “to excite interest, curiosity, etc.)
Went at the weekend to buy a Christmas present in Toy Department. Converted the maximum Nectar points to a voucher for that department. Bought the toy. Now I find that John Lewis have been selling it cheaper than my discounted price, plus I have spent my Nectar points. I have effectively thrown the points away. Some deal Sainsburys!
Has nobody ever thought how Sainsbury’s pay for their nectar points? There prices are easy to beat, why spend £1000 on shopping for a 1000 points which is only worth a fiver?
Has the author even stepped in a Sainsbury’s recently?? What a poorly researched and written article.
I would hardly describe
ALL kids toys,
ALL ladies, mens and kids clothing,
ALL electronic devices,
ALL Dvds, Cds, books, computer games, games consoles,
ALL tvs, microwaves, hoovers, kettles, toasters, slow cookers, irons
ALL Christmas decorations, Christmas trees, cards, wrap,
ALL towels, bedding, kitchen utensils, pots, pans, crockery, cutlery and glasses
As niche products/departments!!
Yes the home store is a pain, but is a flaw from the original Nectar launch, it won’t change, however there is a way to work around it!!
If you’d bother to read the info booklet it tells you to pick you products FIRST, then get your vouchers, and like EVERYTHING IN LIFE there’s terms and conditions, such as no change given. But if you’d read the T’s and C’s you’d know that…
The reason Sainsbury’s changed Nectar points value was all to do with the carrier bag charge, as Sainsbury’s were one of the few who gave you anything for using your own bags, in the form of Nectar points. Considering the government forced the vast majority of the public to start using their own bags it doesn’t take a genius to work out that Sainsbury’s simply couldn’t afford to keep giving out Nectar points for bag re-use.
There was a trial in Scotland around redeeming any amount you wanted from your Nectar card, rather than multiples of £2.50 but it proved unpopular so it’s still £2.50.
I went to Chesterfield Sainsbury’s with 2 babies this morning to double up! Was so utterly confused by the end, that after 2 calls to my local branch by the assistant to verify my card and check my total, I bought my stuff but vowed never to get involved with the promotion again. M and s has a 20% off promotion…..you just swipe your card and 20% is taken off…so simple. An assistant said to me that Sainsburys never make it easy. Pity because their children’s clothes are fantastic.
I agree! If you do your homework first the double up is fantastic! And seriously if the writer s such a savvy shopper why would he exchange his vouchers BEFORE checking what’s in stock first! DOH!
I am a savvy shopper….I make my list……shop first and then exchange my vouchers for the correct department! They give you a leaflet clearly explaining what’s in what’s out and what is under each department!
Anyone who finds it tricky or thinks it’s not worth it clearly has not done their homework….I LOVE Sainsburys double up and avail of it every promotion. Looking forward to the next one.
Iwas going o buy a LG SJ2 Soundbar using Double up, but Sadly Sainsbury’s are selling it for £179, yet Sister Retailer (Argos) and John Lewis are selling it for £149. I would have been claimingthe maximum, £20 doubled to £40 but why should I buy something which would be £30 dearer at at Sainsbury’s meaning that I would only be saving £10 which is a joke, so Iwill use my nectar points as usual and claim the £20 from my Christmas foods and buy from John Lewis , who incidentally give a free 2 year garantee and great after service. Having worked in Retailing and Retail Management for most of my working life, so will not comment further, other than, if this is supposed to be a loyalty scheme , it should run both ways, in that I shall be as loyal to them as they are with me, I shant bother too much about shopping there if they cannot be genuine !
I have £200 pounds worth of normal points as did a holiday and paid on an american express card where I got so many bonus points. In the double up Id get £400 worth of goods (however its pointless unless I can see xmas gifts I would buy for people)
you cant as its maximum £20 doubling up to £40
You can, actually.
It’s a week long event and you can convert £20 worth to £40 vouchers every single day of the event. You can also do this PER CARD HOLDER on your Nectar account.
So, add your S.O so they have their own card if you haven’t done so already. This way, the two of you popping to Sainsbury’s together each day during the event can pick up £80 of vouchers every single day. If you have a glut of points, it’s the best way to maximise what you get for them.
I’ve used this in the past to get over 25 bottles of Taste the Difference Wine and Fizz during the event week, using Nectar points collected over the year.
Quite right. We managed to convert £187.50 worth of points to £375 of vouchers across 2 cards on the same account. We bought a Nintendo Switch with the first lot of £200 vouchers and various games/clothes/wine with the £175 later in the week. So long as you use the appropriate card at the point of transaction (from which you exchanged the
points for vouchers), then it works a treat.
Overall though, it’s essentially much more complicated than required and the staff are seldom trained appropriately, making it very difficult for them as well. Having scoured the terms and conditions I was more clued up than some of the staff i spoke with.
We’ve done well this year but it’s never a comfortable experience!
Can’t see what all the moaning is about. Sainsbury’s is not my main shop – that’sAldi – but I have collected £25+ in points this year. I’ll double that up to £50 and fill my trolley with boxes of Christmas biscuits, books, CDs, gift set etc for gifts. I won’t pay a penny and I had to buy petrol throughout year anyway.
South Western Trains have double points if you book and pay online. It is more hassle and you have to guarantee that you’re going or there is a cancellation fee of 10 pounds whipping it all out. Terrible website. But it could be worth it if you are VERY careful and travel long distance.
I think that the Double up points should include foodstuffs as that is one of the most important things customers spend their money on during the holiday season. I know that you can spend your ordinary Nectar points on groceries etc. Why not extend the double up to groceries as well?
Yeah, it’s another reason why I’m not a fan. So many other loyalty schemes make it easy to double up points, this just feels too much like a false promise
Doubled up £20 worth of points to buy a gaming headset for my grandson at £49.99. Bargain or so i thought. Turns out they are only £29.99 everywhere else and are not the £50 set i was looking to buy. Can only get a £9.99 refund and replacement £40 voucher for the entertainment section and nothing I want or need. Angry is an understatement. What a waste of time and having to deal with poorly trained staff who don’t really understand the double up system is painful
Interesting to read the comments here. I’ve been collecting Nectar points for years now. Used to get them on my EDF gas and electricity account but they suddenly withdrew the offer so I changed to co op to get their points instead but they withdrew the offer too. I use nectar whenever I can but it is expensive to shop at local Sainsburys. Get BP fuel, use Expedia for travel, do the swipe X 8 deals and use the credit cards linked to nectar to bump up the points. Also link on EBay but don’t use much. Used to get points at Argos but that got withdrawn also. It is a hassle but it’s another card in my bag earning some revenue I wouldn’t have otherwise.
Convert your points on eBay and get some great deals on there! 😀
Hey, good tip, I never knew that.
Well last year I was able to purchase a cordless dyson using my nectar points, doubling up £20 and there was £100 off the product anyway. I ended up with a dyson for £30 – well chuffed.
I think they are really worth saving even if you only use them for your christmas shop.
What a load of hassle! I have £100 in nectar points but want’s the point!? I pay over the odds for my food shop there anyway. I pay with my clubcard credit card and get meals out for my boys worth 4x the points at high street restaurants. Nectar is rubbish in my opinion!
Use them up to buy the food then. Be careful having so much on your card. I know someone who had over £80 and lost her card. Someone found the card and used it- they never check if it’s your card and just allow you the redeem the points.
I’v got £93 on my nectar card but I don’t carry it around. There’s many apps around you can use, personally I use Stocard, I have scanned All our store cards to the app bingo! Empty wallet. If you Happen to lose your phone it’s locked anyway plus you can lock Stocard
I agree it’s a scam to get customers through the door as it’s one of the more expensive shops will not be shopping there anymore
I had a total nightmare on last double up. Firstly I wanted some SD cards so duly doubled up and got voucher to cover cost of 3 cards. Typically only 2 in stock so rest of voucher was lost/wasted! Then I went back to customer services because I’d found something else in a different dept I fancied and thought I’d double up my remaining points to get it…….but server/system had stopped working so I couldn’t double up at all and being last day of the promo I missed out and ending up just using my nectar points at their single value. Very disappointing!
Why did you not check stock first I ask myself??
That’s your fault not Sainsburys.
The t and c’s are simple and clear and you obviously exchanged your points first…..whoops! Better luck next time! The terms and conditions are there for a reason.
Get the leaflet first, do your homework, do your shop BEFORE your exchange and you should be fine. Good luck
I was very excited about this “double up” deal when I first heard about it. Having just moved into a new house I need loads of stuff from the homeware department and my points would have doubled up to over £200 worth. Brilliant!! Except you can only have £40 worth of vouchers per department. You can’t buy much with £40. And for this privilege I have to queue up twice. Thanks for nothing much Sainsburys!
Get two cards (or more!) on the same account, all linked together. You can then get £40 of vouchers, per card, all drawing from the same total points stock. I accidentally discovered this last double up event, yes it was a bit of a faff making sure each card reached £40 (I was stocking up on school uniform so I could juggle clothes around for the best possible mix) but the checkout assistant was happy to scan them through separately.
Nectar used to be better, but compared to the Boots Advantage Card and Costa Card, which with regular shopping/coffee purchase, its easy to accumulate points and easy to work out what you have. I rarely shop in Sainsburys as I think the food quality has diminished, and Tesco keep removing the more quality and/or niche products like Higgedy Pies, so Waitrose is where I shop, and with clever shopping, its not that expensive.
Waitrose loyalty card was great, a free newspaper and coffee, and everyday regular shopping items cheaper, but they have upped the minimum spend to £10, for the paper, and I would prefer points instead. Also their customer service isn’t that good, I wanted a new card and emailed twice, still no card.
Marks and Sparks Sparks card is the worst though, no points off shopping, just say 10% off clothes, and as I never buy their clothes, its useless.
At least you can use Nectar on Ebay to accumulate points, when you have 500, you can exchange them for a 2.50 voucher off a £10 min spend, you need to be signed up for this on EBay, but its great and really the only time I use the Nectar Card.
Its swipe & win at Sainsbury this weekemd. Finishes tomorrow (sunday) you only have to spend £10 & you can get a coupon for 5000 points, worth £25! I broke my big shop down into smaller shops & bumped up my nectar total by £60, ill be popping back over tomorrow & getting petrol & a bit more shopping, all good for nectar double up next month!
Any idea why when you get points per pound in store it’s points per litre at the petrol station?
The Nectar Point Scheme is not very kind to those who have to do Internet shopping through necessity. It sends you bonus points vouchers which can only be spent IN STORE. Something I am unable to do.
I prefer necter I do the double up for Christmas I collect points through the online shopping and my coupons and just by doing a few surveys online I get points to this year I am going to put my points to a new tv I have £62 worth so far by end of the year it will have mounted up nicely. You can’t do that with Tesco or boots
Yes, there are some good ways to get extra points, and the surveys sound great. I do prefer the Clubcard points though, particularly to help save on rail travel.
I love clubcard too Andy but after reading the article on Sainsburys double up I am wondering if you read the t &cs and understand how the promotion works.
You don’t seem to reply to any of the positive comments about double up.
It’s works if you work it. Unfortunately if people decide to exchange their points for vouchers before checking what’s in stock then that’s hardly Sainsburys fault.
I love Double up! Thank you Sainsburys! I love Tescos too!
Hey Izzy, yeah I know lots of people do like it – and I picked up some wine in the offer last December which is the first time I’ve used it without there being any issues. But my main issue is it doesn’t need to be so complicated. Hopefully now Sainsbury’s have bought Nectar they’ll make some changes so it’s user friendly.
Hi Andy…
Thanks for the information about Nectar points.
Sainsbury HALVED the number of points you get on 11th April this year…..just after they stopped price comparison with Tesco!!
Great marketing. ….
What does that tell you…Go to Tesco?
You now have complicated short term pathetic, limited offers where you have to queue up twice……
Actually, I now go to the new Aldi in Guildford. .
VER SPRUNG DURCH FUD !!!!!
Simples!!!!
Refreshing! !!
Quality and PRICE ……
No wonder they won “Best Supermarket” award from Which Magazine. ..
Nectar is great. Sainsburys /my coupons have bonus points 800 for £40 spend
Plus bonus points on dozens of products load onto card items you would buy and points are added when purchased. I receive money off coupons on a regular basis ie
£4.50 off £40 spend so used with the 800 points bonus deal this is a big saving. I have just doubled up to £40 clothing and £40 housewares. Bought shirts PJ,s etc
Also bedding and towels some xmas and wedding presents sorted. Using ‘My Coupons’. More than makes up for the reduction to £0.5p and makes it easier to
Accumulate points.
That’s great Teri. Since I wrote this they’ve had a few really good offers which make them better than they were, but I still think Tesco Clubcard is a far better scheme for shoppers – though it depends what shop you have near you!
Nectar is definitely one of the worst loyalty schemes (if you know what you’re doing there is far move value in the likes of Clubcard, Avios and airline/hotel schemes). Nonetheless, Nectar is still better than nothing. I generate a reasonable number of Nectar points through eBay purchases which I would have made anyway. Granted, it doesn’t set the world on fire but it buys me a Pizza Express or some cinema tickets every now and then. Last time I did the double up I bought champagne which I was more than pleased with. Unfortunately it wasn’t available this time around!
It’s the people who really focus on Nectar obsessively which get me – when they could be jetting off in First Class and staying in 5* hotels with the same amount of effort.
Hi, while nectar points take a long time to build any meaningful value, you can use them to pay for goods on sites like eBay, which I find useful. Also, if you submit a meter reading with British gas, they give you 100 points (200 if you submit gas and electricity). 2400 points a year for nothing isn’t too bad.
That’s a great trick if you’re with British Gas. Works out as an extra £12!
You’re omitting the fact that Nectar points can be accumulated at a few High Street stores and a huge number of online retailers, including many major retailers with frequent bonus point offers. In fact I can’t remember a time when there weren’t multiple voucher offers. Clubcard points can only be claimed at Tesco and Boots vouchers can only be accumulated and spent at Boots. The way it operates mean it is far easier to accumulate value with Nectar than with Clubcard. As a frequent online shopper I’ve accumulated nearly £250 worth of Nectar points which can all be spent in one go. That would be mightily difficult with Clubcard. As far as change is concerned it’s only Double Up where change can’t be claimed. Nectar points can be spent straight from the card at Argos and Sainsburys (and possibly one or two others) with only the necessary amount taken, so change is not an issue. They can also be used for part payment – Boots won’t allow that. I far prefer Nectar to Clubcard and Boots advantage.
Hi David, yes you’re absolutely right – there are lots of opportunities to get more points, and if you shop in those places they’re a great chance to get money for nothing. But for me they’re a pain to use, while Tesco give you a better return. Still – nectar is much better than Morrisons’ reward scheme!
Two points:
Boots card offers four points per £, so if you spend £10 you are getting 40p as a reward. Look out also for Boots ten points per £ promotions. Everyone should buy their toiletries, healthcare and make up at Boots. Don’t forget to compare the prices but account for the fact that with Sainsburys it’s half a pence per £, with Tescos it’s one pence per pound and with Boots it’s four pence per £.
Just doubled £20 of my nectar points to £40 and got a new kettle, toaster and iron x
Well done! Glad you found something useful
Sorry to disagree but I love Nectar points – doubled up earlier in the year and got all my son’s school uniform with the voucher. Mum is doubling up at the moment to get my husband’s Christmas present and I started collecting points for Christmas in September and now have about £40 worth of points.