How to max your rewards points following the Avios and Nectar tie-up

What are Avios and Nectar points, and how does the new tie-up work?

Avios is British Airways' rewards scheme currency. You collect points from a variety of sources, which you can put towards flights, hotels and car hire — helping you cut the cost of your holidays. For example, around 4,000 Avios can get you a flight to Amsterdam, though you'll still pay taxes and charges. Check out our Avios guide for full info. 

Nectar is the reward scheme from Sainsbury's — you can earn Nectar points every time you shop there or at other retailers such as eBay and Argos. Generally, you earn one point per pound, although occasionally Sainsbury's will run double points promotions. Check our our Loyalty Points Boosting guide for more info on how the Nectar scheme works.

Avios partnering with a supermarket points scheme isn’t anything new. This new partnership with Nectar comes off the back of Avios’ partnership with Tesco Clubcard, where customers could convert their Clubcard points into Avios — 250 Clubcard points got you 600 Avios.

The conversion rate in this tie-up is 400 Nectar points to 250 Avios, which means that if you're converting Nectar points to Avios, it's less generous than the previous scheme. But crucially, this new partnership with Nectar lets you swap points in both directions, and you won’t lose any points value in doing so.

This means that Avios now have a set monetary value of 0.8p when converted to Nectar points. For example, if you’ve got 1,000 Avios, you can convert them to 1,600 Nectar points. These points are worth £8, which you can spend at several retailers including Sainsbury’s, eBay and Argos — see the Nectar website for the full list.

How to convert Nectar points into Avios, and vice versa

To convert points, you'll need to link your Nectar and British Airways Executive Club accounts, which can be done on either the Nectar or British Airways Executive Club website. 

Normally, the next step is to select the 'Convert your points' option on either site. However, British Airways is currently having technical issues, so in order to swap Avios for Nectar points, you'll need to ring British Airways' points swap helpline on 0344 49 333 03. You can still swap Nectar points for Avios online. You can also choose to convert your points automatically in either direction, so if you have a preferred points scheme, you won't need to manually switch points over in the future.

Plus, if you convert 1,600 or more Nectar points before 11.59pm on Sunday 14 February, you'll get a bonus 500 Avios (on top of the 1,000 from the conversion). Plus, anyone who does the conversion can also get double Nectar points (and therefore twice as many Avios) when shopping at Sainsbury's until 19 April 2021, which is a nice added boon. Don't want to say goodbye to your hard-earned Nectar points? Don't worry, you can swap them back after 14 February and still keep the bonus. 

What are the best credit cards for me to max the points I collect?

We have to look at Amex cards here. American Express has a longstanding partnership with British Airways meaning any Amex Membership Rewards points you earn can be swapped for Avios. These can then be swapped for Nectar points.

Below are the top four cards to get your Avios or Nectar points fix - though we've mainly looked at which are best to collect Nectar points, as Avios aren't as useful while travel is restricted.

Which you go for will depend on whether you're new to Amex or not. If you've had a personal Amex in the last two years, you won't be eligible for the introductory offers, which changes the best option - we've analysed this in greater detail below the table. The links below take you to our Rewards Cards guide, where you can read more about the cards and check your chances of getting them with our eligibility calculator.