Linked Nectar card to sainsburys credit card

carlmunger

Hi there . Hoping I get get some clarity on this issue from you lovely people. 

I have a Nectar card linked to my Sainsburys credit card . I seem to be getting points for using the credit card but no points for using the Nectar card (1 point per pound spent). I assumed , seeing as the cards were linked that I would accumulate these points automatically , it seems crazy that I need to scan the Nectar card each time , but looking at old posts it seems this is the case. Thought I should check as hoping that this may have changed recently and if not , hoping I will be able to get these points credited to my account retrospectivley . If anyone could advise I’d be very grateful . 

WillPS

You get 1 point from Sainsburys supermarkets for every £, which is what shows on your receipts when you shop + whatever bonus points you've earned, excl app offers. This relies on you scanning your Nectar card; Sainsburys' tills cannot determine your Nectar card when you present your credit card from Sainsburys (or Amex), all they see is a Mastercard (or Amex) payment card.

You also get 3 points from Sainsbury's Bank for every £2 spent, which is added monthly directly to your Nectar card directly each month after your statement's payment date.

The two are exclusive of one another, as you have experienced. Nothing has changed in this regard in the last decade or so at least, I doubt things were more connected than that previously because Nectar used to be an external company.

If you still have the receipts for any spend in the last 30 days you should be able to take these to customer services who will manually add the points to your Nectar card.

Also, not that you asked but the Sainsbury's Bank credit card is a very poor rewards product... worth taking a look at the Avios Barclaycard (which collects 1.33 Nectar points per £ everywhere, only just beaten by the Sainsbury's Bank card at Sainsbury's) or Nectar Amex (2 points per £ everywhere accepted, beating the Sainsbury's Bank card wherever accepted, including Sainsburys).

carlmunger

Also, not that you asked but the Sainsbury's Bank credit card is a very poor rewards product... worth taking a look at the Avios Barclaycard (which collects 1.33 Nectar points per £ everywhere, only just beaten by the Sainsbury's Bank card at Sainsbury's) or Nectar Amex (2 points per £ everywhere accepted, beating the Sainsbury's Bank card wherever accepted, including Sainsburys).

Thanks for the quick reply. Damn ! So i can kiss goodbye to my years worth of Nectar Points ! 

Regards the cards , I’ll need to cancel the sainsburys card then , before I apply for the other one , although a bit confused about the difference between my Sainsburys Credit Card and your recommended Sainsburys Bank card ? 

carlmunger

Also , I wonder about getting Nectar points when I do a smart shop , as I can’t scan my card using this method as you don’t use a check out 

WillPS

carlmunger said:

Also, not that you asked but the Sainsbury's Bank credit card is a very poor rewards product... worth taking a look at the Avios Barclaycard (which collects 1.33 Nectar points per £ everywhere, only just beaten by the Sainsbury's Bank card at Sainsbury's) or Nectar Amex (2 points per £ everywhere accepted, beating the Sainsbury's Bank card wherever accepted, including Sainsburys).

Thanks for the quick reply. Damn ! So i can kiss goodbye to my years worth of Nectar Points ! 

Regards the cards , I’ll need to cancel the sainsburys card then , before I apply for the other one , although a bit confused about the difference between my Sainsburys Credit Card and your recommended Sainsburys Bank card ? 

Good news is that even if you've spent £100 a week, £5200 a year, that'd only be £26's worth of points. Less if you've got some recent receipts you can still redeem. The real loss is probably the bonus offers which you've been missing out on.

You don't need to cancel your current Sainsbury's credit card. The cards I recommended are issued by Barclaycard and American Express, not Sainsbury's Bank.

If you get a Barclaycard Avios card the Sainsbury's Bank card still works out better only at Sainsbury's. If you get a Nectar Amex you'll still need a card for places which don't accept Amex (B&M, Home Bargains, many independent retailers etc).

If you get both, then there's probably no reason to keep the Sainsbury's Bank credit card, but since there's no fee it might be worth holding on to if it's your oldest credit card.

SiliconChip

carlmunger said:

Also , I wonder about getting Nectar points when I do a smart shop , as I can’t scan my card using this method as you don’t use a check out 

If your Nectar card is linked to your Smart Shop account then you'll get the points automatically every time you use that method to shop (along with bonus points if you buy the right products). Every other method you need to scan your Nectar card at some point before you pay.

timmy963

"Collect up to 3 points per £2 in Sainsbury’s, Argos, Habitat & Tu clothing when you pay with a Sainsbury’s Bank Credit Card & scan your Nectar card or app. And you’ll get 1 point per £5 elsewhere"

WillPS

carlmunger said:

Also , I wonder about getting Nectar points when I do a smart shop , as I can’t scan my card using this method as you don’t use a check out 

You do use a checkout when you use Smartshop, surely? Or at least you do in the ones I've been to - you scan a barcode on the self checkout and complete the purchase on there...

Either way, the only way to use SmartShop is with a Nectar card, so if you've done this you should be getting points.

redux

carlmunger said:

Also , I wonder about getting Nectar points when I do a smart shop , as I can’t scan my card using this method as you don’t use a check out 

The store's own scanner needs you to scan either the Nectar card itself, or its bar code as shown in the Nectar app, before you start your tour of the shop

I haven't used the Smartshop app on my phone for a couple of years, as the store wifi kept booting my phone off, so I can't remember exactly how you start, but I suspect it will be similar in starting with Nectar details

born_again

carlmunger said:

Also , I wonder about getting Nectar points when I do a smart shop , as I can’t scan my card using this method as you don’t use a check out 

You scan your nectar acc bar code when you pick up the smart shop barcode scanner.