Last Updated on 24 October 2022 by Dan
Hello everyone! I’ve mentioned Nectar Connect in my article on how to maximize Nectar points, but I’ve recently been finding I’m generating far more points from Nectar Connect rather than Sainsbury’s themselves. As a result I thought I’d also review Nectar Connect separately. So is it worth it?
What is Nectar Connect?
Nectar Connect is a service you can access most easily via Nectar App or online at Sainsbury’s website. It works by you providing read only access to your bank or credit card statements for marketing purposes, and then receiving benefit in the form of Nectar points in exchange for doing this.
Your data isn’t personally identifiable (it’s aggregated with lots of other people – the marketing experts behind this are trying to recognize big picture trends in what people are buying) but you have to be comfortable with the fact you are effectively selling your personal data.
Nectar Connect then allows you to opt in to offers with various merchants where for each £ of spend you earn a number of Nectar points, with many of these offers being very generous.
Slightly annoyingly, you have to re-opt in to offers fairly regularly in order for them to apply – most last about a month so it does take some effort from your part to keep up to date. You’ll also need to re-allow access to
How much can I earn from Nectar Connect?
The offers with merchants available through Nectar Connect change all the time, but here’s some examples of the offers I’ve got at the moment.
Each Nectar point is worth 0.5p, so some of these equate to a fairly good payback rate.
- 20 points per £1 at Costa Coffee (10p back per £)
- 10 points per £1 at Five Guys (5p back per £)
- 20 points per £1 at Leon (10p back per £)
- 10 points per £1 at LNER (5p back per £)
- 10 points per £1 at Groupon (5p back per £)
It’s also possible to do a bit of deal stacking here – you can also get cashback (our guide on this with TopCashback here) from online retailers and you’ll still get the bonus Nectar Points through Nectar Connect as well.
How do I use Nectar Connect?
Here’s a step by step guide on how to use and activate the Nectar Connect service.
NB. We strongly recommend using the app and activating Nectar Connect via your phone rather than doing so on a PC through the Sainsbury’s website. The reason for this is when linking your bank account, Nectar Connect will automatically find any banking apps on your phone to request permission from, and it makes the process of linking your credit cards significantly easier. If you’d prefer to do it through the website, you can find the link to Nectar Connect here.
Open the Nectar App. If you scroll down on the main home page, you’ll see something which looks a little bit like the below and has the Nectar Connect logo on it. Click it.
If it’s your first time signing up, you’ll need to accept the terms and conditions to activate the service.
You’ll then need to link your bank accounts or credit card account to the service. Simply select your service provider, and if you have the app for said bank/credit card on your phone it’ll open the app to approve it (else you’ll be logged into online banking)
Once the link is put in place, you’ll see a list of the various offers available – just click “activate offer” on any you’ll interested in to have it apply to your account! (Note it can take a little while until after your spend to register the extra points)
Overall Review of Nectar Connect
When used properly, Nectar Connect can be a powerful tool for earning quite a lot of Nectar points quickly, and overall we think it’s definitely worth signing up for, especially if you’re making a bigger ticket purchase from any of the involved retailers – I got a nice £50 of Nectar points from one purchase.
However we’ve knocked a couple of stars off for two reasons. First is the fact that you aren’t automatically opted in for offers and they expire relatively quickly. Even I as a money blogger often forget I need to check in and activate these on a frequent basis. It’s a little bit cheeky, as I feel it’s trying to get you to opt in to the data sharing but making it more difficult to get the reward side.
The other point is whilst I’ve usually been able to find a couple of offers I’ve liked, the range of retailers has been relatively small.
Nevertheless we think used properly, the high earnings rate of rewards does make it worth using the service.
Is Nectar Connect Free?
Yes, Nectar connect is completely free to use – although you are effectively paying for it in the form of information via providing data on your spending habits.
Is Nectar Connect Safe?
Yes, Nectar Connect uses the well established open banking protocol to have read only access to your bank or credit cards only. This is highly regulated and you must re-permission the links between Nectar Connect and your accounts every 90 days.
The company that runs the process behind Nectar Connect, Truelayer is a well established and respected market leader in this technology.
Any questions?
If you’ve had any big hauls of points through Nectar Connect or questions about the service we’d love to hear from you! Just drop us a note in the comments below.
And if you’re interested in articles on how to save money on your regular supermarket shopping, you might be interested in our guide to the best Supermarket loyalty schemes in the UK.
And that’s it!
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