Get a 20% bonus when you transfer Nectar points to Avios – worth it?

Avios has launched a conversion bonus for anyone sitting on a pile of Nectar points.

This seems slightly cheeky, given that it is only two weeks since the conversion rate in the other direction – from Avios to Nectar – was devalued with no notice (click to read more). The new rate is 400 Avios to 400 Nectar points.

Let’s take a look at the deal. Full details are on ba.com here.

The standard conversion rate of Nectar points to Avios is 400 : 250.

As a Nectar point is worth 0.5p when spent at Sainsburys, Argos, eBay etc, you are giving up £2 of free shopping in return for 250 Avios. In other words, you are buying Avios for 0.8p. This is a decent deal.

Until 7th April, you will receive a 20% bonus on every transfer INTO Avios.

(For clarity, there is no bonus in the opposite direction. The rate from Avios into Nectar remains at the devalued 400:400.)

This looks pretty attractive. For every 400 Nectar points you convert, you will now receive 300 Avios.

Put another way, you are giving up £2 of free shopping to earn 300 Avios, so you are ‘paying’ 0.66p per Avios. It’s an excellent return.

If you happen to be sitting on a pile of Nectar points with no real plan for them, you should seriously think about this deal.

What is the small print?

There doesn’t seem to be much, which is good.

The offer runs to 7th April.

Transfers must be in multiples of 400 Nectar points.

You can make multiple transfers in that period and get the 20% bonus on all of them.

You do NOT receive the bonus immediately. It will post within 28 days of the offer ending on 7th April.

It seems that anyone who auto-converts their Nectar points into Avios will receive the bonus automatically.

As per the comments below, the bonus is not posting instantly. We don’t know when it will be added.

The usual caps apply – you can transfer a maximum of 80,000 Nectar points into Avios per calendar month. This means that you could earn the bonus on a maximum of 160,000 Nectar points, as you could transfer 80,000 into Avios in March and a further 80,000 in early April.

You can see full details on ba.com here.

---

How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (April 2024)

As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Avios points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses!

In February 2022, Barclaycard launched two exciting new Barclaycard Avios Mastercard cards with a bonus of up to 25,000 Avios. You can apply here.

You qualify for the bonus on these cards even if you have a British Airways American Express card:

There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:

You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points. These points convert at 1:1 into Avios.

Run your own business?

We recommend Capital on Tap for limited companies. You earn 1 Avios per £1 which is impressive for a Visa card, along with a sign-up bonus worth 10,500 Avios.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 12th May 2024, the Capital on Tap Business Rewards Visa card is offering a bonus of 30,000 points, convertible into 30,000 Avios. You must have a Limited Company to apply. Click here to learn more and click here to apply.

You should also consider the British Airways Accelerating Business credit card. This is open to sole traders as well as limited companies and has a 30,000 Avios sign-up bonus.

There are also generous bonuses on the two American Express Business cards, with the points converting at 1:1 into Avios. These cards are open to sole traders as well as limited companies.

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.