Do you know you can redeem Avios for Nectar points for Marks & Spencer gift cards?

Avios points can be transferred to Nectar points at an attractive rate – 1 Avios gets you 0.8p of Nectar points.

Details of how to link your British Airways Executive Club and Nectar accounts are in this article.

The Nectar website lists the places that accept Nectar points as part or full-payment. We usually focus on Sainsburys, Argos and eBay.co.uk but there are others, such as Eurostar.

There is one major partner which is not listed on the Nectar website, however – Marks & Spencer.

Nectar has a major partnership with the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday. Once you are registered for their MyMail scheme, you can earn points with every newspaper you buy. You simply input the unique code printed on the back page into the MyMail website.

It isn’t a huge earner. You would earn 35 Nectar points per week (22 Avios) if you bought a newspaper every day. Online subscribers to The Mail+ receive 150 Nectar points per month (94 Avios).

For reasons I don’t fully understand, there is a unique Nectar redemption option which is only accessed via the MyMail website.

You can redeem your Nectar points – your full balance, not just the points you collected via the Mail – for Marks & Spencer gift cards.

The rate is 1,000 Nectar points for a £5 voucher, which is the standard 0.5p per Nectar point redemption rate.

The one snag is that the vouchers cannot be used for food purchases. They are only valid on non-food, eg clothing and homeware. The gift cards can be used both instore and online.

If you are keen to run down your Avios balance but don’t spend much at Sainsbury’s, Argos or eBay, this is another route to exit Avios at 0.8p per point.

PS. If you don’t have the Nectar American Express credit card, take a look at our review here.

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How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (April 2025)

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:

Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard

Get 25,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £10,000 Read our full review

Barclaycard Avios Mastercard

Get 5,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £20,000 Read our full review

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

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

30,000 Avios and the famous annual 2-4-1 voucher Read our full review

British Airways American Express

5,000 Avios for signing up and an Economy 2-4-1 voucher for spending £15,000 Read our full review

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.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on the ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 30,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (30,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to a huge 80,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (80,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 30,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express

80,000 bonus points and great travel benefits – for a large fee Read our full review

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, and the standard card is FREE. Capital on Tap cards also have no FX fees.

Capital on Tap Visa

NO annual fee, NO FX fees and points worth 1 Avios per £1 Read our full review

Capital on Tap Pro Visa

10,500 points (=10,500 Avios) plus good benefits Read our full review

There is also a British Airways American Express card for small businesses:

British Airways American Express Accelerating Business

30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios Read our full review

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.

American Express Business Platinum

50,000 points when you sign-up and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review

American Express Business Gold

20,000 points sign-up bonus and FREE for a year Read our full review

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