Sainsbury’s Bank has made a major change to its Nectar points deal, slashing the rewards consumers can earn by 75%.
The bank has emailed its 1.8 million customers in the UK to tell them of the change, from November 1, which has prompted a torrent of complaints. The scheme currently rewards customers with two points for every £1 they spend at Sainsbury’s, Argos, Habitat and Tu clothing, but the new system will offer just a quarter of that, with customers collecting just one Nectar point for every £2 spent. So £100 worth of shopping at Sainsbury's will earn the cardholder 200 Nectar points now, but only 50 points after November 1. Shoppers need 200 Nectar points go get £1 to spend.
Customers have taken to Twitter to complain about being dealt the blow during the cost-of-living crisis which is seeing inflation rise to record levels and shoppers looking to make savings where they can.
Read more: How loyalty schemes compare at Tesco, Sainsbury's, Asda and more
@Brady_Delaney_ said: "Good old @sainsburys doing their bit to help with the #CostOfLivingCrisis Just been notified that the #nectar rewards on my recently acquired @Sainsburys_Bank credit card are to be slashed by 75%! Why?! #everylittlehelps Think I'll go back to @TescoBankNews," while @jonjhibbs said: "Masterstroke by @Sainsburys_Bank responding to the cost-of-living crisis with a unilateral 75% devaluation of Nectar points in one of those annoying emails you can’t reply to but don’t give any explanation. Perhaps @sainsburys can justify?"
Sainsbury's responded to the complaints on Twitter, saying it "constantly reviews its offers" to make sure it is offering the best deals. It said: "We’ve reduced the number of points you earn when paying with your credit card whilst making sure we’re still offering Nectar points when you shop with us. Our points offer remains competitive. We’re sorry for your disappointment."
A Sainsbury’s spokesperson told The Sun : “While we understand this offer is popular with card holders, we are certain that all customers will continue to find great value and to save money with Sainsbury’s through our low priced food, competitive financial services and affordable Argos and Habitat brands.”
From November 1, the supermarket will award one point for each full £2 spent at Sainsbury’s, Argos, Habitat and Tu Clothing in the UK. It will also award one point for each full £5 spent everywhere else.
The Nectar Card was launched in 2002 after Sainsbury’s, Debenhams, BP and Barclaycard all combined their loyalty schemes under one brand. Sainsbury’s then bought Nectar in 2018 and revamped the loyalty scheme in 2019.
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