Sainsburys Double Up, Making the most of your Nectar Points

With an amazing array of Taste the Difference wine deals and foods available for the main holiday periods each year, the Sainsbury’s double up voucher scheme offers the perfect opportunity to get great deals. By collecting Nectar points throughout the year you can boost your points balance in order to cash in when the Sainsburys double up events are live. But how does the Sainsburys double up voucher scheme work and how can you make the most of it?

 

How does Sainsbury’s double up work?

At certain points throughout the year Sainsbury’s offer special events where your Nectar points are worth double the normal amount. These events are known as Sainsbury’s double up events and often timed to coincide with the busy build-up periods to holiday such as just prior to Christmas. I personally build up my points during the year and save to buy my Christmas wines and treats prior to the festive period. However, you can use the points you have on a variety of different categories and ranges within the Sainsbury’s store during the double up event.

When you get close to a double up event at a Sainsburys nearby, simply log in to your Sainsbury’s or new nectar account and request vouchers to be sent out to you. They can take a while to arrive so I suggest you request them early in order to have a chance to spend them in store without rushing or missing out on stock of the item you want to use them on.

 

How can I boost my Nectar points available for Sainsburys double up?

Each Nectar point is usually worth .5 pence. When the double up event is running at a Sainsburys near me the points double in value meaning they’re worth the following amounts:

 

1 Nectar point = 1p during the double up event

2 Nectar points = 2p during the double up event

100 Nectar points = £1 during the double up event

500 Nectar points = £5.00 during the double up event

1000 Nectar points = £10.00 during the double up event

 

By using the Sainsburys near me during the year to collect Nectar points in an efficient way, I usually end up with around £50-£100 worth of Nectar points to use in the double up event (usually in the last weeks of November). I find it’s important to collect points sensibly. Afterall, if items are costing me a fortune at Sainsbury’s in the first place, it’s not worth collecting the points if I’m out of pocket in a big way! Check if your shop is the cheapest it can be.

 

There’s a number of things to do to make sure you’re building your Nectar points balance in a realistic way.

1. Only shop for products that are good value, you need OR offer a big Nectar bonus. 
2. Register for and use the New Nectar app and Smartshop. New Nectar will give you weekly bonus point items that are actually based on your past purchases and the smartshop sometimes gives bonuses too when you register. For example, this week I was recently offered 100 points for loose carrots, there’s no minimum amount on loose items to generate the bonus points so a tiddly 5p carrot generated 100 points (£1 worth of double up points).
3. Check for bonus offers in the “partners” section of the New Nectar app. Occasionally there’s extra points for things you’ll buy or use anyway, like listing on eBay.
4. Try to avoid spending points on items in Nectar during the year, they rarely seem to offer good value for your hard earned points.
5. Supplement your spending in Sainsburys stores nearby by using cashback apps to make items free or cheap while collecting Nectar points. The best apps I suggest using are Shopmium, CheckoutSmart, ClickSnap, Greenjinn, Receipt Hog and ZipZero. Using these will often help keep you shopping costs down and keep that Nectar point balance growing in the background.
6. You can also boost your Nectar points balance by keeping your eyes peeled for codes in Daily Mail newspapers to redeem in MyMail if you link your Nectar account. This is not a paper I usually buy as I can’t stand the dross inside, but if you spot a copy in a coffee shop or at the library check inside for a code to boost your points!

When can I use my Sainsbury’s double up vouchers?

Double up vouchers can be requested online prior to the events. You simply select the number of Nectar points you wish to trade in for vouchers and then wait for them to turn up in the post. Speaking of which, make sure your address is correct on your account for the vouchers to get safely to you.

 

Once they arrive they can be used on all manner of items, but the main categories covered are:

• Gift sets, 
• Skincare, 
• Toys, 
• Homeware, 
• Perfumes/Aftershaves, 
• Seasonal Aisle, 
• Taste the Difference Wines, Champagne etc.

 

Bear in mind that you’ll see the toys etc being put out on pallets a few days before the event, so you’ll know it’s coming. A word of warning, It can sneak up on some staff. I mention this because how well briefed and trained they are by their management will directly impact on your experience using the double up vouchers in store. I witnessed some confusion at Norwich stores where staff when convinced vouchers couldn’t be used on ports and sparkling wines and this held up the tills significantly as lots of customers were buying their festive wines in this manner. Ideally, take a copy of the terms and conditions along if you know your store might be less than ideally prepared.

It’s also worth remembering that well Nectar points are useful to buying your Christmas wine usually the prices of the Taste the Difference wines increase likely in this period so always consider other supermarkets when looking at supermarket wine deals and if you’re into your vegan wine check out the Aldi vegan wine range.

It’s also worth noting that you can save your points for double up events for charity. I used a good chunk to double up and donate to Children in Need this year. Well worth doing if you feel you can donate in this way.