Sainsbury’s Bank has made a major change to its Nectar rewards system, slashing the points consumers can earn on each transaction by 75%.
With 1.8 million active customers in the UK, Sainsbury’s Bank emailed all its credit card holders to inform them of the change, which will be coming into play this November.
The previous scheme rewarded customers with two points for every £1 they spent at Sainsbury’s, Argos, Habitat and Tu clothing. The new system will offer just a quarter of that; with customers collecting just one Nectar point for every £2 spent.
For example, £30 worth of shopping would have accrued 60 Nectar points under the current system. The same amount of shopping in November will see consumers claiming just 15 Nectar points; a 75% drop in value.
Customers are being dealt the blow during the cost-of-living crisis which is seeing inflation rise to record levels and shoppers looking to make savings wherever possible.
The move applies to all Sainsbury’s credit card holders, as all of the supermarket’s various cards offer the same ability to earn Nectar point rewards.
“Loyal Sainsbury’s Bank customers won’t like this change,” said comparison site Lending Expert’s editor-in-chief, David Beard.
“To revise one of the credit card’s most loved benefits so dramatically in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis could be a harmful move.”
With so many other credit cards to choose from, Beard also suspects customers might “vote with their feet and go elsewhere”.
“Sadly it’s a sign of the times, and consumers will have to get used to this practice of skimpflation, where brands reduce the value of their services to remain profitable” he added.
Customers have expressed their disappointment in the move across social media, with many questioning the benefit of the credit card, with others threatening to take their business elsewhere.
One Twitter user wrote: “Talk about hitting people when it’s already hard. They’re effectively quartering the offer.”, while another described the move as a “suckerpunch” and said they would definitely be cancelling their card.
So disappointed in @sainsburys today, announcing that @nectar points on credit card spending will be slashed.
Talk about hitting people when it’s already hard. They’re effectively quartering the offer:
Currently 2 pts for every £1 spent.
Going to be 1 pts for every £2 spent.— Adam Peck 💙 (@adzpeck) September 1, 2022
Sucker punch from @Sainsburys_Bank this morning, slashing the @nectar point earning potential by 3/4. Certainly cancelling! pic.twitter.com/6CTV3cTTvl
— Ken Adams ⛰️ (@mrbrady72) September 1, 2022
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Eejits