It announced that from 1 September, if you have the two connected, your Nectar and eBay accounts will be unlinked and you will no longer automatically collect Nectar points when you shop through the eBay website or app.
The online auction site confirmed that any eBay vouchers you order with Nectar points up to 31 August will still be available to use after the changes kick in the day after.
That means you’ll still have the full 12 months from the date the voucher was issued to make your purchase.
Also, any Nectar points you have accrued through eBay will still be free to use in your Nectar account and you will not need to take any action there.
While there are big changes in the way you can collect and redeem your Nectar card with eBay, there is one perk to the spending shake-up.
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This is because you can still earn Nectar points on your eBay purchases by manually clicking through from the Nectar app each time you make a purchase.
To soften the blow, the loyalty scheme is offering two points per £1 spent at eBay – double the current rate – once you opt in after each eBay purchase.
But, another drawback of the removal of the linked accounts will be the benefits through other loyalty schemes like Virgin Red.
‘No more double-dipping points’
Rob Burgess, editor and founder of Head for Points, said the days of “double-dipping your points” on eBay with loyalty schemes like Virgin Red are now over. Currently, you can earn one Virgin point for every £1 spent on eBay if you select the option before making a purchase.
It also spells the end of what he described as “crazily generous” promotions eBay had with Nectar. One case saw 50 Nectar points earned for every £1 spent, equivalent to a 25% return on the items you bought.
Burgess said: “Because you can buy pretty much anything on eBay, new or used, it was a genuinely useful way of spending Nectar points – especially if you didn’t live near, or don’t like, Sainsbury’s supermarkets.
“EBay was the only large-scale way left of earning Nectar points when shopping outside of companies owned by Sainsbury’s (ie, the supermarkets, Argos and Habitat).
“It is probably the final nail in the coffin of attempts to make Nectar into a proper ‘coalition’ loyalty programme [that] worked with multiple retailers.”
The finance journalist noted the lengthy list of companies who are no longer connected to Nectar point redemption, which includes the Daily Mail, Marks & Spencer (redemptions only), TransPennine Express, Avanti West Coast, Homebase, BP, British Gas, Hertz and Europcar.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson from Sainsbury’s, (the company which owns Nectar) said: “We’re focused on creating the best possible experience for our members, together with our partners.
“Customer feedback is really important to us and so we’re constantly looking at how we can make Nectar even better for everyone – whether that’s by changing the way customers can benefit from our existing partners, or adding new ones that we believe will benefit them most when they shop. And that’s at Sainsbury’s and beyond.”
They added: “For example, we recently launched with Smart Charge, allowing customers to earn Nectar points on electronic vehicle charging stations.
“We’ve also extended our affiliates business, doubling our online merchants and giving our customers even more opportunity to earn Nectar points across over 600 brands. We already have partners across the likes of travel with British Airways and Esso and we are looking to add even more partners this year.”
