Nectar360, the Sainsbury’s owned data specialist which operates the Nectar loyalty scheme, has signed an extension of its partnership with the company that runs the British Airways Executive Club, allowing Nectar members to convert their points to Avios.
First launched in January 2021, the partnership between Nectar and IAG Loyalty was claimed to be the first two-way exchange proposition between an airline and a supermarket coalition loyalty programme, proving popular with members and winning a number of industry awards.
The partnership works both ways by not only allowing Nectar members to get Avios points and redeem them through the BA Executive Club for rewards such as flights, cabin upgrades, hotel stays and more, but BA customers can convert Avios to Nectar points, to spend at Sainsbury’s and Argos.
The new agreement will extend the partnership until 2028.
Nectar360 group partner director James Howland said: “We are always looking for new ways to make Nectar even more useful and valuable to our customers. Our partnership with IAG Loyalty and Avios is just one more example of how Nectar is continuing to add value to customers by giving them opportunities to earn and spend points.”
IAG Loyalty head of retail, travel and leisure David Black added: “The enthusiastic response to this partnership from both Avios and Nectar members has been fantastic. This extension allows us to continue to provide exceptional value and choice for our members and deliver even more rewarding experiences.”
The move follows Sainsbury’s signing a group-wide deal with German tech giant SAP in a move which it insists will “revolutionise” its commercial systems and help drive the retailer’s new “Next Level Sainsbury’s” strategy.
The contract will lead to the consolidation of legacy systems within the group, which also includes Argos, Tu and Habitat, to achieve what it calls “increased business agility through cloud-based solutions, as well as a simplified and cost optimised technology estate”.
The retailer also secured a five-year deal with Microsoft in May, which will allow Sainsbury’s to tap into the tech giant’s artificial intelligence and machine learning capabilities and combine them with its own datasets.
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