Avios <> Nectar conversion (and conversion rate change soon)

[AleisterCrowley]

Apologies if this has been covered before, but I've only just discovered that one can convert between Avios and Nectar points (and vice versa)
I amassed a reasonable stash of Avios ( 62,746) when they were used a 'reward points' for Lloyd's Credit Card spend, but not having an 'Avios Lifestyle' I was a bit stuck as to how to spend them
Checking my balance the other day -they do 'evaporate' after 3 (?) years of inactivity- I found out that it's possible to link Avios and Nectar accounts and transfer between the two at a rate of 250 Avios <> 400 Nectar points
Very handy and easy to do , but note there is a monthly limit on conversions - 50,000 Avios per calendar month in that direction. Conversions must be multiples of 250 Avios, but this is only 400 Nectar points (£2) so not a problem
A second bit of random luck - spotted on MSE site today;
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/ ... mber-swap/
As the BA site says:
On 16 November 2022, the conversion rate of Avios to Nectar points will be changing to 400 Nectar points for every 300 Avios that you convert. The Nectar to Avios conversion rate will remain the same.
(assume limit will change as 50,000 is not a multiple of 300...?!...edit: 50,100 is mentioned in article)

I converted 50,000 in late October and the remaining 12,500 a few days ago netting (80,000+20,000) = 100,000 Nectar points, or £500 in real beer money
If I'd not spotted it until after the 16th Nov it would have reduced to ...ermm.. about £415
An annoying rump of 246 Avios remain, but as the value is £1.97 I'm not going to stress too much..

[pochisoldi]

So if I convert 6,000 avios, I get 9,600 nectar points which I could convert back to 7,200 avios at a later date?

[AleisterCrowley]

If you convert NOW
6,000 Avios > 9,600 Nectar points
If you convert back you'll get 6,000 Avios , pre- or post-change

if you convert Avios to Nectar after change,
6,000 Avios > 8,000 Nectar points
If you convert back you'll get 5,000 Avios

[Lootman]

Yes my understanding is that the rate from Avios to Nectar is being lowered, but not in the opposite direction.

So it makes sense to convert to Nectar before the deadline, and then just sit on those points.

That assumes that you can't do better than 0.8p on your Avios in some other way of course.

Also note that Iberia are making their Avios redemptions worse this year, and BA is expected to do the same in 2023. That is the problem with airline and hotel currencies - they can be diluted at will. Which is why I generally try to "earn and burn" them, rather than hoard them for future use.

By the way, the charges on a "free" return ticket to New York in business class using Avios is now around £1,000. It's an outrage, and I believe that increasing numbers of people are going the Nectar route, hence the change I would guess.

[AleisterCrowley]

If I've got this right..
The current VALUE of 1 Avio when converting to Nectar points is 0.8p
This will drop to 0.67p after 16/11

The current COST of 1 Avio when converting from Nectar points is 0.8p
This will remain the same
So your Nectar points will still buy the same number of Avios, but the Avio has been devalued from 0.8p to 0.67p

I'm confusing myself here

[Lootman]

If I've got this right..
The current VALUE of 1 Avio when converting to Nectar points is 0.8p
This will drop to 0.67p after 16/11

The current COST of 1 Avio when converting from Nectar points is 0.8p
This will remain the same
So your Nectar points will still buy the same number of Avios, but the Avio has been devalued from 0.8p to 0.67p

I'm confusing myself here

Yes, that is also my understanding:

https://www.headforpoints.com/2022/11/0 ... -devalued/

[pochisoldi]

Converted avios on 8th Nov
Nectar account credited 18th Nov
Tried spending points at Argos (standalone store) 27th Nov - failed.
Phone call to Nectar CS and after overcoming BS stating "you have to earn points at the Argos store before you can redeem), it turns out that my account was frozen for redemption by "the fraud team" on Nov 8th.

So now I have £50 of existing points that I can't redeem, and a shed load of converted Nectar points that are equally useless. There's no number for the Nectar Fraud team/dept - not looking good.

Pochisoldi

[AleisterCrowley]

Mine all went through OK, and my Nectar card still 'works' for collecting points
Sounds very odd
Have you tried the options here?
https://www.nectar.com/contact-us