Sainsbury's Credit Card

Sainsburys Credit Card Typical APR 15.9% APR Intro Purchases 0% for 3 months Balance Transfers 0% for 12 months 3% transfer fee - £3 min Rewards Nectar points 0% at Sainsburys for 12 months Interest Free Period Up to 59 days Annual Fee £0 You should only apply if you are: • Aged 18 or over • UK resident • Have not been declined for credit in the last month • Have no history of bad credit

More about Sainsburys credit card...

Imagine this - you're at the checkout in Sainsbury's; you hand over your cash to pay for your groceries along with your Nectar Card; the checkout operator says, "I'll just double your Nectar points on this purchase", and you say "Brilliant!"

Well, this is just what Sainsbury's are offering with the Sainsbury's credit card.

Nectar points
If you use Nectar at the moment to collect points off your grocery shopping, you'll get 2 points for every £1 you spend. If you pay for that same shopping using a Sainsbury's credit card, you'll get an additional 2 points per £1 on top.

If discounts off your groceries are what you're into, then the standard Nectar loyalty deal gets you a £2.50 discount for every £250 you spend. Using your Sainsbury's credit card brings this down to £2.50 discount for every £125 spent - that's about one Nectar voucher for every weekly shop - handy for saving up for that big grocery bill at Christmas!

Of course, there are many other retailers who will give you Nectar points for your purchases, like BP or Debenhams, and you still get these when you hand over your Nectar loyalty card. But if you also pay for these purchases using your Sainsbury's Credit Card, then you'll earn even more Nectar points - an extra 1 point for every £5 spent, on top.

Plus, anywhere you shop with the Sainsbury's credit card, be it Nectar sponsor or not, you'll still earn 1 Nectar point for every £5 spent.

Heavy-duty Nectar collectors however may fare better on the Nectar credit card from American Express; you'd still earn 2 points per £1 at Nectar sponsors (all of them and not just Sainsbury's - plus loyalty card points), but you'd also earn 1 point for every £1 spent elsewhere, and get 5,000 bonus points if you spend £200 during the first 3 months. The American Express Nectar credit card doesn't offer any 0% spending features though.

0% deals
Collecting Nectar points twice as fast is not the only great thing about the Sainsbury's credit card.

You'll get a full 12 months' interest free on all Sainsbury's purchases (excluding telecoms or energy).

Whilst it's probably not a good idea to keep 12 months worth of groceries on your card without paying it off, this is a great idea if you're planning a large purchase from Sainsbury's, like kitchen appliances, or a new TV or stereo.

The Sainsbury's credit card also comes with a 12-month 0% balance transfer deal, there is a standard 3% transfer fee, but the bonus is the equal length with the 0% on Sainsbury's spending - allowing you to transfer current debt to the card and still spend at Sainsbury's to earn your Nectar points.

The 0% on non-Sainsburys' purchases deal however, only lasts for 3 months. So during 0% periods Sainsbury's Bank (or the Halifax who issue this card) will apply your payments towards transactions remaining on their 0% deal the longest, in other words, during the first year payments will go first towards Sainsbury's purchases, then to balance transfers and lastly to non-Sainsbury's purchases.

What this means is that when the shorter 0% period on non-Sainsbury's purchases end prior to the others - those transactions will still be on the account accruing interest while all your payments go towards the transactions still at 0%.

So, the downfall to this card is that if you want to make use of the Sainsbury's 0% rate and / or the 0% balance transfer deal, you'll only have 3-months realistically at "0%" if you also use the card for any non-Sainsbury's purchases.

The trick is to either use this card to collect Nectar points and keep any spending repaid (at least after the first 3-months) - or if you want to spread any balance transfers or new large purchases at Sainsbury's over the coming year, then use a different card or a debit card when you shop outside of the orange supermarket.

Repaying in full
Another good feature of the Sainsbury's credit card is that you get 59 days to clear your balance in full without incurring interest charges - a full two weeks more than some cards offer.

Interest rates
One thing to watch out with the Sainsbury's credit card is the 'risk based pricing' that is used when you apply. Most customers are offered the standard rate, but some customers will be offered a rate that is much higher, either 18.9% or 20.9%.

Even the standard interest rate, at 15.9% is not the best on the market, but this is a card that is aimed squarely at Sainsbury's shoppers who will benefit from features other than the standard interest rate.

This card is not suitable for taking cash out or using abroad - both options carry high charges, and if you need to be doing either of these on a regular basis then check out some cards with better cash rates or no foreign transaction fee.

Summary
If you regularly shop at Sainsbury's, then the Sainsbury's credit card really is a good deal. If you are saving Nectar points for something specific, then you'll be able to get it in half the time than just using a Nectar loyalty card on it's own.

The Sainsbury's credit card is also really good for increasing your discounts on Sainsbury's groceries, or spreading the cost of a large purchase from Sainsbury's without paying any interest.

If you do your grocery shopping at Tesco or Morrisons, then this is probably not the card for you. However, if you do use Sainsbury's on a regular basis, then provided you utilise it correctly, this card is really offering something for nothing.

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