British Airways Executive Club is devaluing Nectar point conversions, a popular redemption option for UK members.

At the moment – and until November 16, 2022 – you can convert 250 Avios into 400 Nectar points. For those who aren’t familar with “Nectar”, it is a loyalty program run by Sainsburys, a major UK supermarket. Because Nectar points have a fixed value of 0.5p each when applied to your grocery bill, that meant an Avios always had a floor value of 0.8p. (0.9 US cents)

From November 16, 2022 the conversion rate changes to 300 Avios = 400 Nectar points. In other words, 0.67p per Avios. (0.75 US cents)

You will still be able to convert 400 Nectar points into 250 Avios – that exchange rate does NOT change.

What Other Bad News is Coming?

We have already seen Iberia leak the news that British Airways is moving to revenue-based Avios earning. (click here for details)

We have also seen British Airways launch a subscription service with suspiciously low pricing. (click here for details)

Could something also be coming on the award chart side? There is little doubt that UK-based Executive Club members would have rushed to cash out as Nectar points if award charts were to be devalued substantially. Once the Nectar option is devalued, BA’s flexibility to devalue certainly increases – maybe we will finally see the much-threatened “dynamic award pricing”…

Bottom Line

It is hard to mourn a redemption option that has only been available for ~2 years and is nearly irrelevant to anybody living outside of the United Kingdom. Especially a redemption option that most Avios gurus would shun in favor of a higher value one.

But I suspect that many readers will be fearing even worse news coming along…  What do you think? Let us know in the comments section…