Beginning on March 22 2011, Nectar Card holders will be able to trade their points for flights at Gatwick, Bristol, Manchester, and any other UK airport served by easyJet.
Nectar, whose slogan is “you deserve it”, rewards shoppers for spending cash at particular supermarkets, websites, and high street outlets.
Cardholders are typically awarded a number of points relative to the price of their purchase, which are then stored on the card for later use.
Cards containing more than 500 points (equivalent to £2.50 in cash), can be used to pay for cinema tickets, train journeys, and a variety of other goods and services.
J. Sainsbury, founder of the Nectar scheme, claims that flights to 550 destinations in 30 countries will soon be available to cardholders.
As the price of a flight to Spain or France (for example) often exceeds £100, holidaymakers will need to accrue more than 20,000 points before their Nectar Card has sufficient value to cover the price of a ticket.
However, easyJet will accept payment using a combination of points and cash, helping shoppers acquire a discount on their flight or any associated taxes.
Head at J. Sainsbury, Justin King, said that the option to spend Nectar Points on flights was one of the most popular requests from cardholders.
“Nearly a million collectors have enough points to pay for flights to popular destinations like Malaga", the chief executive explained. "It is estimated that approximately 300,000 flights per annum will be booked using Nectar Points.”
EasyJet boss, Carolyn McCall, referred to the carrier’s newest partnership as “exciting”.
Mrs. McCall noted that Nectar Points could theoretically be used on any flight, on any day, including more than 80 from Gatwick Airport.
