Sainsbury's is my local supermarket, and after shopping there for a couple of months I decided it would cause me no great loss to join in on the Nectar card scheme, and I have been busily collecting my points ever since.

I use it every time I visit Sainsbury's, which is usually about once a week. However, I don't think the incentives of how many points you have to collect to obtain certain things is made clear. I use my card all the time and have not once received a letter saying I had so many points and was now eligible for such a prize.

Nonetheless, last time I did my weekly shop, the shop assistant after swiping my card through the machine asked if I was saving my points up. I said no, as I didn't know what I was saving them up for, and she kindly told me I was eligible for £10.00 off my food bill, so my bill only came to £2, which was a great start to my day!

Even though the incentives are not made very clear, I could defiantly cope with having £10 knocked of my bill every couple of months. So all in all, no complaints!!

Nectar Card- People tend to fall into two categories: They either like loyalty cards or they hate them. I'm someone who likes getting things for free, and so far as I'm concerned, getting a reward for shopping somewhere I'd do my shopping anyway can't be bad.

Nectar was originally a replacement reward card for Sainsbury's shoppers, but unlike most reward cards, when Nectar was launched (or when the Sainsbury's reward card was relaunched as Nectar) it had expanded the number of shops you could use it in. Initially it was a handful of outlets including BP and Adams, but now it includes a wide range of stores and services including Debenhams, Vodafone, eEnergy, Thresher, Ford, all:sports, Hertz, Winemark and more.

As with all loyalty cards, the Nectar card works on the basis that for every certain amount that you spend with a particular retailer involved in the scheme you will be awarded Nectar Points. In general, most retailers will give you 2 points for each pound you spend, but with certain retailers this changes, for example with BP you get 1 point for every litre of fuel, and with Barclaycard you get 1 point for every £2.00 spent.

Joining the scheme
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This is easy - you can apply in most of the retailers that take part in the scheme or you can apply online at www.nectar.com. You give a few basic personal details and they send you a card out in the post.

Keeping track of your points
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Nectar send out statements periodically outlining how many points you have, and letting you know what you can currently exchange your number of points for. The statement breaks down where you have earned your points (e.g. 500 at Sainsbury's, 480 at BP etc) - to me this isn't particular of much use other than being interesting looking back at just how much you've been spending.

My personally preferred method of keeping a check on my points is through their internet site. Once you have a card you can register it at nectar.com which allows you to check your balance and redeem points at any time. Similar to the statements that are sent in the post, the site allows you to see where you've spent all your hard earned cash!

The Nectar Website
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As already mentioned, registering with the site is a great way of keeping a check on your points balance, but it's also a great way to browse what you can spend your points on and for registering your card with any services you might use that are in the scheme (e.g. if you're a Vodafone customer you can link your nectar card to Vodafone through their site).

The Nectar website is very easy to navigate with links to pretty much everything you'll want to know in connection with your card. There are plenty of rewards you can choose through the Nectar scheme, and the site allows you to just view those rewards that are within your reach rather than making you browse through an entire gallery of things you'll never have enough points for. If you're logged in on the site you can click a 'What Can I Get?' button which brings up a list of items you can swap your points for, starting with the most expensive in terms of points. Alternatively, if you're only looking to spend a few of your points you can amend the search to just show you things within a certain points range (e.g. 0 - 750)

Rewards
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There's not a lot you can't get in terms of rewards!
You need a minimum of 250 points before you can do anything with your points, but realistically you need 500 points to reward yourself. For 250 points you can donate to charity, but 500 points is where you can start swapping your points for Nectar vouchers that can be exchanged for money off at places such as Argos, Sainsbury's and Debenhams, or meals at McDonalds or a Blockbusters rental.

The more points you get, the better value the rewards - for example 3,000 points gets you free entry at Alton Towers during peak season. When you consider that 500 points gets you £2.50 off at Argos, saving 3,000 for the Alton Towers ticket is better value for money, but then again if you don't use your card much it can take an age to reach into the thousands of points so it's often just as nice to be able to treat yourself to a free DVD rental every now and again.

Full lists of all the rewards can be found on the nectar.com website.

To claim your reward you can make a call to Nectar, or again my preferred method - use the internet! Just select the reward you're after and within a few days the vouchers will arrive through the post. I was a little surprised when applying for Alton Towers tickets that the vouchers received are just the same as all other Nectar vouchers, but it seems it's the correct amount of vouchers you need as opposed to a specific voucher stating what it's to be used for.

Why I Like It!
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The Nectar card has recently become my favourite of the loyalty cards. This is mainly since my boyfriend and I became Vodafone customers as it means I regularly get points (every month when our bills are paid). In addition I've recently been awarded plenty of bonus points from Debenhams. I've spent a lot on line (you can use your Nectar card for points at debenhams.com as well as the shop) and in store recently at Debenhams, and without realising it has earned me an extra 4,000 bonus points. I still don't know why I got them - I recently noticed that I'd been awarded 2,000 bonus points on my statement when I checked online, and then just the other day another 2,000 bonus points had been added, but I'm not complaining as it means we're getting a free trip to Alton Towers next week!

It can be a hassle remembering to take your loyalty cards out when you shop, but the fact that Nectar can be used in more than one outlet makes it worthwhile. Even if you don't shop regularly, points do add up and it's always nice to treat yourself and feel you're getting something for free every now and again. I've heard people say they don't like loyalty cards as stores can track what you're buying etc. but is that really a bad thing? I'm really not fussed if Nectar knows I bought an extra bottle of wine from Sainsbury's last week, or new underwear from Debenhams etc! I'm not hassled with junk mail - the only Nectar related mail I get is the statement which I would guess arrives every 3 months or so.

Definitely a worthwhile addition to any wallet!