After the opening offer, cardholders earn up to three points per £1 spent at Sainsbury’s, Argos or Tu Clothing when they use their Sainsbury’s Bank Nectar Credit Card and swipe their Nectar card.

Customers earn one Nectar point per £5 spent at other retailers.

According to research by Sainsbury’s Bank, nine in 10 (92%) UK adults collect rewards on their weekly shopping and 71% of these people said collecting rewards points is important when shopping.

A quarter (25%) of those who collect points said it had become more important since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.

According to Sainsbury’s, based on a weekly spend of £100 at Sainsbury’s or Argos, plus a £50 weekly spend at other retailers, customers could earn 310 Nectar points each week.

Over the course of a year, this could be worth more than £80.

Jason King, customer director at Sainsbury’s Bank, said: “We’re committed to helping Sainsbury’s customers get the best value from their credit cards. Our new Sainsbury’s Bank Nectar credit card offer means customers could be collecting significantly more points on their everyday shopping, whether this is buying their weekly groceries or getting ahead on the Christmas list.”

An analysis of the reward credit card market by Andrew Hagger, personal finance expert at Moneycomms.co.uk, found that the boosted Sainsbury’s Nectar card compares well against other rewards cards.

Someone spending £100 a week in Sainsbury’s or Argos, and £50 elsewhere, would earn a reward of £130.60 with Sainsbury’s in the first year, and £80.60 in subsequent years.

Using American Express’ Platinum Cashback card would mean a reward of £140.75 in the first year and £53 in subsequent years.

All the other cashback cards on the market offered a lower return than the Nectar card both in the first year and following years.

Hagger said: “The new Sainsbury’s Bank Nectar Credit Card deal is very competitive in the current market and ranks highest amongst the no-fee rewards based credit cards. The card offers good long term rewards value for those customers shopping with the Sainsbury’s and Argos brands.

“It’s a good all round card, not only offering generous own brand rewards value but also up to 17 months interest free on balance transfers and purchases. Unlike a growing number of rewards based credit cards, this new deal doesn’t come with a monthly or annual fee.”