Sainsbury’s Nectar360 has partnered with Uber and Uber Eats to allow customers to redeem loyalty points for rides and food deliveries from 9 April, marking the scheme’s first move into transport-based rewards.

Nectar members can exchange points for Uber vouchers through the Nectar app, with credit automatically added to their Uber account for use across both services. Redemption options range from 500 to 4,000 points, equivalent to between £2.50 and £20.

The agreement represents a first for both companies, introducing ride-hailing and takeaway as a new category within Nectar’s network of more than 500 partners. For the loyalty programme, the move extends its reach beyond traditional grocery and retail spending into everyday services.

Nectar’s operator is seeking to increase the relevance of its rewards by linking them to more frequent, real-world use cases. The partnership also gives Uber access to Nectar’s customer base, which includes more than 24 million members across the UK.

Amir Rasekh, managing director of Nectar360, said the initiative was designed to embed loyalty into daily routines, stating: “We’re giving people more ways to enjoy the value they get from Nectar, making everyday moments more rewarding.”

Katie Hunter, head of grocery and retail at Uber Eats, said the partnership would expand how customers use rewards, adding: “By integrating our services, we’re providing Nectar’s loyal members with even more flexibility in how they spend their rewards.”

The deal reflects a broader shift among loyalty schemes towards lifestyle-based incentives, as operators attempt to make points systems more flexible and relevant to consumer behaviour. Expanding beyond retail into services such as transport and food delivery is seen as a way to increase engagement and frequency of use.

Mark Given, Sainsbury’s chief technology, marketing and data officer, said the partnership aimed to broaden everyday utility, noting it would give customers more options when redeeming points.

The integration is available immediately through the Nectar app, with vouchers applied directly to Uber accounts without requiring manual code entry.

The news of Sainsbury's closer partnership with Uber comes several weeks after the supermarket chain axed its on demand delivery service Chop Chop in February. The service, launched in 2016 and available at 50 stores across the UK, promised rapid same-day delivery on groceries to compete with offerings from the likes of Tesco and Amazon. Instead, Sainsbury’s will solely offer this type of service via apps like Deliveroo and Uber Eats. Its online grocery shopping service, which requires users to book delivery slots, remains unchanged.

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