How to get Waitrose gift cards (or pretty much any gift card) from Amex Membership Rewards points

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It has always annoyed me that you cannot redeem Amex Membership Rewards points for Waitrose / John Lewis gift cards. I thought that things may change when John Lewis finally abandoned paper gift vouchers for gift cards, but it hasn’t.

There is, however, a solution!

Step 1

American Express Membership Rewards is a partner with Nectar. You can move your Membership Rewards points to your Nectar card at 1:1, with no minimum transfer. (This is, by the way, the best way of emptying out an odd amount of Amex points if you are closing your card.)

Step 2

Nectar is a partner with eBay. You can convert your Nectar points into eBay credit, at the standard Nectar conversion rate of 0.5p per point.

This is an instantaneous transaction – your eBay credit is immediately available for use in your eBay account.

Step 3

There are lots of people selling Waitrose / John Lewis gift cards on eBay. You should expect to pay 99% of face value, including postage.

I have done this in the past, when my Membership Rewards pile got a little too large to make sense, and it worked perfectly well.

You do not earn Nectar points via eBay when you buy gift vouchers, please note, so there is no extra ‘kicker’ from that.

0.5p per Amex point is not a great deal, of course. However, it is better than the 0.4p you get if you redeem them for statement credit and it is better than the 0.45p you get if you redeem them for travel credit.

You can get the same deal on pretty much any other retailer gift cards as eBay is awash with them. There is no need to be restricted by the range of stores offered by Amex directly.

Nectar also runs targetted offers a couple of times a year offering a bonus for converting your points to eBay. This can substantially increase the value you get from your Membership Rewards points.

Want to earn more points from credit cards? – December 2021 update

If you are looking to apply for a new credit or charge card, here are our November 2021 recommendations based on the current sign-up bonus.

You can see our full directory of all UK cards which earn airline or hotel points here. Here are the top current deals:

British Airways BA Amex American Express card

British Airways American Express

5,000 Avios for signing up, no annual fee and an Economy 2-4-1 voucher for spending ….. Read our full review

British Airways BA Premium Plus American Express Amex credit card

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

25,000 Avios and the UK’s most valuable credit card perk – the 2-4-1 companion voucher Read our full review

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & two airport lounge passes Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express

30,000 points and an unbeatable set of travel benefits – for a fee Read our full review

Earning miles and points from small business cards

If you are a sole trader or run a small company, you may also want to check out these offers.

American Express Business Gold

20,000 points sign-up bonus and free for a year Read our full review

American Express Business Platinum

40,000 points sign-up bonus and a long list of travel benefits Read our full review

British Airways Accelerating Business American Express

30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios Read our full review

Capital On Tap Business Rewards Visa

The most generous Avios Visa or Mastercard for a limited company Read our full review

For a non-American Express option, we also recommend the Barclaycard Select Cashback card for sole traders and small businesses. It is FREE and you receive 1% cashback on your spending: