Any rewards card with points are almost always just for drip feeding a balance, not really for fully funding trips or stays.
Avios is really collected on mass from somewhere like the BA Executive Rewards app. The Avios from spending just tops up your balance (I usually get 1,000 or so per month from spending).
Not flying from London is admittedly a pain and will cost more as you’re getting two flights but you can still get a return to Paris for example for like 19k miles and a reasonable price.
Also remember you can use Avios on OneWorld airlines - I used them internally in the US and flew from NY to LA for 10k miles and something like £4.50.
You mean go and click on shops through that app and shop through there every time you want to buy something? And do they have all the shops one might need, or is it again a case of having to buy something from a more expensive shop that is in the app, vs. a cheaper shop that isn’t there (so the points are offset by the extra cost)?
There are a LOT on there not just expensive places. And some link to your card, such as Pret for example (5 points per £) which are automatic.
All my Apple purchases are done through there, some offers go up to 15 miles per £. I bought some work trousers last month and got 990 miles just for that one purchase alone (as well as the points from the Amex).
You have to play the game a little but almost all rewards cards are the same.
Popular ones:
Pret
JustEat
Booking .com
Argos
Deliveroo
ASOS
M&S
Curry’s
Apple
Trainline
John Lewis
TK Maxx
Very
H&M
Dominos
B&Q
Sainsbury’s
Moonpig
Superdrug
Reward Flight Saver has been extended to long haul, which has massively changed the way you can use Avios to book flights as HFP explain in the following articles:
You still have the Nectar get out option and it’s still very easy to earn Avios, albeit not in the quantities required to make annual redemptions, but overall collecting them makes sense.
Using them for BA flights has changed a little, especially if you earn the AMEX 241 vouchers. Unless you’re earning a huge number of Avios each year (maybe through work expenses, work flights etc.) having enough Avios to make the 241 redemption worth it is difficult.
There’s also the issue where a lot of people will end up spending more Avios and less cash than they should and as a result getting poor returns for their points.
The best strategy now seems to be earning your voucher, then cancelling your AMEX card until you’re able to earn a new sign up bonus two years down the line.
Note that avoid is a transferable currency and you can use it with other airlines. For example one can transfer avios and book flights on Aer Lingus, British Airways, Iberia, LEVEL, Qatar Airways. Not sure if that helps at all.
Also, normally credit card miles are used as a supplement to otherwise accrued balance from regular business and leasure travel. If one doesn’t collect miles from flying, it is usually very hard to collect enough miles for even one way one person reward flight. Unless one has a lot of work expenses put through personal credit card.
I personally still use them a lot, even if it’s just to reduce short haul European flights. Booked my companion voucher to DC later this year (Business there, Premium Economy back) for 105,000 miles (plus £341) for two people, and we still have several hundred thousand left.
This is so shocking to me. After years I still only have about 55k Avios, but then I haven’t bothered with looking on the Avios site that much for partner offers… maybe I should start
I probably drag on about it too much but the shopping portal is the way to go to get Avios.
We have a household account, both have Amex’s which we use as our daily spending card (probably netting us a couple thousand per month), and both use the shopping portal/offers.
Oh and Nectar conversion. It’s currently ridiculously easy to get Nectar points with offers and they automatically convert weekly.
This will be our third year of companion voucher use with 100,000+ redemptions.
Does the avios tracking work for linked cards? https://www.shopping.ba.com/ - I’ve had both my AMEX and Monzo linked here for a while now but it doesn’t pick up any in store transactions i’ve done. I’ve been able to get avios points when i’ve done online transactions and followed the URL from the shopping portal
Yeah i’ve had it linked for more than 6 months and not a single transaction has been picked up by Avios. Do you know if the offers have to be all saved before using it in store?
I’ve seen it and registered my card but not sure if it actually works? Probably does, but I don’t bother checking. Easier to buy online through the BA Shopping portal
Worth pointing out, something I completely overlooked until earlier this week is since Uber is an Avios partner and you can now book train tickets via the Uber app, you can double up your Avios earning via both a credit card and directly via Uber.
The Avios from the train ticket I bought this morning have already been credited to my BAEC account.
Train tickets also earn 10% back in Uber credit too.