Earn 3,000 Bonus Avios on Weekends With Hilton HHonors

 

Earn 1,000 bonus Avios for any completed “weekend night” between 1 August 2013 and 16 December 2013. For the purposes of this promotion Hilton defines a “weekend night” as Friday, Saturday or Sunday. Stays at Hampton by Hilton and Homewood Suites will earn 200 bonus Avios per completed weekend night.

 

To participate in this offer, you must

(1) be a member of Hilton HHonors

Join here for free.

(2) select Iberia as your preferred Double Dip Points & Miles Partner in your Hilton HHonors account profile

You earn 10 HHonors Base Points for every US dollar spent on your room. In addition to the base points you can earn bonus points. There are three options:

1. Points and Points - 5 Bonus Points per US dollar spent on your room


2. Points and Variable Miles - 1 mile per US dollar spent on your room


3. Points and Fixed Miles - A set number of airline/rail miles per hotel stay depending on partner. Full details can be found here. If you select Iberia Plus as your travel partner then you will earn 750 Avios per stay

 

(3) select Points and Fixed Miles or Points and Variable Miles as your Double Dip Earning Style within your HHonors profile

Full details on how the Hilton HHonors points system works can be found here.

 

(4) register at HHonors.com/iberiaweekend (English version) or HHonors.com/iberiaweekendes (Spanish version)

You must register for this promotion to be eligible for the bonus Avios.

 

(5) Complete one or more qualifying stays at participating hotels in Europe, Middle East & Africa only between 1 August 2013 and 16 December 2013

The promotion terms and conditions says that only stays booked and completed after registration will be eligible for bonus Avios. However, if you have a nonrefundable stay already arranged at a Hilton then you should still register as I suspect you will still earn the bonus Avios.

 

Allow up to six weeks after qualification and after promotion has ended for miles to be credited to your account.

 

Full details of the promotion can be found here.

 

Hat-tip for this post to Loyalty Lobby.

 

Earn 3,000 Bonus Avios on Weekends With Hilton HHonors

One-Day Sale at Hotels.com - Save Up To 50%

 

There are two conditions for this one day sale:

1. You must book your hotel stay via hotels.com before 21 August 2013


2. You must stay between 20 August and 9 October 2013


3. This offer is only available for select number of hotels

 

Up to 50% discounts are available during this one day sale. More information can be found here.

 

In the interests of full disclosure, this blog receives a small commission for all hotel stays booked through our affiliate link. This is a public offer, which is available independently through hotels.com. We appreciate any support you give us.

One-Day Sale at Hotels.com - Save Up To 50%

12,000 Avios for Tesco Life Insurance

Tesco Bank is offering 5,000 Clubcard points for new customers who take out a life insurance or critical illness cover before 29 October 2013. You must quote promotional code P4L5K to receive the Clubcard points. Full details of the offer can be found here.

As a word of warning, I will discuss this deal from the prospect of obtaining Avios. If you want/need life or critical illness cover then get a policy that meets your financial needs rather than one that earns you Avios. You can find independent financial advice at unbiased.co.uk.

5,000 Clubcard points can be exchanged for 12,000 Avios. However, Tesco have learnt from previous points and do not give you the Clubcard points easily.The 5,000 Clubcard points will be allocated as 1,250 points over 4 quarterly Clubcard Statements. The first 1250 points will be applied after three monthly premiums have been paid. If you cancel your policy or stop paying premiums within the first 12 months, we will not apply any outstanding Clubcard points.

So, you need to maintain the policy for 12 months to receive the full allowance of Clubcard points. The minimum premium is £5.00 per month. Therefore, 12 months premium will cost £60 to earn 12,000 Avios (1 Avios = 0.5 pence).

I value Avios at one pence per point so I consider this to be a very good deal to earn Avios. The only drawback is the significant time required to earn the full allocation of points.

If you actually want the Life insurance it is important to answer all questions fully, truthfully and accurately. If you want the Clubcard points then make yourself appear as healthy as possible to avoid any underwriting problems.

You can cancel your policy at any time, but if you do, you won’t receive any money back, and if you cancel before 12 months you won’t receive all of the bonus Clubcard points.

It is also worth remembering that you can also exchange Tesco Clubcard points for Virgin Flying Club points if you prefer to redeem for Virgin or Delta flights.

 

Terms and Conditions

• Maximum two offers per household


• Not to be used in conjunction with any other offer


• Only for UK residents and age 18 or over

12,000 Avios for Tesco Life Insurance

Buy Avios and Get Up To 30% Extra

Buy a minimum of 2,000 Avios before 19 September 2013 and boost your purchase by up to 30%. It is a sliding stage; the more you buy the higher the bonus. Here are the full details:

• Purchase 2,000 – 9,000 Avios for a 5% Avios bonus


• Purchase 10,000 – 17,000 Avios for a 10% Avios bonus


• Purchase 18,000 – 23,000 Avios for a 20% Avios bonus


• Purchase 24,000 Avios for a 30% Avios bonus

You are allowed to purchase up to a maximum 24,000 Avios each year.

You can purchase your Avios through either British Airways Executive Club or Avios.com

If you purchase the full annual allowance of 24,000 Avios you will receive 7,200 bonus Avios for a grand total of 31,200 Avios at a cost of £399 (1 Avios = 1.28 pence).

30,000 Avios plus £50 will get you a Club Europe return to the lovely Croatian city of Dubrovnik. Using the British Airways low fare finder, the cheapest Club Europe return to Dubrovnik is £291.

 

 

If you purchase 9,000 Avios you will receive 450 bonus Avios, which is even enough to book a British Airways return economy class flight to Paris or Rome (plus £35, at a cost of £159 (1 Avios = 1.68 pence)

Using the British Airways low fare finder, an economy return to Paris can be bought for £119 and Rome for £80 (without checked baggage).




 

Therefore, you can see from my examples that you need to have a specific redemption in mind to consider purchasing Avios.

To my mind,  it is only worth buying Avios if you need a small amount to top off your balance to reach a redemption you are saving towards and you don’t have enough time to earn them in an alternative way, or if you want to upgrade an existing eligible ticket you have already purchased and don’t have enough Avios to do so.

Buy Avios and Get Up To 30% Extra

Disaster! Potential End of VISA 3V Pre-Paid Cards!

 

 

If you are unfamiliar with 3V cards then let me provide a brief explanation.

Tesco offer 150 Clubcard points (360 Avios) when you spend £50 in one transaction on gift cards. In May 2013 this was extended to VISA branded gift cards.

Most UK reward credit cards are American Express, and despite what their advertising says, American Express is not accepted everywhere. So, this new development meant you could pay with your American Express card and earn points or meet a spending requirement for a sign up bonus in places that don’t accept Amex but do accept VISA.

Then another development changed the game even more, National Savings and Investment (NS&I) allow customer to deposit into their savings accounts online using a debit card. This is true manufactured/churn spending. You could buy 3V cards in Tesco with an American Express, earn credit card points and Tesco Clubcard points, then deposit the funds into a NS&I savings, wait 7 working days, then withdraw the funds to a bank account, then repay the credit card.

I have a full explanation here.

 

Now I have explained 3V cards and why they are so lucrative to points-collectors, let me tell you the bad news. I hope you are sitting comfortably. I went to my local Tesco Superstore and stumbled upon a rack of 3v cards. However, when attempting to purchase the aforementioned prepaid cards I was told by the cashier, then store manager, that Tesco’s policy has changed. I could only purchase the cards using a debit card or cash, credit cards are not accepted any longer for VISA gift card purchases. They had received new instructions from head office over the weekend informing them of the policy change.

I hope this is a mistake on their part, or a local instruction affecting this one superstore, I will attempt to find more 3V cards elsewhere to find the truth.

If you have had a similar experience then please write in the comments box below or email me at georgethetravelmonkey[at]gmail.com

 

Disaster! Potential End of VISA 3V Pre-Paid Cards!

2,400 Avios for Call of Duty at Tesco - Again(!)

Now a promotion from Tesco you can almost set your watch by.

Tesco are offering 1,000 Clubcard points, which can be exchanged for 2,400 Avios, for pre-ordering the latest Call of  Duty game on either Playstation 3 or XBox.

Sound familiar? It should do. Tesco have run a similar promotions many times over the last 12-24 months. Well, here are the details for the latest one.

 

The Online Promotion

Get 1,000 extra Clubcard points when you pre-order Call of Duty Ghosts on Xbox 360 or PS3. Full details can be found here.

The price is £40.00.

There are two e-codes that could be used to save money but you aren’t able to use both at the same time,

• Save £5 when you spend £35 on pre-order games using code TD-G9DW (this code expires on 18 August 2013)


•  Save £10 when you £75 at Tesco Direct using code TDX-HD6P (this code expires on 26 August 2013)

If you use the first code the price will drop to £35.

You will get 2,484 Avios for £35 (1 Avios = 1.41 pence).

If you use the second code and pre-order two games the cost will increase to £70.

You will get 4,968 Avios for £70 (1 Avios= 1.41 pence).

The release date is 5 November 2013.

Since you will definitely be able to resell these items, either on eBay or the high street, it should be possible to recoup a portion of the cost to buy these items making this a potential worthwhile Avios-earner. However, there is another part of this promotion to explore first…

 

The In-Store Promotion

Now, this is where it gets interesting. In certain Tesco stores, usually the larger ones, you are able to pre-order these games for £5 with no obligation to buy when they are released AND you will the same Clubcard bonus, meaning you are able to buy 2,400 Avios for £5! (1 Avios = 0.2 pence)

You pick up a box in-store for the game you wish to pre-order, go to the checkout, pay £5, then receive a special receipt that can be exchanged on day of release for the game with a £5 discount. However, the Clubcard points are credited with your pre-order purchase so there is no need to purchase the game when it is released.

This promotion is scheduled to end on 18 August 2013 but may end sooner if it proves too popular (can’t think why that would be!) So, act sooner rather than later if you are interested.

 

Word of Warning

Tesco has a history of freezing the Clubcard accounts of people they feel are abusing their program. Always remember the golden rule of loyalty programs, you do not own the points. If you want to participate in this promotion then do so with constraint, not only so others can also participate but so you don’t appear on Tesco’s radar and run the risk of losing all your points and vouchers.

2,400 Avios for Call of Duty at Tesco - Again(!)

12% Promo Code for Hotels.com for Mobile Bookings

Hotels.com have a mobile-only promotional code for a 12% discount for booking made via mobile devices.

The promo code is valid for booking made from 12 August to 18 August 2013 for stays between 12 August and 31 October 2013.

 

 

Hotels.com are also in the final week of their Summer Sale, with discounts of up to 40% available. You are allowed to combine the two promotions. So, you may be able to get up to 52% off your next hotel stay. Very nice indeed!

The mobile code is MOB13.

Remember, this code will only work for bookings made via mobile devices.

This blog does earn a small commission for all hotel booking made via our referral links. We thank you for your support. 

 

 

12% Promo Code for Hotels.com for Mobile Bookings

Join East Coast Rewards and Get 100 Free Points

.

To celebrate their second birthday East Coast Rewards are offering 100 free points if you join East Coast Rewards before 11 August 2013, plus an extra 50 free points if you tell them your birth date. You can join East Coast Rewards here.

The 50 free Points for birthday information will be credited on 16 August to the first 20,000 Rewards members and the 100 joining Points will be credited on 16 August to all new Rewards accounts opened by 11 August.

 

How to Earn Points

Spend at least £22 in any one transaction on train travel at eastcoast.co.uk and earn 1 Point for every £ spent on Standard tickets, or 1.5 Points for First Class tickets. You can buy tickets for any train travel in the United Kingdom through eastcoast.co.uk.

There are no booking fees added to purchases made through East Coast. If you want the tickets posted you pay £1 for first class or £6.22 for special delivery. If you pick up your ticket at a station (and it can be any station not just the one you are traveling from) then there is no additional cost, you will need the payment card and booking reference for collection though. For comparison, RedSpottedHanky, another train rewards site, does not charge for postal delivery.

Season Ticket holders can also join East Coast Rewards on eligible Season Tickets and earn 0.5 Points for every £1 when travelling Standard and 1 Point for every £1 when travelling First Class.

 

What Can I Use The Points For?

Points can be converted to eVouchers at the rate of 1 Point = £0.01 eVoucher. For example, 1,400 Points translates to a £14.00 eVoucher to spend. An eVoucher once issued by East Coast will expire 6 months after issue and can only be used at eastcoast.co.uk.

You can also use points for free onboard Wi-Fi. There are four redemptions levels available, 24 consecutive hours for 50 Points, 3 consecutive months for 1,100 Points, 6 consecutive months for 1,700 Points, and 12 consecutive months for 3,000 Points. For comparison, a Standard Class passenger gets 15 minutes free usage and extra usage costs £4.95 per hour and £9.95 for 24 hours. So, 50 points for 24 hours of Wi-Fi is equal to £9.95 (1 point = £0.20) On-board Wi-Fi is free for First Class passengers.

You can also use points for magazine subscriptions, Marks and Spencer vouchers, wine from Naked Wine, etc. A full list of rewards can be found here.

 

Full terms and conditions for East Coast Rewards can be found here.

 

If you are interested, you can find the East Coast route network here.

Join East Coast Rewards and Get 100 Free Points

Tuesday, 6 August 2013

AwardWallet Can Track American Airlines AAdvantage Again

AwardWallet is an online database for all your loyalty programs. It stores your account numbers and how many points/miles you have. It supports more than 600 loyalty programs, for airlines, hotel, car rental, credit card and other organizations, including Tesco Clubcard and Nectar. It is extremely useful as you can click one button and it will update all your accounts for you so you can easily keep track of when points/miles get added. You can also upgrade to the premium service and it will tell you when your points/miles expire. AwardWallet can be access via their website or through their Apple and Android applications.

 

One of the problems with AwardWallet was that some of the major airlines (American Airlines, United and Delta) did not allow access for (understandable) security and (more understandably) commercial reasons. Now, American Airlines has had a change of heart. American Airlines AAdvantage accounts can now be updated through AwardWallet. This is particularly useful for those of you who took advantage of the outstanding MBNA AAdvantage credit card offer earlier this year and want to know when the different sign bonuses hit your account.

 

If you have not joined AwardWallet yet then I highly recommend you do so. It is free to join, just click here for more information.

Use code free-jwgced for free upgrade to the premium service (limited availability).

AwardWallet Can Track American Airlines AAdvantage Again

72 Hour Sale at Hotels.com - Save up to 50%

Hotels.com is having a 72 Hour flash sale.

You must book before 8 August 2013 for stays between 6 August to 30 September 2013.

There are discounts of up to 50% off available.

This blog receives a small commission if you book a hotel stay through the hotels.com referral link contained within this post.  We thank you for your support.

 

72 Hour Sale at Hotels.com - Save up to 50%

72 Hour British Airways Sale - Ends 8 August

British Airways 3-2-1 Days to Go Sale

Full details can be found here.

Save up to £150 on a Club Europe Holiday

Book by midnight 8 August 2013 and travel between 1 September and 31 March 2014.

Here are some examples,

• Barcelona – 3 night on 4* holiday – was £469, now £399


• Budapest – 3 night on 4* holiday – was £525, now £449


• Berlin – 3 night on 4* holiday – was £560, now £479


• Prague – 3 night on 4* holiday – was £575, now £499


• Tenerife – 3 night on 4* holiday – was £609, now £539

Save up to 50% in the Caribbean

Book by midnight 8 August 2013 and travel valid until 21 July 2014.

Book a holiday to a Sandals, Beaches or Grand Pineapple hotel across 6 islands including Antigua, St Lucia, Bahamas, Jamaica, Turks and Caicos and Grenada.

• Antigua – 4* Grand Pineapple Beach – all inclusive – save up to 50%


• Turks and Caicos – 5* Beaches Turks and Caicos Resort Village and Spa – all inclusive – save up to 30%


• St Lucia – 5* Sandals Grande St Lucian -Spa and Beach Resort – all inclusive up to 25%

72 Hour British Airways Sale - Ends 8 August

Win 10,000 Avios When You Exchange Tesco Clubcard vouchers into Avios

British Airways Executive Club is offering the chance to win 10,000 Avios when you exchange Tesco clubcard vouchers for Avios.

To enter, exchange a minimum of £10 worth of Tesco Clubcard vouchers for Avios before 31 August 2013.

If you are part of the auto opt in where your Tesco Clubcard vouchers are automatically changed for Avios then you will be entered for the prize draw so long as you have a minimum 1,000 Clubcard points exchanged for Avios before 31 August 2013.

The prize draw will take place no later than the 16 September 2013 and the winner will be notified by the 30 September 2013. The 10,000 Avios will be credited to the winner’s British Airways Executive Club account within 28 days.

Terms and conditions can be found here.

 

This competition is only worth entering if you are planning to exchange Clubcard vouchers for Avios anyway. If you don’t need Avios for planned redemption then it is much better to wait for a bonus conversion rate.

Win 10,000 Avios When You Exchange Tesco Clubcard vouchers into Avios

Monday, 5 August 2013

Win a Eurostar Trip to Paris and 2 Tickets for the Palais de Tokyo

 

This Eurostar competition has two prizes.

1st prize:

2 return Eurostar tickets from London to Paris in Standard class + 2 tickets for the Palais de Tokyo.

2nd prize:

75 pairs of tickets for the Palais de Tokyo.

The tickets for Palais de Tokyo are valid any time during exhibition opening times up to 9 September 2013.

 

To enter you must answer the following question, Tokyo is the capital of which country?

I’ll let you work that one out for yourself.

You can enter the competition here.

 

The closing date for entries to this competition is Thursday 8 August 2013 at 6pm.

The winner will contacted by email on Monday 12 August 2013.

 

Full terms and conditions can be found here.

 

 

Win a Eurostar Trip to Paris and 2 Tickets for the Palais de Tokyo

Win Tickets for War Horse in LA with American Airlines

Win tickets to see War Horse in LA

American Airlines are offering a pair of tickets to see The National Theatre’s production of War Horse in Los Angeles, at the Pantages Theatre on 12 October 2013. The prize includes two return flights to LA and three night’s stay.

You must answer the following question, what is the name of the horse in the production?

If you don’t know the answer then read the information box above the entry form.

Enter the competition here.

 

 

Term and Conditions

The competition consists to two tickets to War Horse on Saturday 12 October, 2  flights in the Main Cabin on American Airlines on  October and 3 night’s stay in a central LA from 11 October to 14 October 2013.

The winner will be notified on Friday 23 August by telephone and must acknowledge and accept by August 23.

Full terms and conditions can be found here.

 

 

Win Tickets for War Horse in LA with American Airlines

Friday, 2 August 2013

2,000 Bonus Avios in London this Summer with Marriott Hotels

Up to 2,000 Bonus Avios in London this Summer with Marriott Hotels

 

You will receive 2,000 bonus Avios for a 5 star hotel stay and earn 1,000 bonus Avios for a 4 star hotel stay at a Marriott hotel in London this summer.

This offer is valid for stays completed before 22 September 2013.

You must enroll with Marriott Rewards, select British Airways Executive Club Avios as your earning preference and use booking code JY4 when making the necessary reservation.

Bonus Avios per stay will be credited to your British Airways Executive Club account within 4 to 6 weeks of your stay

Base Avios will be earned for each paid stay in addition to the 1,000 or 2,000 Bonus Avios.

Not a Marriott Rewards member yet? Sign up at MarriottRewards.co.uk. It is free to do so.

 

Participating Hotels

• Grosvenor House, A JW Marriott Hotel


• London Marriott Hotel Park Lane


• St. Pancras Renaissance London Hotel


• London Marriott Hotel West India Quay


• London Marriott Hotel County Hall


• London Marriott Hotel Kensington


• London Marriott Hotel Maida Vale


• London Marriott Hotel Regents Park


• London Marriott Hotel Marble Arch


• London Marriott Hotel Grosvenor Square

 

 

Offer found at FrequentFlyerBonuses

 

 

2,000 Bonus Avios in London this Summer with Marriott Hotels

Monday, 29 July 2013

2,000 Extra Avios at Iberia.com - Ends 31 July

 

How It Works

Go to Iberia Plus.

Either create an account if you don’t have one, or log into an existing account.

Go to My Promotions.

Register for the 2,000 extra Avios promotion.

Purchase a flight through Iberia.com by 31 July 2013. You cannot pay with Avios nor buy a flight then cancel it later.

Avios will be credited to your account between 1 and 15 September, 2013.

This promotion can be used once per customer.

 

Final Note

Remember, Avios earned through Iberia can be transferred to British Airways Executive Club or Avios.com instantly and without charge. To transfer Avios to Iberia Plus you need to have held your account for over 90 days and since Avios redemption through Iberia have significantly less taxes and charges than British Airways it is a good idea to open an Iberia Plus account even if you have no immediate plans to use it.

 

 

 

2,000 Extra Avios at Iberia.com - Ends 31 July

Sunday, 28 July 2013

Win Flights for You and Nine Friends to Granada with British Airways

Win flights to Granada for you and nine friends

 

British Airways is launching a new route from London City Airport to Granada, Spain. They are giving you the chance to win return Euro Traveller (economy) tickets to Granada for you and nine friends.

 

How to Win

Answer the following question, what’s great about Granada? in no more than 20 words.

Enter here with your name and email address.

If you know nothing about Granada then here’s the Wikipedia entry. Competition costs nothing to enter so you might as well have a go.

 

Competition End Date

The competition ends on 30 July 2013 at 23:00.

Win Flights for You and Nine Friends to Granada with British Airways

Saturday, 27 July 2013

Join Heathrow Rewards and Get 1,000 Avios Bonus

I have written in the past about Heathrow’s old loyalty program WorldPoints. It has now been relaunched as Heathrow Rewards though remains very similar.

Heathrow Rewards allows you to collect points on everything you do at Heathrow including parking and Heathrow Express trains

 

 

 

How to Collect Heathrow Rewards points

You earn 1 point per £1 for spend at shops, bars, restaurants, cafés,  Heathrow

Parking and Heathrow Express, and

1 point for £10 for spend at bureaux de change.

Loyalty Bonuses

You earn 100 bonus points when you reach 250 standard points.

When you collect 500 standard points you earn 100 bonus points and an automatic promotion to premium membership.

 

Premium Membership

Premium members collect double points. So, you will earn 2

 points for every £1 spent a shops, bars, restaurants, cafés,  Heathrow parking and Heathrow Express, and 2 points for every £10 exchanged at bureaux de change.

What are Heathrow Rewards Points Worth?

You can exchange Heathrow Reward points in a variety of different ways.

The simpliest option is airport shopping vouchers. 500 points = £5 voucher (1 point = 1 pence)

You can exchange Heathrow Reward points for airline miles. Heathrow partners with Virgin Flying Club, British Airways Avios, and Lufthansa Miles and More.

250 points = 250 miles/Avios. 

You can book Heathrow Parking with points. 500 points = £10 reward value (1 point = 2 pence)

You can book Heathrow Express tickets online with points. 500 points = £5 reward value (1 point = 1 pence)

While you may be able to get more value from using Heathrow Reward points to book Heathrow Parking, I expect most of the readers of this blog will be more interested in converting these points into airmiles.

 

1,000 Point Registration Bonus

If you are not a member of Heathrow Rewards then you can enjoy lucrative sign up bonuses.

If you sign up via this link you will earn 1,000 bonus points after you spend £25 in one day at Heathrow before 30 September 2013.

1,000 bonus points can be exchanged for 1,000 Avios or 1,000 Virgin Flying Club miles, or 1,000 Miles and More miles.

If you spend £25 at Heathrow just to earn the points, you will be buying them for 2.5 pence a point. So, this deal is only worth it if you are already planning to spend the required amount anyway.

Bureau de change money orders do not count towards the required £25.

British Airways Executive Club is running its own promotion for Heathrow Rewards but it is a lower 600 bonus points for £30 spend.

 

Join Heathrow Rewards and Get 1,000 Avios Bonus

Wednesday, 24 July 2013

Club Carlson's Summer Offers

Club Carlson’s Summer Offer

 

There are three new special offers for Club Carlson members.

These offers are valid for bookings made by 29 September 2013 for stays between 1 August 30 September  2013.

 

Double Points

Club Carlson Elite members will earn double Gold Points when booking to stay two or more consecutive nights at a participating Radisson Blu, Radisson Blu Edwardian, Park Inn by Radisson, Park Plaza, Country Inns and Suites at any Club Carlson eligible rate.

Use promotional code CCDOUBLEPOINTS.
                                                                                                                                                       

Half Price Redemptions

Members can book a Standard Award Night for half the Gold Points normally required for standard room redemption.

Use promotional code 50REDEEM.

 

Free Breakfast

Receive a free buffet breakfast for up to two people at participating Radisson Blu, Park Inn by Radisson and Park Plaza properties

Use promotional code FREEBKFT .

Club Carlson's Summer Offers

Tuesday, 23 July 2013

British Airways 3-2-1 Days to Go Sale

The British Airways 3-2-1 sale has five elements. All must be booked by midnight 24 July 2013.

 

Free Nights on European City Breaks

Enjoy three nights for the price of two on city breaks to Europe.

 

Save Up to £100 on European Beach Holidays

Spend over £1500 on a European beach holiday and save £100. Travel between 25 July and 30 September 2013.

 

Save Up to £150 on Holiday to United States of America

Book a holiday to the USA and save up to £150. Travel between 1 August and 31 December 2013.

 

Save £250 Per Couple for Dubai Holiday

Get free half board and up to £250 off per couple when staying a minimum 5 nights at One&Only hotel in Dubai. Travel between 1 September and 30 September 2013.

 

25% Off Car Hire

Save 25% off UK car hire for bookings between 22 July and 31 August 2013.

 

British Airways 3-2-1 Days to Go Sale

Friday, 19 July 2013

Using Avios.com to Book Partner Awards

 

As I explain in my  Understanding Avios and How to Use Avios pages, Avios can be used to redeem for flights on airlines other than British Airways. This very useful for two important reasons.

 

1. British Airways can charge outrageous fuel surcharges on their award bookings occasionally making the extra fees more expensive than a cash ticket


2. There are destinations you want to travel to and airports you want to fly from that British Airways does not serve

 

This page will highlight several relatively unknown airline partners that can be booked with Avios via Avios.com.

First, a little background to put this into context. Avios is the name of the travel rewards currency for three separate programs, Avios.com, British Airways Executive Club, and Iberia Plus. All three programs have their own separate ways of collecting Avios. Often there is overlay, such as flights with British Airways can be used to earn all forms of Avios. Sometimes there is a unique way of collecting available through one program but not available through the other two, or there may be a special bonus Avios only offered by one program. However, you have collected your Avios the most important fact to understand is, all Avios are equal. You can transfer between the three programs (four if you count the old BMI Diamond Club program) any time you like. The only minor restriction being that an Iberia Plus account must be open for 90 days prior to an Avios transfer.

So, you can collect Avios in your British Airways Executive Club then transfer them to your Avios.com account for an award redemption.

 

Back to the topic at hand. Avios.com can be used to used to book airlines that aren’t available through British Airways Executive Club.

There is no Reward Saver option for these redemptions, as that redemption type is only available on British Airways metal, so the taxes and charges are variable and (usually) higher.

Here is the link to the list of airlines available via Avios.com.

 

Air Malta

Fly from UK to Malta direct.

• 20,000 Avios + £42.22
  


• 18,000 + £62.22


• 16,000 + £82.22


• 14,000 + £92.22


• 12,000 + £112.22


• 10,000 + £122.22

 

Whether this is a good redemption really depends on how cheap you can get tickets to Malta and how flexible you are. It would require a cash ticket price of £242 to make the Avios required for this redemption to be worth one pence each (the standard valuation I place on 1 Avios). Also, I found availability to be sparse at best.

 

Aurigny

Fly between the Channel Islands and six UK airports

There is usually no problems with availability on these routes as there multiple daily flights between UK and the Channel Islands.

• 9,000 Avios + £30.74


• 8,100 + £40.74


• 7,200 + £50.74


• 6,300 + £60.74


• 5,400 + £70.74


• 4,500 + £80.74

It would require £120 cash ticket to make the top Avios redemption to make sense, which is very unlikely due to the high level of competition and the capacity of seats that have to be sold each day.

 

Flybe

Fly from 23 UK airports

• to 60 destinations – like Paris and Milan.

The advantage of Flybe is direct flights from regional UK airports to continental Europe. If you fly British Airways from the regions then they will route through London adding time and hassle to your journey, though without adding any extra cost.

Manchester to Paris with Flybe has a higher surcharge than the British Airways Reward Saver so it’s a choice between paying an extra £30-40 for flying direct or paying less and connecting through London.

• 9,000 Avios + £64.76


• 8,100 + £74.76


• 7,200 + £84.76


• 6,300 + £94.76


• 5,400 + £104.76


• 4,500 + £114.76

• 
  
• 
  



Monarch




Fly from eight UK airports to 39 destinations – like Tenerife and Palma. Monarch is like Flybe. They fly from regional airports in the UK to popular tourist destinations so often a direct, quicker journey than connecting through London on a British Airways Reward Saver. However, you pay for this with higher taxes and surcharges.




Sample costs for London Gatwick to Palma, Mallorca.





• 15,000 Avios + £80.50


• 
  13,500 + £100.50
  


• 
  12,000 + £110.50
  


• 
  10,500 + £120.50
  


• 
  9,000 + £130.50
  


• 7,500 + £140.50





 




Final Note




To be a member of Avios.com you must have an address in the UK, the Isle of Man or the Channel Islands.





Using Avios.com to Book Partner Awards

Wednesday, 17 July 2013

New British Airways Picture Your Holiday Tool

 

British Airways have launched a new holiday planning tool called Picture Your Holiday.

It’s quite an interesting idea. You choose from a collection of pictures for your ideal holiday. For example, a row of champagne glasses, a scene of underwater paradise, a man paragliding through a mountain range, and so on…Then it provides you with several options for your ideal holiday destination based on the choices you made.

This is what British Airways say about their new holiday-planning tool,

“We wanted to develop a way to make choosing the ideal holiday fun, personal and time-saving for our customers. Knowing a growing 1 in 4 people find planning a holiday a time-consuming hassle, we wanted to create a tool that would really bring their holiday to life through creative imagery.

Customers will be able to select various images, according to their preferences, based on life-style pictures which include: tropical beach shots, cultural cities, food and drink, sporting activities, spa treatments, night-life and family activities, spa treatments, night-life and family activities. They can select up to eight photographs that fit their wish list of wants for their holiday. Once they have completed their selection they will then get up to four suggestions on suitable destinations that will inspire them.”

It will, of course, also lead you directly to the British Airways holiday booking engine if you want to book your ideal holiday straight away.

I highly recommend having a play around as it’s always fun to dream of where you want to go next, click Picture Your Holiday.

This website earns a small commission for any holiday booked through our British Airways referral link. We thank you for your support.

New British Airways Picture Your Holiday Tool

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Blog Archive

• ▼  2013 (128)
  • ▼  August (15)
    • Earn 3,000 Bonus Avios on Weekends With Hilton HHo...
    • One-Day Sale at Hotels.com - Save Up To 50%
    • 12,000 Avios for Tesco Life Insurance
    • Buy Avios and Get Up To 30% Extra
    • Disaster! Potential End of VISA 3V Pre-Paid Cards!
    • 2,400 Avios for Call of Duty at Tesco - Again(!)
    • 12% Promo Code for Hotels.com for Mobile Bookings
    • Join East Coast Rewards and Get 100 Free Points
    • AwardWallet Can Track American Airlines AAdvantage...
    • 72 Hour Sale at Hotels.com - Save up to 50%
    • 72 Hour British Airways Sale - Ends 8 August
    • Win 10,000 Avios When You Exchange Tesco Clubcard ...
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    • Win Tickets for War Horse in LA with American Airl...
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  • ►  July (18)
    • 2,000 Extra Avios at Iberia.com - Ends 31 July
    • Win Flights for You and Nine Friends to Granada wi...
    • Join Heathrow Rewards and Get 1,000 Avios Bonus
    • Club Carlson's Summer Offers
    • British Airways 3-2-1 Days to Go Sale
    • Using Avios.com to Book Partner Awards
    • New British Airways Picture Your Holiday Tool
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• ►  2012 (34)
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