Frequent flyer miles are poorly named. Nowadays there are so many ways to earn them – and flying is actually often the worst way! British Airways calls their frequent flyer miles “Avios” and the points are some of the easiest to collect, whether you ever set foot in an airplane or not. But if you’d like to set foot in an airplane, particularly in the pointy end – you may be curious to learn how to maximize earning Avios from your every day activities. Here are ten ways to earn British Airways Avios without actually taking off…
But First…
You need a British Airways Executive Club account to earn British Airways Avios. It sounds exclusive, but anyone can join and it’s completely free. Name, email address, date of birth – done. Once you’re registered you can earn miles for every flight you take, and also start using that account number to earn you points for everything you’ll soon find below. Always. Be. Earning.
Buying Cosmetics, Wine Or Televisions
And just about anything else you buy online. The British Airways e-store is one of the easiest ways to earn Avios points for every online transaction you make at Apple, Sephora, Nike, M&S and thousands of retailers. It’s quite simple: you login to your account on British Airways, visit the e-store, click over to your favorite shop and purchase. British Airways gets something for sending you over to the website and in return, they kick you back some miles. The prices always remain the same!
Staying In Hotels
Almost every hotel chain allows you to earn frequent flyer miles rather than hotel points, if you like! If you find yourself staying in a hotel and would find airline miles more useful than hotel points, be sure to register your British Airways frequent flyer number, and select to earn airline miles rather than hotel points. If you need help, just as the front desk. You can also earn bonus Avios points for using websites like RocketMiles to book your hotel.
Points Sales
Every British Airways flyer should follow this advice. By creating an Iberia Plus account, which is the Iberia Equivalent of the Executive Club, you can transfer points back and forth between the two. Both airlines offer the same “Avios” points, and Iberia quite often has tempting sales on their version. You can often buy 30,000 points for less than 1 pence per point with Iberia, and then transfer your points over to British Airways. This is a great way to top off points. More details here.
Grocery Shopping (UK)
Rather than taking a couple bucks off your next grocery shop, you can convert Tesco Clubcard points into British Airways Avios. This is reason alone to pay closer attention to Clubcard offers which reward you with major bonus points. After all, a major bonus in Tesco’s may soon translate to a major upgrade in the air, if you know what you’re doing.
Renting A Car
Work or leisure require you to rent a car from time to time? You can always earn points for car rentals, and from time to time, extremely lucrative promotions pop up, allowing you to earn enough miles for a round trip short haul flight just for one easy rental. It doesn’t matter who’s paying for the rental, all that matters is that you register with the rental company to earn airline miles. More on that here.
Online Surveys
It’s certainly not the most exciting way to spend 45 minutes, but if you have some extra time – surveys can be an excellent way to top off your Avios account balance. Avios.com is part of the Avios program and you can transfer points from Avios.com to British Airways with ease. For completing surveys you can earn thousands of points, converting “chill time” into more time in the jet set.
Credit Cards
Credit cards are the single greatest rocket ship way to jumpstart a points balance. Some credit cards don’t have any annual fee at all – making it a completely “free” way to earn points, so long as you pay your bill in full every month. Converting every single purchase from a latte to a Lamborghini into points transforms your life into a world rich in points. Hot tip: when you go to dinner with friends, put the entire bill on your card, and get them to give you cash!
Retirement Accounts
If you have an ISA or other account, you can instantly score up to 80,000 Avios points for moving between portfolios. Nutmeg is one of many reputable companies offering major points bonuses for bringing your business their way. 80,000 points is more than enough for a one way first class ticket between London and the US or other exciting locations, making it quite a lucrative deal.
Transferring Amex, Chase Or Hotel Points
If you have American Express Membership Rewards Points, Chase Ultimate Rewards Points or just about any major hotel chains points – you can transfer those points into Avios almost instantly. It’s not necessarily a great way to use points, but if you happen to be sitting on a fortress of Marriott points and no longer need to pay for hotels – it’s nice to know you can convert them into British Airways Avios. Right?
Duty Free, Heathrow Express & More
Ok – fair enough, you probably won’t find yourself on the Heathrow Express or at an airport Duty Free without flying, but Heathrow Rewards is a very lucrative way to earn Avios points. You’ll earn points for every Heathrow Express train ticket, airport parking or duty free purchase you make at Heathrow. These points can unlock cash back at Duty Free, or can be converted into British Airways Avios.
There’s also buying a lounge day pass through the Avios website, assuming you don’t have access from some other channel.