Earning Points without a Credit Card…
And without spending a penny more than you normally would!
Here are some of the most popular rewards programmes for airlines, along with our top tips on how to earn those points without spending any more money and without needing to apply for a credit card!
Avios
The Avios scheme is probably one of, if not THE biggest air miles and reward scheme that there is. You can collect Avios through the British Airways Executive Club, Aer Lingus AerClub, Vueling Club, Iberia Plus, and the Qatar Privilege Club. You can sign up to ALL of these Clubs and your Avios balance is the same across each one. The Qatar Privilege Club also has a student club with even more benefits (which sadly I am no longer eligible for!)
British Airways Executive Club
The best way to earn points with the BA Executive Club is by gaining credit card sign up bonuses, but there are other ways! First thing’s first, sign up to the executive club! Then follow these steps:
1. Claim missing avios
If you’ve flown on a British Airways flight in the last 6 months, or in the 3 months before you joined the Executive Club, you can claim your missing avios. You can also claim missing avios from car hire with Avis or from other airline partners, though I am still waiting for mine to come through 3 months after putting the claim in. For other airline partners, you’ll have to scan the tickets and send off a physical form in the post as the process isn’t streamlined online just yet!
2. Link your nectar account
10,080 Avios across Qatar Privilege Club and British Airways Executive Club.
If you don’t have a nectar account, get one! Along with earning points on your Sainsbury’s shopping, you can link your nectar account to eBay, Argos, and booking.com just to name a few and earn extra nectar points. The reason this is important is because you can convert your nectar points into Avios! 400 nectar points converts to 250 Avios points, this is how I’ve managed to get a 10,000 Avios balance for free and without applying for a credit card.
Nectar also has tons of other partners, including nectar hotels, which give you 1,000 bonus points per night when you book through them. These are fab ways to boost your nectar points and therefore your Avios balance by just switching how and where you shop for the same things you would usually buy.
3. Use cashback sites
Using cashback sites like Top Cashback (<— click the link for a £10 sign up bonus!) allows you to do the exact same shopping that you are doing anyway, but by going through their site and shopping as normal with the brands you love, you earn cashback, which can be paid out as Avios to your British Airways Executive Club. You’ll also get a payout bonus from British Airways when you take a reward as an Avios payout from Top Cashback.
Payout from Top Cashback showing Avios bonus.
Recent Avios payouts from my Top Cashback account.
You need to sign up to Top Cashback and install the browser extension for the best results. Installing the browser extension means that if there is an online store which is a nectar partner and on Top Cashback, you can click the link through nectar to earn the nectar points and bonuses, and because you have the browser extension, a pop up box will appear for you to click and apply cashback as well. You’re earning double rewards on a simple, ordinary purchase!
If for any reason you can’t install the browser extension, it’s worth checking both Nectar and TopCashback to see which one will give you the better reward. 9 times out of 10 this will be Nectar, as the best cashback rewards come when you are a new online customer somewhere, and not just from your regular grocery shop.
4. Shop through British Airways
Once you sign up to the BA Executive Club, you can also shop with British Airways partners, which is the best way of directly earning extra Avios. The list of retailers tells you how many points you will earn per £ spent. e.g. 3 Avios per £1 at Apple, so if you’re in the market for a new Macbook, you can earn over 3,000 Avios just by directing your shopping through the BA website!
5. FLY AWAY!
The most fun way to earn extra Avios is by travelling! By booking trips through British Airways you increase your Avios balance, and increase your Tier points. As you move up the tiers, you will gain greater benefits, for example, more Avios per passenger on your booking, or free upgrades.
6. Buy Avios
Finally, you can buy Avios through the BA Executive club which gives you better value for money when you come to booking flights!
Qatar Privilege Club
As Avios is the currency for both British Airways and Qatar Airlines, doing any of the above will also boost your Avios balance with Qatar Privilege Club, Aer Lingus AerClub, Vueling Club, and Iberia Plus. The only additional things I will mention here are the Qatar Student Club, and the banking bonuses with Qatar. As far as I’m aware, the banking bonuses aren’t available at any UK banks, but Qatar have a list of their banking partners (surprise, American Express Credit Cards are one of them!)
Virgin Points
Virgin Points are the miles that you earn with the Virgin Atlantic Flying Club. Here’s how I have a balance of 17,000 Virgin Points entirely for free!
Virgin Points statement showing Tesco Clubcard conversion
That’s right, Tesco Clubcard is a partner of Virgin. That means every time you earn vouchers on your Tesco Clubcard, you can exchange them for Virgin Points. The cost per point works out cheaper than with the Nectar to British Airways conversion here, as only £1.50 in Tesco Clubcard vouchers gets you 375 Virgin Points. With Nectar, you have to spend £4.00 at Sainsbury’s to convert into 250 Avios, but they have loads more bonus point schemes with their many partners.
Here’s how to convert Tesco Clubcard vouchers into Virgin Points!
The easy way to turn your Tesco Clubcard Vouchers into Virgin Points!
If you do have a credit card which earns you Avios points, like a British Airways American Express Card, you can easily combine the rewards here by shopping at Tesco, online through Top Cashback, and paying with your BA Amex. You’ll get 2 lots of rewards to be used with Avios, plus your normal Tesco Clubcard points to use with Virgin!
Miles and More
Miles and More is the reward scheme for Lufthansa Airlines (you may need to open the link on a translatable web browser like google chrome, as the content is all German!)
The best way to earn miles is by travelling with Lufthansa, but you can earn 500 miles just by signing up to the Miles and More scheme!
Flying Blue
This is the reward scheme for Air France and KLM Airlines. The best way to earn Flying Blue Miles is by travelling with these airlines, but you can also book shows and earn miles that way too!
