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https://www.headforpoints.com/best-uk-avios-airlin...
I recommend half an hour reading on here. I have the paid for BA amex and churn it with my wife every 24 months for the sign up bonuses.
I recommend half an hour reading on here. I have the paid for BA amex and churn it with my wife every 24 months for the sign up bonuses.
It depends what you want to collect / earn.
I do BA Airmiles and Virgin Airmiles and prefer to collect them vs cashback - we put our entire lives through these cards in order to collect points and companion vouchers which we "spend" on trips.
(This year myself and the boy went to Tokyo Business class for £550 each thanks to 1 year of regular spending saving ~£6K vs the regular fare)
I far prefer the game of earning and spending the miles to the earning of a few pennies in cashback but if I didn't, I'd definitely be gaming the cashback instead - i.e. putting everything we spend through the "best" cashback card.
I do BA Airmiles and Virgin Airmiles and prefer to collect them vs cashback - we put our entire lives through these cards in order to collect points and companion vouchers which we "spend" on trips.
(This year myself and the boy went to Tokyo Business class for £550 each thanks to 1 year of regular spending saving ~£6K vs the regular fare)
I far prefer the game of earning and spending the miles to the earning of a few pennies in cashback but if I didn't, I'd definitely be gaming the cashback instead - i.e. putting everything we spend through the "best" cashback card.
Somebody said:
1% cashback on Lloyds Ultra Visa credit card; reduces to 0.25% after 1 year.
I hate convoluted card loyalty type schemes with points and partner rewards. Just give me the money!Many cashback cards have a cashback limit and an annual charge and only apply for certain partner shops or purchase types.
I have previously used a free cashback Barclaycard which was cashback on all spending with unlimited cashback but they reduced the % cashback rate over the years.
I recently swapped my Lloyds Platinum Mastercard to the Lloyds Ultra Visa which is cashback on all spending with unlimited 1% cashback for 1 year. I was able to swap cards online and I could use the new card instantly, and I did. Hopefully there will be something similar to switch to after 1 year but good free cashback cards seem to be rare.
I've been on a plane only once since COVID so air miles are wasted on me, we do 90% of our daily shopping etc via AMEX, with everything paid off each month on DD. There is a £25 annual fee but we essentially get about £350 cash back every 12 months (essentially reduces the due amount for the anniversary month by the cashback amount). Not life changing money but it's better than nothing, we use a different card that links to Nectar points for anywhere that doesn't take AMEX.
Sporky said:
Why did you spend more money?
Because it’s easily done on a credit card with a limit that’s more than double your monthly income. It’s well documented that using a credit card requires strict discipline - sadly my wife got into the habit of spending without checking the balance on the card. If you’re a powerfully built director on ‘six figs’ then it’s probably not an issue.
riskyj said:
Just a word of warning to the OP, we went this route as a bit of an experiment over the last 12 months. All monthly spend put through an Amex. The amount of cashback was dwarfed by the amount our monthy spending increased!
If you want to counter that (and can live with the faff) then you can pay your Amex off every day/week via the app, that way your current account will decline in line with your spending so you’ll have a better handle on your remaining budget. I’m doing exactly what you do with the paid-for Amex cashback card and it’s looking like a nice little boost come February. Also, like you, got a NatWest/ex-Sainsburys Nectar Mastercard and also a Virgin Money Mastercard which offers decent cash back offers and free foreign use.alangla said:
If you want to counter that (and can live with the faff) then you can pay your Amex off every day/week via the app, that way your current account will decline in line with your spending so you ll have a better handle on your remaining budget. I m doing exactly what you do with the paid-for Amex cashback card and it s looking like a nice little boost come February. Also, like you, got a NatWest/ex-Sainsburys Nectar Mastercard and also a Virgin Money Mastercard which offers decent cash back offers and free foreign use.
I get paid monthly but pay the amex balance off weekly so the current account balance is more accurate.I’m just over a year into playing the amex/ avios game, between sign up bonuses, retention bonus, couple of referral bonuses and once we hit the spend target on the latest sign up bonuses we should have 290k avios points.
not got plan for spending them yet, but will probably go for a holiday somewhere we wouldn’t normally. but ‘worst case’ they have a cash value of 0.45p per point on amazon/ nectar/ sainsburys, so roughly £1,500 cash value.
this was all from regular spend plus sign up bonuses and stuff. so not gone and spent what we wouldn’t normally have.
the frightening thing is suddenly channelling 99% of our family spend through one card/ account, and you realise how much you can plough through each month!
not got plan for spending them yet, but will probably go for a holiday somewhere we wouldn’t normally. but ‘worst case’ they have a cash value of 0.45p per point on amazon/ nectar/ sainsburys, so roughly £1,500 cash value.
this was all from regular spend plus sign up bonuses and stuff. so not gone and spent what we wouldn’t normally have.
the frightening thing is suddenly channelling 99% of our family spend through one card/ account, and you realise how much you can plough through each month!
We put as much household spending as possible through 2x BA Amex Premium cards, for the 241 voucher. Did LA bizz class last year for 4 people for 2K (plus points) and will do Costa Rica for similar this year. Have done various European trips for basically nothing, but you get the best value doing long haul.
For places that don't take Amex, use an HSBC Premier that gives you points that can be converted to Avios or shopping vouchers. Avios seems the best value.
For places that don't take Amex, use an HSBC Premier that gives you points that can be converted to Avios or shopping vouchers. Avios seems the best value.
We converted from Tesco points to Avios about two years ago although still collect Tesco points at the weekly Tesco shop and when filling up.
We've used Avios to upgrade seats on Qatar airlines to Maldives return last year, pay for premium economy upgrade return to St Lucia (BA) last month and used the companion voucher plus Avios to book business class seats to Miami next Feb for £225 each.
Amex gold also did free lounge access x4 we utilised at Heathrow and Doha for the Maldives flights. We binned that off after 12 months when the fee came in.
Currently have BA Amex card and Barclaycard Avios as back up.
We've used Avios to upgrade seats on Qatar airlines to Maldives return last year, pay for premium economy upgrade return to St Lucia (BA) last month and used the companion voucher plus Avios to book business class seats to Miami next Feb for £225 each.
Amex gold also did free lounge access x4 we utilised at Heathrow and Doha for the Maldives flights. We binned that off after 12 months when the fee came in.
Currently have BA Amex card and Barclaycard Avios as back up.
fat80b said:
It depends what you want to collect / earn.
I do BA Airmiles and Virgin Airmiles and prefer to collect them vs cashback - we put our entire lives through these cards in order to collect points and companion vouchers which we "spend" on trips.
(This year myself and the boy went to Tokyo Business class for £550 each thanks to 1 year of regular spending saving ~£6K vs the regular fare)
I far prefer the game of earning and spending the miles to the earning of a few pennies in cashback but if I didn't, I'd definitely be gaming the cashback instead - i.e. putting everything we spend through the "best" cashback card.
How much effort does it take to find those kind of flights? I did collect Avios previously but found the flexibility of the dates/destinations quite limiting.I do BA Airmiles and Virgin Airmiles and prefer to collect them vs cashback - we put our entire lives through these cards in order to collect points and companion vouchers which we "spend" on trips.
(This year myself and the boy went to Tokyo Business class for £550 each thanks to 1 year of regular spending saving ~£6K vs the regular fare)
I far prefer the game of earning and spending the miles to the earning of a few pennies in cashback but if I didn't, I'd definitely be gaming the cashback instead - i.e. putting everything we spend through the "best" cashback card.
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