![\"Robert](\"https:\/\/media.nomadicmatt.com\/2018\/rob_emirates.jpg\")
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I’ve been writing about points and miles a lot lately, and one question that keeps popping up is “Matt, how can we do that in the UK?” Well, while I know a lot about doing this in the UK, I don’t know as much as Robert (aka Raffles) from Head for Points<\/a>, the premier points website for the UK. Today, I sit down with him and he explains in great detail how those of you from the UK can get free flights and hotels like the rest of us across the pond!<\/p>\n Nomadic Matt: How did you get into points & miles?<\/b> I think I first flew when I was 18 in 1988 on a charter to Spain<\/a> with friends. My first “win” was when I was 20, when I “arranged” to win a flight to Paris in a British Airways competition. This was 1990, and BA gave away every seat on every flight for one day to boost business. You could pick your route, and I was smart enough to realize that 99% of people would pick a long-haul route with a minimal chance of winning. I picked Paris and, despite literally millions of entries, got my free seat \u2014 and even in 1990 flights to Paris from London were expensive.<\/p>\n It was only when I discovered FlyerTalk that I realized that I was only scratching the surface. I contributed heavily to FlyerTalk beginning in 2004 \u2014 and still do \u2014 and in 2012 started Head for Points<\/a> as the first UK miles-and-points blog.<\/p>\n In January 2016, Head for Points hit one million monthly page views for the first time, almost all from the UK. I also launched Shopper Points<\/a> to focus on UK supermarket loyalty schemes.<\/p>\n In the United States, it\u2019s easy to collect points and miles because we have so many ways to get them. Describe points and miles in the UK.<\/b> The advantage of doing it from the UK<\/a> is that you can see a lot more of the world for a lot less. Whilst the low-level US airline saver reward is 25,000 miles (and even they are hard to find), British Airways will fly you to France<\/a>, Germany<\/a>, the Netherlands<\/a>, etc., from 8,000 Avios return [round-trip]. <\/p>\n Even a flight to Spain is only 13,000 Avios on an off-peak date. You can get to over 20 countries and see some of the world\u2019s greatest sights for less than the cost in miles of a US domestic reward flight!<\/p>\n The typical UK points and miles pro will generally focus on credit cards, primarily with American Express, and exploiting the promotions run by Tesco. Tesco is the UK\u2019s largest supermarket chain, and its loyalty points can be converted into British Airways Avios points or Virgin Flying Club miles.<\/p>\n Can you explain the Tesco trick a bit more?<\/b> The real value comes from regular bonus point promotions run by Tesco. These can be hugely aggressive. For example, they regularly offer 150 bonus points for buying selected CDs or DVDs, which can be as cheap as \u00a33. That means you\u2019re getting 360 Avios points for \u00a33. They also like to offer bonus points on printer ink, which can be easily resold on eBay, often at cost price \u2014 which means the miles are free.<\/p>\n It scales up as well. They often offer 5,000 points (12,000 Avios) for taking out Tesco life insurance \u2014 with a minimum commitment of just \u00a35 per month for a year. In late 2015 they offered a computer printer for \u00a339 with 2,000 bonus points \u2014 that was 4,800 Avios.<\/p>\n All of these deals can be bought online, so you don\u2019t even need to enter a Tesco store. Tesco also offers a free MasterCard credit card, which earns Avios (it works out to 0.3 Avios per \u00a31 spent) This isn\u2019t a great rate but it is the best Avios MasterCard or Visa deal available.<\/p>\n My new site Shopper Points<\/a> is 75% devoted to Tesco Clubcard, not just for miles collectors but also for people who use the points for non-travel redemptions.<\/p>\n UK-based flights have hefty fuel surcharges (i.e., big taxes and fees) when you book award tickets. How does this impact points & miles in the UK?<\/b> This is compounded in the UK by Air Passenger Duty, a departure tax levied by the UK government that can add up to \u00a3166 to a business-class ticket. If you redeem your British Airways Avios points for a Club World (flat-bed business class) seat to New York<\/a>, you will be asked to pay over \u00a3500 per person in taxes and surcharges for your “free” ticket.<\/p>\n This is still a good deal, of course, compared to the cost of buying a similar ticket for cash. However, when a couple needs to find \u00a31,000 to cover the additional charges on a pair of long-haul reward seats, you are obviously restricting your market to people on a decent salary. Unlike the US, this is not a hobby for students or the low paid.<\/p>\n The other issue with the heavy taxes and surcharges is that it has made long-haul redemptions in economy fundamentally pointless, except in peak periods. Who would redeem 40,000 Avios points and \u00a3350 in taxes for a return economy flight to New York<\/a>, when the same ticket can be bought for \u00a3400 in cash?<\/p>\n You can work around this, but it\u2019s not easy. Air Berlin is an Avios partner<\/a> and fellow Oneworld member, and has low-tax (\u00a375 return) redemptions from Germany to the US and Abu Dhabi.<\/p>\n Aer Lingus also has low-tax redemptions<\/a> from Dublin to the US. However, you need to ring British Airways to book these \u2014 and the BA website doesn\u2019t tell you this. Only a handful of people know about it as a result.<\/p>\n Similarly, Iberia has low-tax (\u00a3150 instead of \u00a3500 for business class) redemptions from Madrid<\/a> to North and South America<\/a>. <\/p>\n However, booking these on ba.com incurs a \u00a3500+ surcharge. Move your Avios to Iberia Plus (for free, online) and you can book the same seat for just \u00a3150 in taxes. BA doesn\u2019t tell you that either!<\/p>\n Does the UK have a lot of good credit card offers like we do here? What are the bonuses typically like? <\/b> As long as you know, for example, that the points from the American Express\u00ae Gold Card and The Platinum Card\u00ae by American Express can be turned into Avios points, then you can do very well. However, I reckon that 90% of Avios collectors are not aware of this.<\/p>\n You get occasional great deals from other issuers. MBNA\/Bank of America offered 35,000 American Airlines miles as a sign-up bonus back in 2013, and that card was fee free. That would have gotten you a one-way ticket in business class on Etihad from London to Abu Dhabi!<\/p>\n Download my free guide to points and miles and learn how to master the one thing all travel experts do to save money and get free flights and accommodation!<\/p>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n Enter your info below to get the guide sent to you right away:<\/p>\r\n
\nRobert:<\/strong> The idea of “getting a deal” was ingrained in me literally from childhood, as my family never had much money. This also meant that my parents never traveled, as it was very expensive to fly in the 1970s. My dad never had a passport, and my mum only got one when she was 50.<\/p>\n
\nIt\u2019s true that the UK market is not as generous as the US. However, it is still the second-best place in the world for collecting points and miles.<\/p>\n
\nTesco has a loyalty scheme called Clubcard. On the face of it, it is rather dull: spend \u00a31 in their stores and you earn 1 point. One point gets you 1p off your shopping or you can swap it for other things, including 2.4 Avios points or 2.5 Virgin Flying Club miles.<\/p>\n
\nThe key difference between the UK and US frequent flyer scene is that, in the UK, you cannot genuinely “fly for free,” at least not easily. Both British Airways and Virgin Atlantic (and indeed all of the other major European carriers) impose heavy fuel surcharges on redemption tickets.<\/p>\n
\nIt has improved massively in the last couple of years. American Express has become very aggressive. It runs (for the UK) very high bonuses on the British Airways Premium Plus card \u2014 typically 20,000 to 25,000 points or miles.<\/p>\n\r\n\r\n\r\nWant to travel the world for free?<\/h5>\r\n
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