Boost Your Airmiles Discussion Area

Former_MSE_Andrea
Former_MSE_Andrea Posts: 9,614
Combo Breaker First Post I've helped Parliament Rampant Recycler
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edited 14 June 2010 at 9:47AM in Shop but don't drop

This thread is specifically to discuss ways to boost collecting and using your Airmiles as discussed in the

Loyalty Cards Article

You can also join in a Loyalty Card article discussion plus discussions about boosting your Tesco Clubcard points , Nectar points and Boots Advantage Card points.

To discuss or ask a question about the article: click reply
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  • A few years ago I opened up an online betting account with Ladbrokes for a free bet offer they had. I quickly noticed that you could pay in funds using your credit card - but withdraw them to your bank account. What's more, there was no obligation to bet with the money you paid in. To test the water I started with a low amount:
    1. I paid in £25 using my Natwest credit card.
    2. Without placing a bet, I immediatly withdrew the £25 to my current account
    3. From my current account I paid my credit card off in full.

    I checked with Natwest and they treated the transaction as a purchase (not a costly cash-withdrawal) so, I’d effectively gained an Airmiles for free.

    I started doing this with increasing amounts: £100, £100 and £1000 at a time - until I was putting through £2000 in each transaction. Admittedly, I was being phoned by Natwest's security deptartment every time I made a large transaction but Ladbrokes didn't seem to mind - as I was putting a few £1 bets on here and there.

    I then applied for other credit cards in the Airmiles scheme and opened more Ladbrokes accounts: one for my Tesco Card and one for my Airmiles card whilst retaining the Natwest Card. I could complete the "transfer circle" three times a month for each card so I was moving around thousands of pounds worth of cash, and accumulating all the Airmiles!!! I was getting about 800 Airmiles a month! What's more, as I was paying off my card in full each time the credit limit on my cards went up and up and up!

    Would this have made my credit "rating" better????

    This all had to stop however, when new money laundering regulations came in. This put the emphasis on bookies to account for each transaction. Although I wasn't doing anything illegal It must have looked pretty dodgy from their point of view (and costly as they'd have had to pay a percentage of each transaction!) and they (quite rightly) told me to take my "business" elsewhere.

    I haven't yet spent my Airmiles - but I’ve now got enough for a holiday in Sydney!

    So, there are loopholes out there to be exploited!
    Has anyone else got any other schemes like this up their sleeves?
  • quoia
    quoia Posts: 14,428
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    Every now and then you will see a new £5 coin being released by the Royal Mint and often they will be advertised in the newspapers where you can "buy" them. They can usually be bought at face value, ie £5 for £5 with FREE P&P - sadly there seems to be a maximum of 3 (or similar) available per person/application. (This might actually have been because of ME !)

    Some years ago the form just had a quantity box and no mention of a maximum limit.

    I ordered 1000 coins and duly £5000 appeared on my NatWest credit card.
    A few days later I received a card from DHL or similar regards collecting a package.
    I went and was presented with 2 large (ish) wooden boxes (20" x 10" x 8" I'd guess) each weighing about the same as a sack of potaoes (25kg?)
    They were full of coins - 1000 £5 "Jubilee crowns" (or some other such "commemorative" issue)

    Anyway I took most them in quantities of about 100 to 200 to a few branches of my bank (NatWest) that I passed on my way to work and paid them into my current account.
    I thought paying them all in in one go might raise an eyebrow.
    The last 200 (£1000) was actually used at a Citroen dealership as part payment for a car I had just decided to buy. The salesman was very happy to accept them.

    I would have repeated the process but I'm sure the maximum quantity appeared shortly afterwards. I've often wondered how much the P&P would have cost, not forgetting the percentage on £5000 for the CC payment
    There are 10 types of people in the world. ‹(•¿•)›
    ‹(•¿•)› Those that understand binary and those that do not!


    Veni, Vidi, VISA ! ................. I came, I saw, I PURCHASED
    (11)A104.28S94.98O112.46N86.73D101.02(12)J130.63F126.76M134.38A200.98M156.30J95.56J102.85A175.93
    S LOWER CASE OMEGA;6.59 so far ..
  • If you book a scheduled flight using Air Miles to pay for it you should always register with the airline's Frequent Flyer programme because you can claim the mileage used on the ticket you bought via Air Miles to build up points on the Frequent Flyer Programme. I've used Air Miles to buy KLM tickets to Istanbul and now have enough Frequent Flyer Miles with KLM for a free european flight.
  • desperado
    desperado Posts: 31 Forumite
    If you're a Virgin frequent flyer you can boost your airmiles by 5000 by depositing $20 and playing fifty hands;

    http://www.virgin-atlantic.com/en/gb/frequentflyer/flyinghub/memberoffers/virgin/virgingames.jsp

    All you have to do is play the blinds and fold the rest. Games are from 25p a go.
  • rayfuzz
    rayfuzz Posts: 7 Forumite
    My apologies if I am repeating another post but I have been told by Nat West that they are no longer doing airmiles with their credit card. Main reason why I swapped to Morgan Stanley and their cash back offer.:rolleyes:
  • quoia
    quoia Posts: 14,428
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    rayfuzz wrote:
    ....................... I have been told by Nat West that they are no longer doing airmiles with their credit card...................

    Well I'm still getting them and only today I received some mail from NW that referred to the scheme.

    Also just looked at their website - still says "can collect Airmiles as you spend "

    http://www.natwest.com/personal02a.asp?id=PERSONAL/DAY_TO_DAY/CREDIT_CARDS
    There are 10 types of people in the world. ‹(•¿•)›
    ‹(•¿•)› Those that understand binary and those that do not!


    Veni, Vidi, VISA ! ................. I came, I saw, I PURCHASED
    (11)A104.28S94.98O112.46N86.73D101.02(12)J130.63F126.76M134.38A200.98M156.30J95.56J102.85A175.93
    S LOWER CASE OMEGA;6.59 so far ..
  • rayfuzz
    rayfuzz Posts: 7 Forumite
    Sorry quoia, just re read letter dated May 2006 definitely says ' From the day after your June 2006 statement we will no longer be issuing Airmiles for purchases made with your NatWest Card' may be different rules for different cards.:confused:
  • searcher30
    searcher30 Posts: 356 Forumite
    has anyone ever got their airmiles through the company called Dabs?
    i ordered a digital camera a year or so ago but they never credited me with the airmiles ( i think now they no longer give points). I wrote in about it but i have never had a reply. has anyone any experience of them ? and what i could do? thanks in advance
  • searcher30 wrote:
    has anyone ever got their airmiles through the company called Dabs?
    Yes, I did but it was towards the end of 2004. It was a bit of a nightmare too and I had to phone Dabs up a few times to get them sorted.

    As you say Dabs don't offer AirMiles or any other loyalty scheme now. Dabs.com is often quite cheap but there is no customer service for general customers any more - you can't contact them by phone or email. You pays your money (or not) and you takes your choice ;)

    I think you'll have to write off those miles now - Dabs almost certainly won't have any means of issuing airmiles any more so the best you could hope for would be some sort of discount voucher (if you manage to get a response at all).
  • jnd
    jnd Posts: 453 Forumite
    edited 15 June 2013 at 11:45AM
    ............
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