Tesco rewards/ Avios points/ Holidays!

kaz0705

Hi,

I'm hoping someone might be able to advise me... I have been collecting Tesco rewards with a view of putting them towards a holiday for myself and my partner.

At present, I have about £70 of vouchers to exchange. If I went with a holiday reward (like Cosmo or Virgin) this would equate to £210 or so off the holiday.

Or, of course, there's the Avios offer at the moment. £70 would get about 175000 points, I think (is that right? £70/ £2.50 * 1000?).

But I know a lot of people were fed up when the airmiles scheme changed to Avios. Is it worth doing it? And if so, how far in advance is it best to book for?

From the website, I can see that 80000 would get me two adult flights to NY. We have friends there so would love to go; is it worth it? Or am I misunderstanding it?

Sorry if this all seems quite easy- I've never used airmiles or anything and am conscious, as ever, of making sure I get the best deal possible!

Thanks in advance,

Kaz

miketrim

by my calculation £70 of Tesco vouchers will get you 28000 Avios
70 divided by 2.50 = 28 * 1000

malkie76

kaz0705 wrote: »

From the website, I can see that 80000 would get me two adult flights to NY.

You forget the ~£300pp in taxes, making your points almost worthless compared to buying tickets with cash.

Your points would be buying you fully flexible tickets (worth ~£1500 pp), but if your dates are fixed this provides no advantage.

Best use of avios points for buying business or first class tickets, or upgrading tickets you were going to be buying anyway.

Lastly, they are of use (long haul) for last minute tickets when only the expensive ones are left (ie £1500pp)

kaz0705

How embarrassing! You're absolutely right- I times 70 by 2.5 instead of dividing... Explains a lot, doesn't it?!

In that case, this makes the case even more interesting: is 28000 Avios points worth more or less than £210 holiday vouchers?!

kaz0705

Thanks Malkie. That's really helpful.

Is there a list anywhere of all the charges for each airport? I could do a short haul flight, I assume and then pay less in taxes?

If I buy an economy ticket, can I upgrade easily? Does it have to be with a certain airline? How many points would an upgrade to (say) NY cost?

Sorry if that's too many questions!

All advice appreciated!

thelawnet

malkie76 wrote: »

You forget the ~£300pp in taxes, making your points almost worthless compared to buying tickets with cash.

Your points would be buying you fully flexible tickets (worth ~£1500 pp), but if your dates are fixed this provides no advantage.

Best use of avios points for buying business or first class tickets, or upgrading tickets you were going to be buying anyway.

Lastly, they are of use (long haul) for last minute tickets when only the expensive ones are left (ie £1500pp)

Best use of Avios points is short-haul.

E.g., flights to Larnaca START at £241 cash, or 2,000 Avios + £27.

The upgrades are nice, but you end up spending more, much more, as a result, albeit of course the seat is much nicer.

kaz0705

From what I can gather, the fixed £27 charge for short haul only kicks in after a year so is no use to me this summer.

I've been trying to figure out the charges for Europe airports but even google can't help!

Anyone have any clue?

Thanks!

thelawnet

kaz0705 wrote: »

From what I can gather, the fixed £27 charge for short haul only kicks in after a year so is no use to me this summer.

I've been trying to figure out the charges for Europe airports but even google can't help!

Anyone have any clue?

Thanks!

I don't believe that is the case. As long as you have collected points within the last year (e.g., yesterday, six months ago, whatever), you are eligible.

Might be wrong though.

sarah1972

kaz0705 wrote: »

From what I can gather, the fixed £27 charge for short haul only kicks in after a year so is no use to me this summer.

I've been trying to figure out the charges for Europe airports but even google can't help!

Anyone have any clue?

Thanks!

I have just booked tickets from heathrow to athens in September for £27.