View of the Alps from a plane window. Copyright Gretta Schifano
If you’re saving up for a trip have you thought about using reward credit cards? They can be very useful – as long as (listen up, this is very important) you always do this:
Pay the balance in full every month so that you don’t incur any interest charges.
Reward cards
TSB have commissioned me to write this post about reward cards, including their Avios Credit Card. Reward card providers make money both from the interest which they charge the cardholders and from the retailers who accept payments with the cards. Some credit cards offer you cash back on your spending and others offer points such as Avios. Avios replaced the Airmiles scheme in 2011. Avios are points which you collect as you spend and which you can then use towards flights with British Airways, Air Malta, Aurigny, Flybe, Iberia and Monarch. Taxes and charges still need to be paid using actual money and you can also use Avios for things like hotels and Eurostar tickets.
Avios
My husband travels a lot for business. The only good thing about this for me and for the kids is that he amasses Avios which we can then use for family trips. We used Avios for our flights to Athens last year and also for our flights to Florida the year before – although we did have to divide the family between two planes for that trip because there were only two Avios seats available per BA flight to the US. When we look at using our Avios I always compare the cost of the taxes and other charges for Avios flights to the cost of flying with a budget airline – sometimes the latter option is actually better.
As long as you pay your credit reward card balance off every month you won’t pay any interest but you will still receive the relevant rewards for your spending. Once you have a rewards card it’s good to use it for all of your day-to-day spending to maximise the rewards which you can earn.
TSB Avios card
Choosing a reward card
If you want to sign up for a card like this it’s worth shopping around to find the one which suits you best. Some cards charge a fee so you need to work out whether or not the rewards you will receive on your spending are worth paying the fee for. Also think about whether or not the rewards you’re collecting are useful to you – there’s no point collecting Avios, for example, if you’re not planning to travel anywhere.
London Gatwick flight information. Copyright Gretta Schifano
Here are just a few of the credit cards on offer in the UK with rewards which can be used for travel. The details are correct at the time of writing.
- TSB Avios American Express Credit Card – This card has no annual fee and gives you one Avios on nearly every £1 which you spend.
- BA American Express Credit Card – This card has no annual fee and offers one Avios for virtually every £1 which you spend. There’s a 3,000 Avios welcome bonus for new cardholders.
- Virgin Atlantic American Express Credit Card – There’s no annual fee for this card and you’ll receive one Virgin Flying Club mile for every £1 spent.
If you shop at Tesco you can also use your Tesco Clubcard points to buy vouchers for Avios, Virgin Flying Club miles or Monarch flight tokens.
Do you use reward cards to earn points which you can use for travelling?
Disclosure: This post is sponsored by TSB.
What a great idea!
I have one of these types of credit cards and it’s so useful. We don’t go abroad much, but when we do it’s nice to be able to upgrade.
Laura recently posted…How Ocean Florida saved the day and made it awesome
Using reward cards for travelling is such a great idea, especially if you can start collecting them during business travel and then enoy them for leisure travel. Sounds like you’ve got a good set up there!
Globalmouse recently posted…Ski Transfer service – “4 Friends Transfer” – Geneva to the Alps
We use reward cards for travelling and have found them very useful. We even got a marvellous upgrade because of the number of airmiles we had! However, as you say, you need to be sure to pay them off every month so you don’t rack up interest. Useful post!
Sarah Ebner recently posted…Disneyland Paris by Robert
we dont have a credit card as i do not trust myself is that bad! we rarely go on flights but one day i will!
Mummy’s Little blog recently posted…Bugaboo’s and Adventures
I collect Tesco points but we don’t travel much. I save my points to use at Christmas 🙂
Shell Louise recently posted…Mother’s Day at Rufford Abbey
I had never even though of doing this, it sounds like such a good idea too x
Rachel recently posted…Wrap.me
I had not thought of doing that! .. it saves and is easier – has to be good in my book
Jaime Oliver recently posted…Starting Out On The Journey Of Learning
We have one credit card that is just for booking holidays!
Emma recently posted…Do you accept praise like a child does?
That’s very organised and sensible!
What a great post and I love that you can use these things to your benefit, but yes you are right always pay it off in full each month
Jen aka Muminthemadhouse recently posted…Homemade Pizza Recipe – Cooking with kids
Definitely, that’s so important.
This sounds like a really good idea, if I travelled I’d definitely do it xx
We collect air miles but have yet to redeem them.
Nayna Kanabar (@citrusspiceuk) recently posted…Bath Bomb workshop at Amba Hotels
One thing I dont have is a credit card, they scare ne lol x
angela hamilton recently posted…My New Toy
You’re very sensible!
We used to save up avios points until our credit card provider changed to something else. We have had problems redeeming them in the past due to lack of flight availability, but my husband says that things have improved now, so we are hoping to use the remainder of ours up soon.
Erica Price recently posted…March Round Up
I hope that you can use them to go somewhere lovely.
Great information in this post. I don’t own a credit card which, believe me, is a good thing lol! x
Lucie Aiston recently posted…Trutex Boys Slim Fit School Trousers
im so pleased i dont need to stress about all of this sort of thing, dont think i will ever get to travel x
I use reward credit cards but use the points for other things rather than travelling at the moment. I’m sure when my children are older though I will start to do that. Really informative post. Thank you.
You’re welcome.
It is a great idea but I try not to spend too much on credit cards as I never get around to paying them off in full!
Mummy of Two recently posted…Pregnancy – Week 37 – We’ve nearly made it
Very wise!