Back on Ciao now after a few years absence. Most of my reviews are now hopelessly out of date so I g...
Back on Ciao now after a few years absence. Most of my reviews are now hopelessly out of date so I guess I'd better get working! I'm a 36 year-old self-employed water treatment engineer. Interests are travel, football, athletics (I'm a discus thrower).
Member since:23.05.2001
Reviews:11
Members who trust:3
I first started collecting Air Miles back in the dim and distant past of my university days. To be honest, I paid little attention to them back then. At my initial rate of collection it would've taken several years just to get off the airport runway.
Times change and so do personal circumstances. I started working as a self-employed water treatment engineer which amongst other things meant plenty of driving in between jobs. Plenty of driving means lots of petrol - the Nat West credit card took a hammering. Anyway, it just so happens that Nat Westcredit cards are one of Air Miles partners and I was earning one air mile for every £10 spent on the card (as a side issue this is now one mile for every £20). A Shell smart card was soon acquired. They too are Air Miles partners so I was earning twice over whenever I bought any petrol from them. The Air Miles balance started to accumulate...
I could soon see I was on to a good thing here. I wasn't actually paying for the petrol out of my own pocket - it was a business expense so my air miles were coming for nothing. Still, at this rate I figured it was still going to be a while before I had enough miles to actually FLY anywhere.
Wandering round Sainsbury's one day I picked up a leaflet for their loyalty card. It seemed you could convert their points for Air Miles at an effective rate of 40 miles for every £2.50 worth of points. Even better, scattered around the store were lots of items with extra points - some of them very generous to boot! All of a sudden my Air Miles balance was soaring through the clouds. In what seemed like very little time I had amassed enough points for my first flight - a return trip from London Heathrow to Newcastle-upon-Tyne. It wasn't entirely free: I did still have to pay the airport taxes.
I got a bit more ambitious and soon had enough miles for a return flight to the Big Apple. New York could be had for 2900 Air Miles if you booked it at the right time of year: The "Air Miles shrinks the world" promotion.
A couple of months back I got three return flights to Brussels for 1350 Air Miles. Even with the airport taxes and insurance (not compulsory), at a total cost of £95.70, it was a considerable saving on the advertised price.
As you'll have guessed by now I'm a very keen collector of Air Miles. For those of you out there who think you might become the same... here are a couple of collecting tips.
(1) By far and away the fastest way to collect Air Miles is to take advantage of the extra reward points on offer at Sainsbury's. It is occasionally possible to earn enough miles for a short flight (e.g. Paris) from groceries costing LESS than the equivalent ticket price. A recent posting on the Air Miles message board tells how one person bought 110 packets(!!) of Go Ahead biscuits for about £33 and earned enough Air Miles for a return flight to Jersey. The Sainsbury's website (www.sainsbury.co.uk) gives details on the latest extra reward points offers.
(2) Petrol is also a good way to earn miles if like me you do a high mileage. The ideal combination seems to be to use a Nat West or a Sainsbury's credit card at a Sainsbury's petrol station. You can also use the credit card in conjunction with a Shell Smart card at a Shell garage though the rate of return is not as good (and appears to be gradually diminishing).
Also, you're not only restricted to redeeming your miles on flights. They can also be exchanged for days out at places such as Madame Tussaud, Thorpe Park and the like. They'll also get you reduced hotel rates, free cinema tickets, even a day at a health spa (which you'll probably need after scoffing 110 packets of biscuits).
The Air Miles website (www.airmiles.co.uk) will keep you up to breast on all of the latest offers.
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good op. i wasn't into airmiles until i realised i've accumulated quite a lot just for using my vodafone account(though they've stopped that now!).. i probably gonna start collecting more now to get those offers. cheers :)
RobinLawrie 26.05.2001 23:01
Well written informed op.....Robin
Deenie 26.05.2001 21:54
Very interesting...I think I might get myself a Natwest credit card - HSBC are stopping their points scheme in a couple of months so there'll be no advantage for using their card. Air Miles sounds great! Cheers! ~Deenie~
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May 26th, 2001
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