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1,500 free Avios points for switching on auto-convert from Tesco Clubcard. Good deal?

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I received an interesting email from Avios yesterday with an offer relating to Tesco Clubcard:

“It only take a few moments to automatically convert all your future Tesco Clubcard points to Avios.  It means you could be flying away sooner than you think.

Simply go to tesco.com/clubcard

Select ‘My Clubcard Account’, log in, then select ‘My Preferences’

Scroll down and tick the box which says ‘Avios’.  Then confirm to automatically convert your Tesco Clubcard vouchers to Avios.

Do it by 3 May 2013 and you’ll receive a 1,500 Avios bonus.”

The small print contains a small catch:

“Avios UK Members who join Tesco Automatic Opt in by 11.59pm on Friday 03/05/13 and collect a minimum of 150 Tesco Clubcard points (which are automatically transferred to Avios at the end of the period) will be awarded 1,500 bonus Avios. 1,500 bonus Avios will be awarded by 31/05/13.”

Now, in theory this sounds like a simple deal, but there is an obvious question:

Is it targeted?

The rules imply No.

However … only 1 of the 3 Avios accounts in our house received this offer.

And … I cannot find it on the Tesco or avios.com website.

There is no guarantee that you will get the bonus if you didn’t get the email.

Here are some other things worth thinking about:

This is NOT a British Airways Executive Club offer.  It is an avios.com offer.  You must set up auto-convert to avios.com and NOT BAEC.

You can turn off auto-convert after the next set of points have auto-converted.  It is not irreversible.

Remember that a Tesco to Avios conversion bonus may come along again soon.  This could be 50%.  If you have more than 1,250 Clubcard points this quarter (which would be 3,000 Avios) then you would be losing out by converting now and taking the 1,500 Avios points bonus if a 50% conversion bonus came along later.

You may be better off taking a dormant Clubcard account, setting that up to auto-convert, and then trying to earn 150 Clubcard points on it before 3rd May.  The easiest way would be buying £50 of gift cards to earn 150 bonus Clubcard points – see my earlier post on this here.

The deadline for setting up auto-convert in May 3rd.  There is a good reason for this – May 4th is the last day for points to be credited to your account to receive vouchers in the May Tesco mailshot.

How to earn Avios from UK credit cards

How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (April 2024)

As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Avios points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses!

In February 2022, Barclaycard launched two exciting new Barclaycard Avios Mastercard cards with a bonus of up to 25,000 Avios. You can apply here.

You qualify for the bonus on these cards even if you have a British Airways American Express card:

Barclaycard Avios Plus card

Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard

Get 25,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £10,000 Read our full review

Barclaycard Avios card

Barclaycard Avios Mastercard

5,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £20,000 Read our full review

There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

25,000 Avios and the famous annual 2-4-1 voucher Read our full review

British Airways American Express

5,000 Avios for signing up and an Economy 2-4-1 voucher for spending £15,000 Read our full review

You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points. These points convert at 1:1 into Avios.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express

40,000 bonus points and a huge range of valuable benefits – for a fee Read our full review

Run your own business?

We recommend Capital on Tap for limited companies. You earn 1 Avios per £1 which is impressive for a Visa card, along with a sign-up bonus worth 10,500 Avios.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 12th May 2024, the Capital on Tap Business Rewards Visa card is offering a bonus of 30,000 points, convertible into 30,000 Avios. You must have a Limited Company to apply. Click here to learn more and click here to apply.

Capital on Tap Business Rewards Visa

Huge 30,000 points bonus until 12th May 2024 Read our full review

You should also consider the British Airways Accelerating Business credit card. This is open to sole traders as well as limited companies and has a 30,000 Avios sign-up bonus.

British Airways Accelerating Business American Express

30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios Read our full review

There are also generous bonuses on the two American Express Business cards, with the points converting at 1:1 into Avios. These cards are open to sole traders as well as limited companies.

American Express Business Platinum

40,000 points sign-up bonus and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review

American Express Business Gold

20,000 points sign-up bonus and FREE for a year Read our full review

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.

Category

Tesco Clubcard

Comments (40)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • James67 says:
    17 Apr17 April 07:06

    Compared to the last time they ran this promomo it is rubbish. IIRC 4000 or 4500 bonus when first launched.

  • thesaver79 says:
    17 Apr17 April 07:16

    Do you think the 150 points would have to be earned after setting up the auto conversion?

    • Rob says:
      17 Apr17 April 08:20

      It doesn’t matter. All that matters is that you have 150 points on 4th May.

      • thesaver79 says:
        17 Apr17 April 08:24

        Thanks. I asked about the promo on the Avios UK Facebook page. I haven’t received the email so I’m going to wait and see what they say.

      • thesaver79 says:
        17 Apr17 April 10:45

        All has been confirmed by Avios on Facebook

  • Susan says:
    17 Apr17 April 07:21

    Despite what it says on the main page, in the Visa gift card T&Cs it says ”
    If you’re a Clubcard customer, you’ll earn 150 Clubcard points for every £50 you spend in a single transaction on Branded Gift Cards (including the Visa branded Cards) at the time of purchase.”

    So buy the cards at the start of a Tesco shop and use them immediately!

    • Volker says:
      17 Apr17 April 10:28

      “So buy the cards at the start of a Tesco shop and use them immediately!”

      I wouldn’t do that; I’d rather use my BMI AMEX for any payment at the till as it earns me avios. The VISA gift card is obviously considered a debit card (see tesco’s T&C’s) which is accepted virtually anywhere, so I would use it for payments that HAVE to be made by debit card (e.g. national lottery online). Per £50 gift card, you would earn 150 clubcard points = at least 360 avios + 200 avios through BMI AMEX = 560 avios for £50 debit card spend. Even if you take into consideration the £3.95 fee tesco will charge you at the till when purchasing the gift card, I still think it’s a reasonable deal.

      • Rob says:
        17 Apr17 April 10:36

        Stick with Pizza Express gift cards, that’s what I do!

        • Susan says:
          17 Apr17 April 12:38

          Pizza Express! And I thought you were a gentleman of taste and discernment.

          Full disclosure: live in Rome so pizza not high on must-eat list when back in Blighty 😉

      • tom says:
        17 Apr17 April 13:18

        Are you sure you get 150 CCP for visa branded cards ?

        • Rob says:
          17 Apr17 April 13:26

          The rules say no. Some people, I think, got the 3V branded Visa cards to work but few stores have those. I admit, I thought the main Visa gift cards were not meant to count.

          • tom says:
            18 Apr18 April 11:05

            So only the 3v visa will give me 150 points? Not the normal visa gift card ? Because according to 3v visa’s website, tesco doesn’t sell it at all !

          • Rob says:
            18 Apr18 April 12:52

            I have never seen one either! But a very small number of stores did have them and I am assured they triggered the bonus points.

  • MaltapointsTom says:
    17 Apr17 April 08:40

    Sorry to be slow on this one, but I’ve been out of the UK for 2.5 years now and am a little vague on how exactly Clubcard conversion works.

    I also got this email from Avios.

    Per my Awardwallet total I have £18.50 in Clubcard vouchers and 154 points. If I set up autoconvert, then this I believe means only the 154 in points will be auto-converted, while the £18.50 will be untouched (and I am free to convert them at a higher rate should any conversion bonus come along in due course).

    I am 99% sure this is the case, and so this appears perfect for me – but can anyone confirm?

    • Rob says:
      17 Apr17 April 09:40

      Yes, that is correct. Remember you must autoconvert to avios.com and not BA.

      • Trevor says:
        29 Apr29 April 15:58

        I was also sure this to be the case, but just called Tesco Clubcard to be certain, and they confirmed existing vouchers would need to be converted manually, only current points balance would auto-convert. Therefore having a current Clubcard points balance of less than 1,250 for this quarter makes this opt-in worthwhile, as you’d receive more bonus points than a 50% transfer bonus if/when it comes along. With 3 accounts and 2 with balances less than 1,250 this quarter, I’ll be opting in to receive a combined 3,000 Avios bonus. I’ve already received one previously though on the one account, and that’s the one I didn’t get an email for regarding this offer. Let’s hope it still works, but with the lowest balance of only 550 points, I’d only lose 540 Avios from a future conversion bonus anyway.

  • Steve R says:
    17 Apr17 April 09:13

    When they ran the opt in for the bonus 4500 avios last time, hidden away in T&C’s said you could only use the voucher if you booked flight & hotel through Avios , so promptly unticked the box at T’s

    • Trevor says:
      29 Apr29 April 16:01

      Luckily this promotion says no such thing, so perhaps why far less bonus points. but I would rather have 1,500 real Avios than 4,500 voucher Avios.

  • Gordon says:
    17 Apr17 April 09:17

    I dont have any dormant clubcards so i wonder if its possible to apply for additional clubcards, for example at my mums and work addresses. How long do the cards take or do you get a temporay one online? When the cards arrive i then buy a gift card on each and auto convert them all to the same avios account. Will tesco or avios pick up on this?

    • Scott says:
      17 Apr17 April 09:41

      I was thinking a similar thing, can you have more than one clubcard? As I could setup a new account, buy the John Whaite book to gain 400 points, and then turn on the auto convert for an extra 1,500 points. This way I don’t lose out on auto converting on my main account?

    • Rob says:
      17 Apr17 April 09:42

      If you want to put the CC points into your account, the address and surname on the Tesco account must match your avios.com account.

      A temporary card would work fine, although they are harder to apot in stores these days.

      You can have multiple CC accounts in the same name and address, although occasionally Tesco automatically merges them.

  • ringingup says:
    17 Apr17 April 10:19

    I’ve just set up the auto conversion, but it didn’t ask me for any Avios number? How is the conversion going to happen?

  • Gordon B says:
    17 Apr17 April 10:28

    i think there is a £3.95 fee on a £50 visa branded gift card unlike the others. So if you are going to buy and then use in store you will pay extra

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