My National Geographic Traveller piece is now online, for free

As I wrote last month, the July / August edition of National Geographic Traveller (UK edition, £3.95) has a three page article on frequent flyer miles.  It starts on page 164.

For better or worse, I feature heavily in the article.

The article is now available online, for free.  You can read it here.

Unfortunately, the article is inaccurate in a couple of places as glossy magazines have a very long lead time.  The interview I did with the magazine was done in December 2014.  When I talk about taking an airberlin flight ‘last year’, I mean 2013.   As this was before the Avios devaluation was announced, some of the numbers quoted in the article regarding the miles needed are now out of date.

There is also an element of hyperbole to the piece that is not really my normal style but which I did for impact ….

There are nuggets of information which the general reader who happens to have a few Avios will find useful.  I cover little-known facts (outside of our circle) such as converting American Express points to Avios and that airberlin and Aer Lingus offer long-haul Avios redemptions with minimal tax.

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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:

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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