How Brad is flying around the world for 112,000 airline miles and just £173
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HfP reader Brad dropped me an email with details of a round-the-world itinerary that he has just booked. It is, I have to say, very well put together and takes advantage of a number of ‘sweet spot’ redemptions. I thought it was worth sharing.
This is what Brad is doing:
He is covering 27,717 miles in total! This is how it was booked:
Berlin – Abu Dhabi
12,500 Avios + £31 taxes (airberlin)
Dubai – Hong Kong – Tokyo
30,000 Avios + £26 taxes (Cathay Pacific)
Tokyo – Sydney – Auckland – Fiji
12,500 United Airlines miles + £29 tax (ANA, Air New Zealand)
Fiji – Samoa – Honolulu
25,000 Qantas points + £79 (Fiji Airways)
Honolulu – Kahului – Lihue
12,000 United Airlines miles + £5 (United Airlines)
Lihue – San Jose – Chicago – Manchester
20,000 American Airlines miles + £3 (Alaska, American)
This comes to a total of 112,000 airline miles plus, more importantly, just £173 of taxes and charges! It is an ‘all economy’ itinerary of course but still excellent value. The itinerary is deliberately a little obscure because Brad was keen to see some different cities to places he had been before.
Whilst Head for Points tends to focus on business class redemptions, it is good to show what can be done in economy if you have the time and patience to plan the best routes.
One advantage of spreading the trip across various airlines is that it would be possible to get most of the miles purely from credit card sign-ups – United offers a 12,000 miles bonus on its free UK credit card a couple of times a year, for example. The only part of the above itinerary that would be tricky would be getting the Qantas points given their lack of UK partners – they are not a Starwood Preferred Guest or Amex partner.
Enjoy your trip Brad.
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How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (April 2025)
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 Mastercard
Get 25,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £10,000 Read our full review
Barclaycard Avios Mastercard
Get 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
30,000 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.
SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on the ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 30,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (30,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.
SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to a huge 80,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (80,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.
American Express Preferred Rewards Gold
Your best beginner’s card – 30,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review
The Platinum Card from American Express
80,000 bonus points and great travel benefits – for a large 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, and the standard card is FREE. Capital on Tap cards also have no FX fees.
Capital on Tap Visa
NO annual fee, NO FX fees and points worth 1 Avios per £1 Read our full review
Capital on Tap Pro Visa
10,500 points (=10,500 Avios) plus good benefits Read our full review
There is also a British Airways American Express card for small businesses:
British Airways American Express Accelerating Business
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
50,000 points when you sign-up 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.
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