Get bonus Avios points with Shell’s silly Pump Challenge game

Shell Drivers Club is the loyalty scheme for Shell garages in the UK.  Joining is simple – pick up a card at a Shell station when filling up and register it online.  You earn 100 bonus points just for registering your card.

It is an Avios partner and your Shell Drivers Club points can be converted automatically if you wish.

Shell has now brought back a silly but fun promotion to earn bonus points and therefore bonus Avios:  The Pump Challenge.

The person who devised this should be congratulated for appealing to the inner child in all of us.

This is how it works.

Next time you visit a Shell garage, you need to get your V-Power petrol or diesel bill to land on an EXACT amount of money to within 2p either way.  Manage it and you get a bonus.  Miss it and you don’t.

Note that only V-Power fuel counts for the offer.

Here are the bonuses available (remember that 2 Shell points = 1 Avios):

£30.00  – 30 Shell points

£40.00 – 40 Shell points

£50.00 – 100 Shell points

£60.00 – 120 Shell points

£70.00 – 150 Shell points

£80.00 / £90.00 / £100.00 – 200 Shell points

You get a 2p margin of error each way so any total amount from £29.98 to £30.02 would get you 50 points.  This is apparently because it may not always be possible – because of the way the price totals up – to always land on an exact amount however carefully you try.

The logic is interesting.  Whilst some people may spend less than usual (if your tank only takes £45 of fuel you will stop at £40), some others will spend more.  There will also be ‘breakage’ from people who fail to hit the target.  Some people may miss one target and then decide to spend another £9.95 trying to hit the next one.

The bonus points are on top of the standard points.  You earn 1 Shell point for every litre of petrol you buy, and 2 points = 1 Avios.

As well as Avios, 500 points can be turned into £2.50 of Shell vouchers or £2.50 of Waitrose vouchers. The benefit of taking Avios is that Shell converts (once a quarter) your points in multiples of 20 (ie 10 Avios) with no minimum, unlike the 500 point minimum for other rewards.

Of course, if you buy enough Shell fuel to get to 500 points on a regular basis, you will effectively be ‘paying’ 1p per Avios (since 500 points is worth 250 Avios or £2.50 in Shell or Waitrose vouchers).  This is not necessarily a great deal.

On top of the bonus points, you should also note that five winners each day will be randomly chosen to receive a £100 Shell V-Power Fuel voucher.

The Pump Challenge runs until 31st October so heavy drivers could do OK out of it.

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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.