Flybe launches a ‘double Avios’ promo – and learn about their new loyalty strategy

Flybe is launching a new ‘double Avios’ Black Friday promotion today.  I sat down to discuss it with Flybe’s new Head of Loyalty, Oliver Ross, last week – I know Oliver from his previous role at Avios – and he also shared some ideas about how he sees Flybe’s frequent flyer efforts developing.

How many Avios do I earn with Flybe?

Before I get onto Flybe’s Black Friday offer, let’s remind ourselves of how the earning rate has changed recently.

From 1st October, you are now earning 50% more Avios on most Flybe tickets.

Historically the cheaper ‘Just Fly’ and ‘Get More’ ticket types on Flybe earned 2 per £1 / €1 spent. ‘All In’ flexible tickets earned 4 per £1 / €1.  That distinction has now gone and all tickets now earn 3 Avios per £1 / €1 spent on the fare (excluding APD).

This new rate applies to ALL flights taken from 1st October irrespective of when you booked them.  If you receive the old rate of 2 Avios per £1 then you should drop Flybe a note.

As well as the base fare, you can also earn Avios on whatever you pay for hold luggage, standard and extra leg room and preassigned seating.

3 Avios per £1 is generous, in my view.  On routes where Flybe and BA compete at London City, you are likely to earn more Avios taking Flybe given that the cheapest British Airways economy tickets only earn 125 Avios!  You won’t earn tier points on Flybe however.  You can find out more on the Flybe website here.

Earn double Avios with Flybe’s Black Friday offer

From today, earning with Flybe is twice as attractive.

You will earn double Avios (6 per £1 on the ex-APD fare) on all bookings made from today, Sunday 18th November, to midnight on Sunday 9th December.

You must travel between tomorrow (Monday 19th) and 31st January 2019.

Given how few Avios you earn on most British Airways economy flights these days, especially for non-status members, this could work out well.  A £200 return ticket should earn over 1,000 Avios after the APD adjustment.

Unlike the current British Airways ‘double Avios’ offer, which we covered here, you do not need to register for the Flybe offer.  More importantly, you are not restricted to just 10 flights.  The Flybe ‘double Avios’ covers every booking you make before 9th December as long as you fly before 31st January.

You can see where Flybe flies from your local airport on their route map which is here.

How do I make sure I get my Avios?

You cannot use a British Airways Executive Club number with Flybe.  It must be a 3081-style account number of the sort which works at avios.com.  You can then use ‘Combine My Avios’ to move them into your British Airways account.

If you still know your (now closed) Avios Travel Rewards Programme number, you should be OK using that for a limited period until the accounts fully disappear – the points will flow through to your British Airways account eventually.

If that is not the case, or you don’t want to risk your points disappearing in transit, you can open a new Avios account via Flybe.  This will not be closed down and it will allow you to continue using the avios.com platform.

You can sign-up at this page of the Flybe website.

Due to IT issues on the avios.com platform, you MUST use a different email address to the one you used for your old Avios Travel Rewards Programme account.  This will not stop you being able to transfer points to/from Iberia Plus or British Airways Executive Club.

If you already have an avios.com account via Vueling Club or Aer Lingus AerClub then you can also use that 3081-prefixed account number to collect Avios with Flybe.  Alternatively, open a new account via the Flybe link above – this will have the advantage of ensuring you receive Flybe Avios newsletters.

What is else is Flybe planning in the loyalty space?

When I met with Oliver Ross last week he was keen to talk, in broad terms, about what is planned for 2019 as part of the loyalty strategy he is developing for the airline.  He has only been in the job for a few weeks so the exact details are still to be firmed up.

Firstly, he was keen to let HfP readers know that Flybe’s crackpot retro-claim policy for missing Avios will be changed.

The current system gives you a 10-day window to claim missing points.  You can only claim between 30 and 40 days from your return flight.  This is not a cunning plan to stop you getting your points but an IT shortcoming.  Flybe is moving onto a new IT platform soon and this restriction will then disappear.  You will soon be able to claim missing Avios for up to 6 months after travel.

Secondly, another upside from the new IT platform will be the ability to add your Avios number at more stages during the booking, MMB and flight process.  This should ensure fewer flights need retro-claiming.

Thirdly, Flybe is taking more control of its loyalty marketing.  If you are a registered Flybe customer with Avios, you should now be receiving monthly newsletters covering special promotions, new partners and developments at the airline.

Longer term, there is going to be a separate loyalty recognition element launched during 2019.

This will allow you to earn status with Flybe – whilst continuing to receive Avios on your flights – and receive special benefits.  Oliver and I had a long discussion over what may and may not work well here (feel free to post your ideas in the comments if you are a Flybe regular, he will read them) given the nature and size of the airline.

For clarity, as Flybe is not in oneworld, there will be no benefits when flying British Airways for Flybe top tier members.  We did, however, have an interesting chat where I suggested that it could benefit Flybe to give some equivalent benefits to British Airways Gold and Silver members when flying with Flybe.  This is not unheard of – you may remember that Aer Lingus, before it was bought by BA’s parent IAG, used to allow British Airways Gold members to use its lounges.

There is a lot going on at Flybe on the Avios and loyalty side, which we will cover on Head for Points as it rolls out.  In the short term, don’t forget that the double Avios promotion is now live at flybe.com and valid for bookings made by 9th December for travel until 31st January.

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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.