Earn double Avios or Virgin points at Esso petrol stations with a Tesco Express in August

Esso is offering double Tesco Clubcard points on fuel purchases during August.  As Tesco Clubcard points can be transferred directly into Avios or Virgin Flying Club points, this means double miles!

I thought you couldn’t earn Clubcard points at Esso any longer?

On 1st June 2019, Esso dropped its relationship with Tesco Clubcard and signed up with Nectar.  Most people thought that this was the end of earning Tesco Clubcard points, and therefore Avios or Virgin points, at Esso petrol stations.

This isn’t true.  You can still earn Avios at Esso.  Tesco and Esso have not done a good job of promoting this, however, which is why you might not know about it.

Can you still earn Clubcard points at Esso?

YES – but only if you shop at an Esso station which include a Tesco Express store.  The Esso website confirms this.

For clarity, this applies to purchases of fuel as well as shop purchases.

How do I find a participating Esso garage?

There are almost 200 participating garages across the UK.  The easiest way to find them is via the Esso Fuel Finder website here.

Esso Fuel Finder has an option for ‘Clubcard Points on Fuel and Shop’.  Select this box and it will only highlight participating garages near you.

How many Avios do I earn with double points?

At Esso garages with a Tesco Express store, these are the standard earning rates:

1 Clubcard point (2.4 Avios) for every £3 spent on fuel, up to 100 litres per visit

1 Clubcard point (2.4 Avios) for every £1 spent in the Tesco Express shop

1 Clubcard point (2.4 Avios) for every £1 spent on car washes

During August, the points you earn on fuel are doubled.  You receive:

2 Clubcard points (4.8 Avios) for every £3 spent on fuel, up to 100 litres per visit

For clarity, the only points you can collect at Esso garages which do not have a Tesco Express store are Nectar points.  There is no double points offer with Nectar.

Is this a better deal than earning Clubcard points at Tesco garages?

Here’s the interesting thing.

Usually, it is more lucrative to collect Avios via Tesco Clubcard when you buy fuel at Tesco petrol stations.

At Tesco filling stations, you earn 1 Clubcard point (2.4 Avios) for every £2 spent.  The Esso rate is 1 Clubcard point (2.4 Avios) for every £3 spent, so Tesco is 50% more lucrative.

However, during August, Esso garages are more lucrative than Tesco garages:

Tesco garages give you 1 Clubcard point (2.4 Avios) per £2 spent, so 1.2 Avios per £1

Esso garages give you 2 Clubcard points (4.8 Avios) per £3 spent, so 1.6 Avios per £1

You can find out more about this offer on the Esso website here.

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How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (October 2021)

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

There are two official British Airways American Express cards. Both have increased sign-up bonuses until 2nd November 2021:

You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points, such as:

The 30,000 points bonus on Amex Gold runs to 9th November 2021. The 60,000 points bonus on The Platinum Card runs to 2nd November 2021.

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:

You should also consider the British Airways Accelerating Business credit card. This is open to sole traders as well as limited companies. This card has a limited time offer of 60,000 Avios when you sign up:

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

(Want to earn more Avios?  Click here to visit our home page for our latest articles on earning and spending your Avios points and click here to see how to earn more Avios this month from offers and promotions.)