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Tesco Clubcard and Avios divorce in two weeks – how should you play it?

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As we exclusively broke back in October, British Airways / Avios and Tesco Clubcard have decided to part ways. The option to convert your Tesco Clubcard points into Avios is ending very soon.

(Nothing will change with the partnership between Tesco Clubcard and Virgin Flying Club, for clarity. You can still earn Virgin Points.)

Tesco Clubcard dropping British Airways Avios as a partner

When is Clubcard ending Avios earning?

The last day to initiate a transfer of your Tesco Clubcard points into Avios is 18th January. Probably.

There is some confusion over the date. ba.com says that “You can continue to collect Avios with Tesco up to and including 18 January 2021”.

The Avios page on tesco.com says that “From 18 January 2021, you’ll no longer be able to exchange your Clubcard points for Avios.”

I suspect that BA is correct but, as it is Tesco’s scheme, you might want to convert by the 17th just to be sure.

Hang on …. my next Clubcard statement isn’t generated until 28th January

That is correct, which is why I am writing this article today to explain your options.

By the time you receive your Clubcard vouchers for the November to January quarter, in early February, it will be too late to convert them to Avios.

This is why you need to know about ‘Faster Vouchers’.

Tesco Clubcard dropping British Airways Avios as a partner

What is ‘Faster Vouchers’?

‘Faster Vouchers’ is a feature available to users of the Tesco Clubcard app.

It allows you to convert your CURRENT quarterly points balance into Clubcard vouchers. It is a simple process:

  • you must have at least 150 Clubcard points to convert
  • you will have your Clubcard voucher in your Tesco app, ready to spend, within 24 hours of requesting it

There is one thing to bear in mind. Whilst you can order ‘Faster Vouchers’ with a minimum of 150 Clubcard points in your account, you need at least 250 Clubcard points in order to convert to Avios.

It is pointless converting your existing Clubcard points into ‘Faster Vouchers’ if you only have 150, unless you have other unredeemed Clubcard vouchers to allow a conversion of £2.50+.

Here’s an example

I have 157 Clubcard points available to convert, which means that the blue button to order ‘Faster Vouchers’ is showing.

There would be no point in doing this if I had no other points to convert, because of the £2.50 minimum conversion to Avios.

However, I have also other unredeemed Clubcard vouchers which takes my total over the £2.50 minimum for Avios. This means that it makes sense to order the additional £1.50-worth before converting the lot.

Tesco Clubcard dropping British Airways Avios as a partner

What is the timing?

The last day to convert Clubcard points to Avios is 18th January (or perhaps 17th January for the reasons I gave above).

As ‘Faster Vouchers’ are meant to arrive within 24 hours, you should be OK if you order them as late as 16th January.

If you are currently close to 150 Clubcard points this quarter but not quite there, you have another 12 days to do a bit of shopping to ensure you will be at 150 points by 16th January.

(Remember that you will need to be at 250 points by 16th January if you have no other outstanding Clubcard vouchers to convert, because of the £2.50 minimum transfer.)

Who will replace Tesco as BA’s supermarket partner?

I honestly don’t know. We have been bouncing ideas around in our ‘Comments’ section in recent weeks.

My money would be on a combined John Lewis / Waitrose deal, but I haven’t been told anything – except that we will find out after 18th January.

How to earn Avios from UK credit cards

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:

Barclaycard Avios Plus 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 card

Barclaycard Avios Mastercard

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

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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.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

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The Platinum Card from American Express

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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.

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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.

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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

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American Express Business Gold

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

Category

British Airways and Avios, Tesco Clubcard

Comments (133)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • Mike says:
    4 Jan4 January 06:52

    I am hoping for a Tesco to Avios final bonus – finish on a high

    • Chris Heyes says:
      4 Jan4 January 07:08

      Why would Tesco “DO” a final bonus they are the one’s being shafted by Avios ?

      • Andrew says:
        4 Jan4 January 07:29

        To use up Avios they have pre-bought.

        • Blenz101 says:
          4 Jan4 January 07:43

          If they had pre-bought i.e given Avios a loan in they style of some of the recent credit card deals we have seen then it would be in Tesco’s published accounts.

          Supermarkets are pretty good at cash flow control.

          There isn’t going to be a bonus to encourage us to convert just before a rival starts promoting the scheme Tesco have just had to write and tell us they are having to leave.

  • BJ says:
    4 Jan4 January 06:56

    “Faster Vouchers’ is a feature available to users of the Tesco Clubcard app”

    You can also request them via their website unless that has changed.

  • NigelthePensioner says:
    4 Jan4 January 07:00

    Marks & Spencer Sparks!

  • David says:
    4 Jan4 January 07:15

    What should we who currently lazily auto-convert our Clubcard points to Avios do? This? Or can we sit tight?

    • Andrew says:
      4 Jan4 January 07:26

      Yes this is the only option – autoconvert is now switched off so if you sit tight you won’t get any Avios.

  • Anuj says:
    4 Jan4 January 07:22

    Is it actually good value to transfer to avios from Clubcard vs getting a hotel voucher ?

    • Blenz101 says:
      4 Jan4 January 07:37

      Very much depends. If you have an easy way to generate significant amounts of clubcard points then Tesco was lucrative, the £300 earnings cap still allowed you to generate 72,000 avios per quarter which clearly have significant value.

      If you only have £2.50 to convert then 600 avios isn’t going to move the dial for you. Equally, £7.50 saving on a hotel room isn’t great when you would have to give up either status benefits or more importantly your reward night credit.

    • Rob says:
      4 Jan4 January 09:37

      Search ‘Clubcard’ and you’ll find a recent article we did looking at these options.

  • Mike P says:
    4 Jan4 January 07:35

    Waitrose and JLP would make a lot of sense and would be quite attractive to a lot of people who might not shop at Tesco.

    • Graeme says:
      4 Jan4 January 07:42

      Not for people in Scotland or NI. Waitrose where there’s hardly any stores.

      • Darren says:
        4 Jan4 January 09:00

        40 miles to my nearest, 4 stores in the region.

        • RussellH says:
          4 Jan4 January 09:50

          Over 60 miles to the nearest Waitrose, No idea where nearest JL is – probably Newcastle. Have not set foot in JL for at least 30 years, and from what I read these days, unlikely to ever do so again.

      • RussellH says:
        4 Jan4 January 09:48

        Nor Cumbria and Lancashire. We have Booths, not Waitrose.

    • Darren says:
      4 Jan4 January 08:55

      Waitrose option would be a shift in direction from the biggest to a small time player in the sector, although it may fit the profile that BA would prefer.

      • BuildBackBetter says:
        4 Jan4 January 10:01

        Biggest in retail turnover means nothing if only a few savvy travellers in south east convert to avios.

  • AJA says:
    4 Jan4 January 07:44

    I have a voucher for £1 and checked my current points balance and I am 17 short of 150. I was going to buy petrol but I realised that you only receive 1 point for every £2 of fuel whereas buying groceries it is 1 point for £1. So i need to do a small grocery shop.

    I have a question: do you earn points on alcohol purchases in Tesco? Sainsbury”s / Nectar specifically excludes alcohol from earning nectar points

    • Iain says:
      4 Jan4 January 07:49

      I very frequently get bonus point offers on alcohol purchases from Sainsbury’s on the nectar app

      • Blenz101 says:
        4 Jan4 January 07:52

        Alcohol earns. Only exception could be if you are based in Scotland where the promotional rules are different.

        Only things is Tesco which don’t earn are gift cards, stamps, prescriptions, lotto etc.

        • Chrism20 says:
          4 Jan4 January 15:38

          With Sainsburys you will get points on beer and wine but not on spirits or liquers. I’m pretty sure thats UK wide and not just Scotland.

      • AJA says:
        4 Jan4 January 08:13

        Really? I’ve never received anything like that and I don’t get nectar points on alcohol, I regularly buy gin and whisky, haven’t bought wine for a while though as I have been slowly working my way through existing supplies (my OH doesn’t drink wine at home and only rarely drinks wine when we eat out)

        • AlanC says:
          4 Jan4 January 09:07

          Buy a bottle of sainsburys house pinot grigio and wait a couple of weeks and should get a bonus point offer. If not buy another single bottle. Usually between 110 to 150 bonus points.

          • MattB says:
            4 Jan4 January 09:50

            The wife and i have both had 200 points back on the £4.50 house pinot blush almost every week for as long as I remember.

        • Matt says:
          4 Jan4 January 15:57

          Because of government regulation about minimum pricing, Nectar points are not earned on:
          • Spirits
          • Liqueur
          • Wine when on any buy 6 save 25% promotion
          • All alcohol in Scotland and Wales

    • Genghis says:
      4 Jan4 January 07:50

      If you have a Tesco bank card and use that club card no as club card, you get 1 cc / £ on fuel. Easiest done in Pay+ set up.

    • AJA says:
      4 Jan4 January 08:15

      Thanks Bienz fortunately I am not in Scotland, and thanks Genghis but I don’t have the tesco debit card and don’t see the point of applying now.

    • The real John says:
      4 Jan4 January 13:49

      I get 1 point per £ for fuel using the Tesco credit card, which means 1.25 points per £ overall if paying with that card too.

      However I also have the debit card which gives 2 points per £ overall.

      So I usually use the debit card, except when doing research to find out the above.

      But maybe it gives me 1 base point per £ because it knows I have the debit card and any card will work?

  • David S says:
    4 Jan4 January 08:54

    When did anyone last receive any substantive benefits from the existing JLP loyalty scheme. No comms from them, no vouchers, nothing at all from them for close to a year despite us being heavy spenders and Waitrose cafe’s have all been closed for the best part of a year and almost impossible to get home delivery slots with them even though we shop in store every week. If we might simply get Avios on purchases that’s ok

    • Andrew says:
      4 Jan4 January 09:08

      JLP is going down the pan and they are clinging on for dear life at the moment. What they have always failed to do as a company is to evolve – now is their final opportunity to do that or they will cease to exist. Let’s hope this loyalty scheme and possible Avios deal will help.

    • Andrew says:
      4 Jan4 January 09:23

      Nothing for the past year, but then we haven’t known from one day to the next if the nearest branch of John Lewis will be open or not.

      The only business that has had reasonably generous regular offers has been Sainsbury’s. I’ve been earning a substantial amount of Nectar Points over the past year.

    • Nick_C says:
      4 Jan4 January 09:26

      If you are already a heavy spender in Waitrose, you won’t get any vouchers. I shop there occasionally and regularly get vouchers, usually for 20pc off.

      I do find Waitrose has gone downhill though. Things I used to go there for specifically are no longer stocked, and stock levels of other items are poor. Its no longer worth the 20 mile round trip.

    • AJA says:
      4 Jan4 January 09:28

      I got spend £70 get £7 off vouchers in Oct and then spend £120 get £12 off in Nov. Nothing since then though. I’d be happy for either Sainsbury’s or JLP to become Avios partners.

      • Nick says:
        4 Jan4 January 14:16

        Waitrose spend vouchers aren’t designed to ‘reward loyalty’, they’re designed to drive spend from those who wouldn’t otherwise. It comes out of the marketing budget. I find I get loads if I don’t go for a while, then they dry up, so I stop going, then they start again. Pure cat and mouse.

        • Nick says:
          4 Jan4 January 14:19

          All supermarkets are the same. Sainsbury’s, for example, I get offers every week, but they’re better (=higher points) if I haven’t shopped there for a couple of weeks.

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

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