How to earn Avios points when you stay with Airbnb – 3 points per £1

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• Peter Cleary says:

  28 May28 May 08:58

  I spent several thousand with air bnb via this link and was never credited with the miles despite repeatedly following up. The villa was also 7 miles from where it was advertised and had smoke alarm but because we didn’t tell them in 24h of arrival they did nothing so I wouldn’t use them again!

  • Alex Sm says:

    29 May29 May 08:34

    What’s wrong about a smoke alarm?

• The Savage Squirrel says:

  28 May28 May 09:20

  They are likely very expensive Avios…. I use Airbnb as a search guide, but then can pretty much always find the same property listed far cheaper elsewhere. For example on a recent stay, the local tourist visitor centre also had a number of property listings where our target property was just over half the price per night vs Airbnb AND had a buy two nights get 3rd free offer and didn’t bolt on cleaning fees either. Net result was over 65% saving on total cost. 65%!!! If nothing else, even just going across to VrBo is generally some saving on the same property.
  On restays where you know/trust the host, just contacting them direct often yields similar savings while hosts love you for it. I don’t know what Airbnb’s fees are but the market dynamics suggests they are huge, so avoiding them can work very well for you.

  • Gordon says:

    28 May28 May 09:57

    A good tip, Thank you.

  • polly says:

    28 May28 May 10:27

    Were you actually already in the area when you found this price at the tourist centre, or online before the trip started? That was a superb saving.

    • The Savage Squirrel says:

      28 May28 May 11:14

      On the website, booked months before trip.

      Out of curiosity just did the same thing for at random 3 night stay in Nov at the same property. £225 at tourist centre vs £587 on AirBNB…

  • Londonsteve says:

    28 May28 May 11:33

    It’s also worth pointing out that the same properties are invariably listed on Booking.com where the Avios earning rate is much higher and the probability of the stay correctly tracking is more likely. I prefer Airbnb’s website layout and the ability to filter for certain things but Booking offers the exact address, the precise size as well as how many beds, their type, in which rooms, etc. It’s also worth mentioning that you should check the standard Booking price without using the BA link, then again having clicked through from BA because there can be differences not only in price but also in the cancellation terms.

  • Jerry says:

    28 May28 May 12:04

    There are 2 types of fees on Airbnb. Agency hosts usually include the Airbnb guest service fee in the rate – so you should find the property cheaper with the agent. Individual hosts (in the UK) – Airbnb adds around 17% to the rate the host receives. The host also pays AIrbnb 3% of their share in commission.

    So potentially by booking direct you can save up to 20% (in the UK) over booking via Airbnb if you book direct. some territories the rates and terms vary. Booking.com charges the host the commission so you are still paying around 15% commission – but it’s not obvious because the host includes it in the rate. Searching by property name online and booking direct with the property is the best trick. I am an Airbnb host of a sleeps 12 house in North Norfolk.

  • Scott says:

    28 May28 May 12:32

    I find the cleaning fees a bit of a rip off.
    Book 1 night and it can be £9. Book the same place for 5 nights with no cleaning taking place during the stay, and 5 × £9.

  • jj says:

    28 May28 May 18:05

    I was looking at Airbnb for a skiing trip to Canada. The price for the same condo was about the same booked through the resort, but the resort also gave a 30% discount on lift pass. Then I found a specialist UK tour operator where the accommodation was 30% cheaper and the lift passes had a 50% discount.

    It’s not always best to earn Avios.

  • Alex Sm says:

    29 May29 May 08:35

    We booked stays in Scotland this way in pre-Airbnb era. Glad to know it still works the old-fashioned way

• yorkieflyer says:

  28 May28 May 09:49

  Points have never credited for me

  • meta says:

    28 May28 May 14:59

    Depends on the property, some charge some don’t.

• Grimz says:

  28 May28 May 10:38

  I booked a place in Orlando for November 23 which was fully refundable and £1900 approx and the Avios posted in my account a couple of months later. I have now cancelled the booking and the Avios is still in my BA account. I have received this for other bookings before I have stayed. I must say I haven’t booked and cancelled intentionally to make some easy Avios!! The trick is to pay the full amount when booking a fully cancelable stay and cancel once you receive the Avios in your BA account.

  • dougzz99 says:

    28 May28 May 11:53

    They can be clawed back years later.

• Rob C says:

  28 May28 May 15:44

  I use BA Exec club all the time and I’ve used this several times and have never been credited

  Don’t use this service if you are doing it for the points.

• Simon says:

  28 May28 May 19:40

  Have to concur with previous comments; tried this three times now with significant £ bookings and it’s never tracked once. For repeat bookings I’ve always found the host delighted to book outside of Airbnb and so far – touch wood – we’ve never been disappointed nor let down, and have benefited from better, direct rates.

• Terry Semmence says:

  29 May29 May 12:40

  I went to the BA shopping website which took me to another page where you enter your Exec Club No. None have shown in history or purchases.
  Have used Airbnb extensively over last winter to South Africa and Oz – probably £10k worth of stays. No Avios received so far but some previous stays have posted.
  Any idea how I chase this? Thanks

• jannis says:

  29 May29 May 16:55

  by emailing to them directly, it took me 6 months back and forth supplying recipe to get my points credit.
  not worth it at all

  • ElSemm says:

    2 Jun2 June 05:10

    Thanks

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