From Miles to Smiles Stylish travel for professionals seeking luxury at affordable prices
As a New Year dawns, and we rise with foggy heads, thoughts quickly turn to how this year we will diet, get fit, sort out our finances etc. Or in my case, what travel hacking New Years resolutions I can embed to earn more miles and points. Based on my experiences of accumulating air miles in 2017, here are three New Years Resolutions you must make if you wish to become a stellar travel hacker in the U.K.
Three New Years Resolutions to earn more miles and points
1. Use shopping portals
I’m gutted that I missed out on over 80,000 air miles simply by failing to follow this rule. With just a few more clicks, your online shopping can bag you tons more AVIOS. Sign up for Top Cashback and AVIOS accounts, shop at thousands of stores, and earn cashback which can convert to airmiles or deposit AVIOS direct into your AVIOS account.
2. Recycle your credit cards
It is easy to get lazy with credit cards but do so at your peril. Yes, recycling takes a bit of effort, but if it means you earn over 100,000 extra AVIOS (or more), surely it is worth it?
If you apply for a British Airways Premium Plus AMEX (use this link to get an extra 1,000 points on sign up), satisfy the minimum spend then refer your partner who does the same, you will earn a whopping 61,000 in additional AVIOS. If you decide to target the companion voucher, you will need to hold onto this card until you have used the voucher.
You can do the same with the AMEX Gold card (use this link to get an extra 2,000 points on sign up) and earn 53,000 points. It is best to cancel this card as soon as possible after satisfying the minimum spend, as six months later you can reapply and repeat the process. Note also this card allows you to convert points to miles in a number of loyalty programmes rather than AVIOS alone.
3. Spread the word
in 2017 I earned 90,000 extra AVIOS from referrals for the above two credit cards and it even works when you recommend your partner or spouse.
This is without a doubt one of the easiest ways to earn miles. Email your link, share it on your social media profiles, explain to your work colleagues how you  fly business for less than economy using these hacks and you will pick up referrals.
What travel hacking resolutions do you have for 2018?
Maybe you have found some strategies which you think will ;pay dividends in 2018. Feel free to show us just how clever you are by sharing away.
I don’t usually make resolutions but after reading your post I am convinced I should start, Anne and Jason! Your ideas are excellent!
We use TopCashBack for all our online purchases and it is definitely helpful! We use the money we save up for travel and camera equipment too which is always good 🙂
I literally have earned a fortune in TC. I think my latest amount was just short of £1,000 which converts into a lot of airmiles for me!
These are some great tips we absolutely had no idea about the shopping portals it seems easy and possible. We do use credit cards but haven’t worried much about the points and miles looks like that should be on our new year resolution too.
Wow these are helpful tips for 2018. I have never tried recycling credit cards. It does provide good returns.
I am yet to try shopping portals. Not very applicable in Indian scenario though.
Yes that might be a slight problem. I have come across one site dedicated to travel hacking in India. If I can recall the name, will link. It is Ajuy something I think
Oh definitely gotta sign up for those reward programs! I fly so much but are too lazy to collect the miles. Unfortunately in the Netherlands we dont have those credit card saving systems! I need an American CC! 🙂
If you are using the same airlines each time, at least you could benefit from those, but credit cards definitely offer the best options to earn miles.
I’ll definitely be signing up for the Avios card, those points are really good value. I don’t have any travel hacks to add, but I will think of some. Some great tips here!
Such brilliant reminder here 😉 I use air miles all the time. In fact, my hubby got me glued to it – so much so that it helped us earn some free sectors last year, while the others won us some upgrades. It always helps. Cheers!!
If you are based in the UK, airmiles really are incredible. Those low taxes definitely mean free is pretty much free or no more than a cup of coffee. In the Uk the taxes can be eye watering but I use mine to fly business for less than economy so I feel like I’m still getting great value.
These are some great travel hacking ideas. I had no idea about shopping portals. I feel like i lost out on so many miles just from my Christmas Shopping. Thanks for these great tips. Going to implement them soon.
Same here. I was gutted. I am back in the habit now though!
I think I should really take advantage of miles on my card to be able to book flights. I’ve read a lot about saving so much on bookings with that method. It’s so nice of you to share this information – any saving could go a long way when traveling!
These are some pretty unique ideas that are completely do-able! I’ve never thought about recycling credit cards, but it makes so much sense if they’ll award you even more points. I’d have to see if there’s a comparable shopping portal in the US that can earn me some points! One of my goals for 2018 is to learn more about travel hacking and taking more advantage of it!
Most of the big airlines have their own portals in the US so they would be worth checking out. I will check with a The Globe trotting Teacher as she may have some additional advice