How to earn more AVIOS quickly with Top Cashback

Updated March 2016 to reflect revised information for the Top Cashback store.

Neglected Top Cashback

Oh man I’ve just discovered a new innovative way to earn AVIOS through Top Cashback .

I have resisted using Top Cashback as many of the stores featured are available through the AVIOS store already. It’s not as though I didn’t know the option existed to earn Cashback existed, but I was so hell-bent on earning points that I neglected to look at the detail.

Big Mistake

It turns out that was a whopping mistake as I have probably been missing out on super duper opportunities to earn even more AVIOS. Before I start the self mutilation though, let’s see if I really have been missing a trick!

Hotels.com – Top Cashback v AVIOS store

Hotels.com bookings made through the AVIOS store now earn 4 AVIOS per pound spent. Thus a booking of £100 earns 400 AVIOS. Not bad hey?

Hotels.com also features on the Top Cashback site and you can earn cashback at the current rate of 8.4% (without earning hotel rewards) or 6.3% with hotel rewards. This means that the same booking will earn you £8.40 or £6.30 in cashback depending on whether you wish to benefit from hotel rewards or not.

Cashback translates into points at a rate of 1 point per penny so the same booking nets me 840 or 630 points which I can transfer directly to AVIOS.

The conversion rate is 1 AVIOS per penny plus a 5% bonus for conversions over 20p, so through Top Cashback I earn 882 or 661 AVIOS, more than double the amount received through the AVIOS store. Pretty sexy right?

No, Wrong! Downright unsexy in fact…

‘Why?’ I hear you cry.

Tesco Clubcard to the Rescue

Well quite simply because you can also earn 1 Tesco Clubcard point for every 1p of Cashback. £2.50 in Cashback would convert into a £2.50 Tesco Clubcard voucher so that same booking could earn you two or three Tesco Clubcard vouchers.

A £2.50 Tesco Clubcard voucher does not translate into 250 BA miles (AVIOS) however. Super sexy alert! It converts instead into 600 Avios. That same 840 points would give you 1800 AVIOS and still leave 90 Cashback points remaining in your account. More than double the simple transfer to AVIOS from Top Cashback and more than quadruple the points from using the AVIOS store. Wowsers! Clever isn’t it?

‘So does this mean I now ditch the AVIOS store?’ I hear you ask. Well no because some of the offers on the store may prove to be more attractive. To work out the best option, for each instance, you are going to have to do a comparison following these steps.

1. Work out the cash back available
2. Convert to Cashback points on a 1p to 1 point basis
3. Convert to Tesco Clubcard points on a 1:1 basis
4. Divide by 250 to calculate the number of £2.50 Clubcard vouchers your points will earn
5. Multiply the number of clubcard vouchers by 600 to calculate the total points earned
6. Check the AVIOS earnings rate available from the AVIOS store. You might find the AVIOS calculator helpful.
7. Compare the two
8. Select the best figure

Here’s a handy tool you can use to guide you through the process.

Comparing Top Cashback with AVIOS

Lets have a quick look at how the two compare for a number of stores. All these figures are correct as at 7th February and rates do change so please check before deciding which route to use. I have used an example of £100 spend in each case and converted the maximum amount of Top Cashback (£50) possible to Clubcard vouchers.

Sometimes the rates payable from Top Cashback vary dependent on the product bought and the amount spent. The table below assumes the maximum rate is earned each time purely for simplicity. Again, please check before committing.

	Top Cashback Earnings Rate	Cashback Earned	Conversion to AVIOS Via Tesco Clubcard	AVIOS Store Earnings Rate	AVIOS Earned through the store	Winner
Hotels.com	8.4%	£8.40	1,800	4 points per £1	400	Top Cashback
House of Fraser	1.65% – 4.2%	£4.20	600	6 points per £1	600	Varies
Argos	1.05% – 10.5%	£10.50	2,400	4 points per £1	400	Varies
Thorntons	12.6%	£12.60	3,000	6 points per £1	600	Top Cashback
Groupon	5.25%	£5.25	1,200	12 points per £1	1,200	Tie
Hoseasons	5.25%	£5.25	1,200	4 points per £1	400	Top Cashback

Of course there are a ton of stores on Top Cashback which are not on the AVIOS store and then it is a complete no brainer.

Virgin Experience for instance offer 12.6% Cashback currently so a £200 spend would result in £25.20 Cashback which converts into 2,520 points.

That’s ten Clubcard vouchers of £2.50 meaning 6,000 Avios points (or 6,250 Virgin Flying Club points).

Even more exciting is the fact that I can book long haul flights with British Airways after clicking through from the Top Cashback store and earn £7.87 in cashback which I can then convert into more AVIOS to use on British Airways reward flights. Now that is pretty cool.

Top Cashback to the Top deck

Overall though, it seems Top Cashback seems to be the winner! I seriously cannot believe I have only just discovered this. What an awesome way to make your spending for further!

So what you waiting for, if you haven’t already get signed up to Top Cashback and start checking out the deals.

Bag them points and get yourself seats in business class or first for less than the cost of economy.

A few things to be aware of

There are a few things to be aware of with Top Cashback if you want to avoid disappointment.

Redemptions

If you earn £25 in cashback from one store you cannot split this between two redemption means. The whole of the £25 must be redeemed in the same fashion.

If you have £50 in cashback from three merchants, you can elect to payout in three different formats, but 100% of cashback from each store has to be redeemed as one.

Tesco Clubcard Maximum

The maximum you can redeem in Tesco Clubcard vouchers in any year is £50 so the maximum AVIOS you can earn in this fashion is 12,000. This is still better than transferring directly to AVIOS as that would have earned only 5,250 (still pretty cool!) AVIOS but any excess cashback will have to be transferred directly to AVIOS.

If you are a Plus member then there is a £5 annual charge levied when you withdraw your cashback. This is levied the first time you select a payout option and thereafter 100% of all funds are withdrawn without charge.

If you are a Classic member then no charge applies for payouts.

Benefits of Plus

Whilst a charge applies to withdrawals for Plus members, there are benefits of being a Plus member including a 5% bonus on all transactions, enhanced rates and better Tell-a-Friend bonus rates.

Have Your Say

Have you used Top Cashback or the AVIOS store? What has been your experience? Please share your stories below.

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Disclaimer: I receive a small commission if anyone signs up to Top Cashback after clicking these links. These commissions help cover the cost of running the site.