The timing of this deal is really quite ironic.
Last week, I wrote about the benefits of waiting to convert flexible points currencies such as Heathrow Rewards points until a decent transfer bonus comes along. Specifically, I said:
Heathrow Rewards have run numerous 50% and even 100% bonuses to various loyalty program partners including BA and Virgin in recent times. Unless you have an immediate need to top up an account balance, leave your HR points where they are until a good enough bonus comes along.
And sure enough, Heathrow Rewards have launched a 50% transfer bonus when you convert Heathrow Rewards points to Avios before 30th September 2017.
Details of this offer can be found here.
Before I elaborate on how to get the most out of this promotion, here’s a closer look at the Heathrow Rewards scheme:
What are Heathrow Rewards?
Heathrow Rewards is a reward scheme that allows you to earn points whenever you “shop, eat, drink or park at Heathrow”. That includes changing currency, duty-free shopping and the Heathrow Express.
Earnings rate
Members will begin by earning 1 Heathrow Rewards point per £1 spent. Upon spending £500 in a calendar year, you will receive an upgrade to the Premium tier, which has the following benefits:
Spending your points
There a variety of ways to spend your Heathrow Rewards points including:
- Airline miles – Transfer your points to airline miles at a 1:1 ratio to Aer Club, Avios, British Airways Executive Club, Emirates Skywards, Etihad Guest, Miles and More and Virgin Atlantic Flying Club.
- Shopping vouchers – Convert your points into vouchers that you can use to shop at Heathrow. 500 points = £5 shopping voucher
- Heathrow Parking vouchers – Redeem 500 points for a £10 parking voucher.
- Heathrow Express – Exchange 500 points for a £5 discount voucher.
How to earn 4,500 Avios at no ‘cost’
While it’s good to be able to earn rewards on your duty-free shopping, the Heathrow Rewards scheme can be and should be far more lucrative.
Sign-up bonus
There is currently an excellent deal running offering 3,000 Heathrow Rewards points (worth 3,000 Avios) when you sign-up to Heathrow Rewards before 31st December 2017.
In order to receive the bonus you need to:
- Enter code AVIOSAO17 on the registration page
- Spend £150 in qualifying transactions on a single day before 31st December 2017 (the only major official exclusion in terms of a non-qualifying transaction seems to be purchasing currency).
Transfer bonus
As mentioned above, there is currently a 50% transfer bonus available when you convert Heathrow Rewards points to Aer Club, Avios or British Airways Executive Club before the end of September.
That effectively makes the sign-up bonus worth 4,500 Avios – a top deal!
How to spend the required amount easily
If you are scratching your head wondering what you can possibly buy at Heathrow that will bring you up to the required £150 spend, consider gift cards. WH Smith and other retailers stock numerous gift cards which you can use to bring spending that you would do anyway, forward slightly.
If for example, you will need to buy some items from John Lewis in the next couple of months, simply stock up on John Lewis gift cards while at Heathrow – and have the added benefit of triggering your Heathrow Rewards sign-up bonus.
Purchases made at landside shops also count and if you live/work near Heathrow you could choose to make the spend that way – I’ve used this option a couple of times in the past.
Maximising the deal
It’s worth noting that Heathrow Rewards allows a (limited) number of free points transfers between members, with no requirement that they are related/residing at the same address. This means there is nothing to stop you getting a card in your partner/child/parent name and simply transferring across the points.
Additionally, don’t worry about the physical Heathrow Rewards card arriving in time to take to Heathrow. You can download the app/print a paper copy of your card and have the points added that way.
Verdict
This particular sign-up bonus is as good as Heathrow Rewards have ever offered. When combined with the 50% transfer bonus, you could earn a large chunk of Avios with minimal effort and at no cost!
Further info on this deal and full T&C’s are on the Avios website here.
Header image credit: pio3 / Shutterstock.com