Why Tesco’s ‘Win 1 Million Avios’ competition is rubbish

Scott emailed me to ask what is a very fair question:

I didn’t see anything on your website about the Avios and Tesco Clubcard email offer I received the other day. Apparently if you exchange a minimum of £10 worth of Tesco clubcard vouchers, before 31st March 2013, BA will enter you into a prize draw to win 1 million Avios.

As Scott is probably not the only person to think this, I should answer it!

Reason 1 is that BA seems to have emailed people about it anyway if they have ever converted from Tesco.

Reason 2 – more importantly – is that it is a bad deal!

At least once a year, Tesco offers a 40%-50% bonus for converting Clubcard points to Avios.

There is not a promotion on now and it is unlikely that one will launch before the competition closes on 31st March. Transferring £10 of CC vouchers today gets you 2,400 Avios. Wait for a 50% bonus, you’d get 3,600. Those extra 1,200 Avios are worth at least £10.

Unless you absolutely must convert your Tesco vouchers now because you want to spend the Avios immediately, you are therefore basically ‘paying’ £10 to enter the competition! Far better to put your vouchers in a drawer and wait for the next conversion bonus.

If you do want to know more about this deal, the details – such as they are – can be seen here.

How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (December 2021)

As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Avios points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses!

There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:

British Airways American Express

5,000 Avios for signing up, no annual fee and an Economy 2-4-1 voucher for spending ….. Read our full review

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

25,000 Avios and the UK’s most valuable credit card perk – the 2-4-1 companion voucher Read our full review

You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points, such as:

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & two airport lounge passes Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express

30,000 points and an unbeatable set of travel benefits – for a fee Read our full review

Run your own business?

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:

Capital On Tap Business Rewards Visa

The most generous Avios Visa or Mastercard for a limited company Read our full review

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:

British Airways Accelerating Business American Express

30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios Read our full review

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

(Want to earn more Avios?  Click here to visit our home page for our latest articles on earning and spending your Avios points and click here to see how to earn more Avios this month from offers and promotions.)