Tesco has lost the auto-convert Avios transfers – that’s why you’ve not got your miles

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It would be funny if it wasn’t for the fact that you will now have to get on the telephone and sort it out.

Last month, Tesco ran a promotion offering 1,500 bonus Avios points if you converted your Clubcard points to Avios AND set your account to auto-convert.

I did this. It was an easy 1,500 Avios for nothing, as you can easily turn off the auto-convert feature afterwards.

Tesco, unfortunately, made a big mistake.

When it sent the list of auto-convert names to Avios, they were formatted as Initial/Surname. They were meant to be formatted as First Name / Surname.

This meant that the names failed to match up with the Avios database.

This meant they couldn’t find your Avios account.

This meant that most people (perhaps everyone) who selected auto-convert have had a new Avios account opened for them, even though they already have one.

I don’t know if Avios or Tesco are going to manually go through the names or not. At the moment, all you can do is ring Avios and ask them to find your duplicate account. They will then merge it with your main account. Avios is aware of the problem and the agents can deal with it quickly, although it will take 24 hours to merge the accounts.

Do NOT ring them on the main 0844 number because you are then paying them via a premium rate for their own mistake. Ring the non-UK number instead, which is 01925 848 693, and keep pressing 1 to confirm that you are ringing from outside the UK. You appear to queue jump with this number as well.

How to earn Avios points from UK credit cards

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 BA Amex American Express card

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 BA Premium Plus American Express Amex credit card

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: