Tesco and BA - 2014 master thread

Tesco is a major partner with BA, and offers one of the easiest non-flying ways for UK BAEC members to earn lots of miles.

Full details of how the Tesco scheme works can be found in “The Ultimate BA Guide” sticky. In summary, you can convert your Tesco Clubcard points to Avios in the ratio 1 Clubcard point = 2.4 Avios.

(You can also earn Virgin Flying Club miles via Tesco at the rate of 1 Clubcard point = 2.5 Flying Club miles. VS miles can be converted to Hilton at a 1:2 ratio so 1 Clubcard point = 5 Hilton points, albeit with a 10k minimum conversion from Virgin. You can also go VS to IHG Rewards Club at a 1:1 ratio.)

You earn 1 point for every £1 spent in a Tesco store and for purchases online. Vouchers are issued quarterly by post as long as you earn at least 150 points. They can then be converted to points via the Tesco Clubcard website, into either avios.com or British Airways Executive Club.

The real source of bumper Tesco points are the generous promotions that are occasionally run. There is no need to move your food spend to Tesco to collect lots of Avios - you simply need to jump in when a particularly generous bonus points promotion appears, and then sell the goods on ebay! You will make a small loss in most cases but the thousands of miles will more than offset this.

As with the BA Amex, you can only convert Tesco points to BAEC accounts that are UK domiciled. However, since the launch of Avios this is no longer a major restriction. Nothing stops you opening a separate Avios account at avios.com, converting your Tesco points via that account (there is no address restriction if moving to an avios.com account) and then transferring them across to your BAEC account.

It is possible to set up an auto-convert option with Tesco via the Clubcard website, which will automatically send your vouchers across to Avios each quarter. However, this is not recommended. If you don't need the miles, it makes more sense to keep the vouchers in a drawer and wait until the next transfer promotion comes along. There was NO Tesco to Avios conversion bonus in 2013, however - the good days may be over for now. There are also occasional promotions on non-Avios redemptions (shock, horror) which can be excellent value.

The online form for clubcard vouchers for conversion can be found here: http://www.tesco.com/clubcard/deals/product.aspx?R=237, you input the code number on the voucher - points hit your BAEC account in 24 hours.

Current bonus point promotions are listed in the wiki post at the top of this thread.

Bonus points currently available on various in-store grocery products are also usually highlighted at http://www.supermarketspecialoffers....intOffers.aspx.

If you have a small child, it is worth joining the Baby & Toddler Club (see www.tesco.com/clubcard/clubcard/clubs/) as you will receive regular mailings with bonus points offers.

For a far more detailed focus on Tesco clubcard deals and extra points opportunities, you should sign up to the forums at www.paidtoshop.co.uk, run by occasional FT'er Gizmos

The Tesco credit card

The Tesco Clubcard Credit Card earns 1 point for every £4 spent (rounded down on a per transaction, not per statement, basis - so a £7.99 purchase is treated as £4). Points post as soon as the charge hits your account, not at month end. It works out at 0.6 Avios per £1, which is far worse than the BA Premium Plus Amex rate of 1.5 Avois per £1, but there are two reasons for getting the card:

i) some places do not take Amex, especially independent retailers
ii) if you about to trigger the '2 for 1' voucher on your Amex but would rather defer it for a few months, you can switch to your Tesco Mastercard

Note that your Tesco MasterCard also acts as a clubcard, so you don't need to carry your blue clubcard around anymore. In a Tesco store you can, if you want, have your credit card swiped for use as a clubcard and then pay using your BA Amex for maximum miles!

You can apply via this link http://www.tescobank.com/personal/finance/creditcards/. AFTER receiving your card (not before!) you can apply for a 1,000 point 'I was referred by a friend' bonus. Post in this thread if you need a fellow Tesco MasterCard holder to refer you.

The Tesco MasterCard is the best MasterCard or Visa for earning Avios points. (The HSBC Premier MasterCard earns more, but this card is very difficult to qualify for.)

Other Tesco offers worth knowing about:

Cash-back (exc VAT and delivery) on purchases from Tesco Wine, Tesco Entertainment, Tesco Jersey and other non-grocery Tesco sites (eg Tesco Direct, exc finance and insurance) can be earned by signing up for an account at www.quidco.com or www.topcashback.com

If you discover any new Tesco offers, post them here!

Can anyone pm me the freepost address to send printer inks too.

I've made a start on the outline of a brief community maintainable Wiki. Perhaps the OP could update his first post to carry over and update the information from the 2013 thread - once that has happened I'm sure all this meta stuff can be dusted away by the mods.

I have added some extra information to the wiki to help get this going. Hopefully the wiki can build to be a good up to date relevant up to date information with the help of all members. I agree Raffles has provided great information both here and on his blog but as a group who can edit thus we should be able to maximise the value to the flyertalk community.

Raffles has very kindly offered to provide a comprehensive introduction to this thread which will be updated during the week ahead. In the meantime, the 2013 intro has been copied and pasted into the opening post.

The feather duster has been applied - removing the earlier meta discussion. As always, we'd appreciate if the discussion in this thread is kept tight. This will allow readers to follow the current deals and promotions without having to wade through chatter.

Special thanks to Blenz101 for initiating the Wiki feature.

Thanks for your understanding. If anyone has any comments or questions relating to this moderator action, please direct them to the mod team by Private Message, rather than posting them in this thread.

Prospero
Moderator: BA forum

Freepost RSKX-GUZZ-URKY
The Recycling Factory
Tesco Diabetes UK
Boston
PE21 7TX

It's become an annual custom of mine to thank Raffles for his efforts over the years and for being responsible for swelling my Avios account over a very long period. I'm delighted to repeat the custom again - many thanks. ^

Marsh Lane, if you need the street address for a courier.

Thanks !

I'll second that ^

Re: ink cartridges address:

Does anybody know what information is needed when you ship out to the Freepost address?

I have a box with 100 ready to go but aside from my ClubCard number what other (if any) information should I include inside?

Thanks!

It seems a long time since the last transfer bonus. How often do they generally come up?

The slip on the envelope asks for surname, house number, postcode, clubcard number, number of cartridges and you have to tick a box saying whether you want points, charity donation or a mixture.

If I was sending a box, I think I would enclose one of those slips.

It is a long time, and it may not happen again. They don't "come up" with any frequency, nor are they ever advertised (or people would never convert in the interim), so it's just a matter of doing what everybody else does .... keep the CC points until you absolutely need to convert them.

Thanks Keith!

By any chance does anybody have a copy of one of those slips they could email me?

I requested envelopes about a month ago but haven't had any through yet.