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.

If we're honest, it is harder these days to run up a lot of Avios via Tesco than it was. This is the fault of Tesco which has begun to reduce the emphasis on Clubcard and has been putting money into price cuts instead. There are still some very generous deals but they tend to be on specific Tesco Direct promotions - in 2017 there was a spate of good bonus point deals on LEGO for example.

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 2:3 ratio so 1 Clubcard point = 3.75 Hilton points, albeit with a 10k minimum conversion from Virgin. You can also convert VS to IHG Rewards Club at a 1:1 ratio, and these points count towards IHG status.)

You earn 1 point for every £1 spent in a Tesco store or garage 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.

Other partners which issue Clubcard points include Tesco Fuel (1 point per £2), Tesco Wine, Tesco Mobile, Tesco Opticians (just sold to Vision Express and being rebranded), Tesco Photo, Tesco International Calling Card, Tesco Bank (including their current account) and Esso.

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. If your BA account is based outside the UK, nothing stops you opening a separate Avios account at avios.com with a UK address, 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 non-UK 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 or Tesco launches a good offer with another partner.

Tesco to Avios conversion bonuses have been virtually unknown for the last three years. There are regular promotions on non-Avios redemptions (shock, horror) - Virgin Flying Club still runs 10%-20% conversion bonuses.

The online form to convert Clubcard vouchers to BAEC can be found here: Tesco.com - Clubcard You input the code number on the voucher - points hit your BAEC account in 24 hours.

A summary of current 'bonus Clubcard points' offers can be found on this page of my Tesco Clubcard blog Shopper Points.

Bonus points currently available on various in-store grocery products are also usually highlighted at Supermarket Special Offers UK/Deals

If you have a small child, it is worth joining the Tesco Loves Baby Club (see https://www.tesco-baby.com/) as you will receive regular mailings with bonus points offers.

The Tesco credit card

The Tesco Clubcard Credit Card earns 1 point for every £8 spent (rounded down on a per transaction, not per statement, basis - so a £7.99 purchase is treated as nothing). Points post as soon as the charge hits your account, not at month end.

On paper it works out at 0.3 Avios per £1. Because of the rounding down to the nearest £8 per transaction rule, it is even worse in reality.

Whilst not great, the Tesco MasterCard is still the best free MasterCard or Visa for earning Avios points. (The HSBC Premier MasterCard earns more, at 0.5 Avios per £1, but this card is very difficult to qualify for.)

It may still be worth getting the card though:

i) some places do not take Amex, especially independent retailers

ii) you earn a better rate when shopping at Tesco - 1 Clubcard point for every £4 charged to your Tesco credit card, equivalent to 0.6 Avios per £1.

iii) 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

iv) there is no annual fee

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!

In 2016, Tesco launched a Premium Credit Card. This carries an annual fee of £150 per year and earns points at double the usual rate. This means 0.6 Avios per £1 before the effects of rounding down. This card ONLY makes sense if:

a) you spend £5,000 per year in Tesco, including fuel, as you would receive an annual bonus of 5,000 Clubcard points = 12,000 Avios

b) you value the free annual travel insurance policy which comes with the card

Neither of the Tesco credit cards has a permanent sign-up bonus although offers come and go.

For many people, the Lloyds Avios Rewards credit card (an American Express and MasterCard double pack) is a better option. The headline MasterCard rate is lower at 0.2 Avios per £1 but, because they don't mess about with 'rounding down per transaction' the actual rate you get is probably similar to the Tesco card. Your spending also counts towards the upgrade vouchers for Avios redemptions earned with the Lloyds card. This card also has NO foreign exchange fees. The downside is the £24 annual fee.

It is also worth highlighting the Tesco Bank debit card. This also earns Clubcard points at 1 point per £8 spent, which is remarkably generous for a debit card. (Does any other UK debit card offer any sort of reward?) You do not earn points on 'financial services' transactions such as paying your mortgage, but you DO get them on things you might not expect. Pay your tax bill with a Tesco Bank debit card and you will receive Clubcard points for example. In addition, until at least April 2019, you receive 1 Clubcard point (2.4 Avios) per £1 spent in Tesco when you pay for your shopping with a Tesco debit card. This is on top of your standard Clubcard points.

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