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SHELL & Avios /BA Executive Mile - master thread, bonuses, earning, etc.

SHELL & Avios /BA Executive Mile - master thread, bonuses, earning, etc.

Old Feb 9, 2012, 8:16 am
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SHELL & Avios /BA Executive Mile - MASTER THREAD, bonuses, online shopping (non-fuel)

There are already four of these threads, hopefully they can be merged in here in due course....

You can join the Shell Drivers Club by picking up a card from a Shell petrol station. Then register here: https://www.shellsmart.com/smart/use...tml?site=en-en

If you buy at least 150 litres of Shell V-Power diesel or unleaded in a quarter, you will be invited into the Shell V-Power Club in the next quarter.

Earnings rate:
1 point per litre except:
2 points per litre for V-Power fuel for V-power Club members only, without limit
2 points per litre of fuel in any month where you buy more than 200 litres of any kind of fuel, for that month only. Fuel purchases beyond 400 litres earn only 1 point (so 401 litres = 801 points)

All users receive 1 point per 1 selected Shell Helix products, 25 points for a Gold car wash service and 15 points for a Gold jet wash service.

1 point is worth 0.5p in Shell vouchers, or 0.5 Avios.

As of February 2012 you can purchase Avios from BA at 1.28p/ea+16, but 1p/Avios is generally a good guide to their value, which is what the Shell scheme values them at, although the Shell vouchers are obviously more flexible.

At any rate, the Shell Drivers Club discount is equivalent to 0.5p/litre for regular fuels, or 1p/litre on V-Power for V-power Club members or people buying >200 litres in a month. V-Power costs between 5p and 10p more than the regular stuff, and while it might give slightly (2% or more) better performance on a high-performance engine, it WON'T save you money overall.

You can find your cheapest local fuel at http://www.petrolprices.com/

Obviously it's not going to be worth getting petrol at Shell unless they are cheapest, but some people like to use 99RON fuel.

Tesco Clubcard users get 1 point per 2 spent on fuel. Currently 250 Clubcard points = 1000 Avios, and with a litre of fuel at around 1.40, this works out at 2.8 Avios/litre. At the long-term rate of 600 Avios, the rate falls to 1.7 Avios/litre, still much better than Shell offer, even for high-volume buyers and V-power Club members, and sufficient to make Tesco a better choice than somewhere 1p or even 2p cheaper.

In either case you can earn further Avios using your choice of Avios credit card....

https://www.shellonlineshopping.co.uk/ is the online shopping club, aka cashback website. Here you earn points, and points of course mean Avios.

Unfortunately the cashback rates are basically dreadful and they have also employed a nasty trick whereby you get far fewer points than anticipated - e.g., Dixons instead of 1 point per 1 is instead 10 points per 10, so if you spend 19.99, you only get 10 points.

If you want to earn Avios through online shopping, you can try

http://www.avios.com/collect/avios-estore Avios Estore
or
http://www.britishairways.com/travel/eshop/public/en_gb BA Estore

Here for instance instead of 10 points per 10 = 5 Avios for 10, you get 2 Avios per 1 on Dixons, so for 10 spend you earn 20 Avios - the Avos Estore is 4* better than the Shell one.

The trick with the Shell Shopping Club is that the Shell Drivers Club rates are all half (or less) what they should. If you hold a V-Power Club card the rates are all doubled. The problem is that the doubled rates are in actual fact the fair rates, and to get the doubled rate you need to buy lots of high-margin V-Power fuel. And then even if you do, the 10 points per 10 trick (rather than 1 point per 1) will make the Avios/BA stores a better option (not to mention more transparent).

The other thing to check is www.quidco.com, here you get cash, and the rates on offer may be preferable to receiving Avios.

So basically the Shell/Avios partnership is of little use, but if you are buying fuel in Shell anyway, you might as well pick up a card, on the understanding that you'd be significantly better off in Tesco....



Currently there is a 2000 Avios bonus for both BA and Avios.com, which you can earn, per quarter, by using a 'new' method for earning Avios:

http://www.britishairways.com/travel...c/en_gb?#shell
http://www.avios.com/collect/shell/a...?from=shellAcq

To earn this you need just 150 Shell Smart points, which you can do by buying 150 litres of fuel (or 75 for existing 'v-power' members), or by using the online shopping site above, bearing in mind that the rates are terrible and you've no reason to go over your 300 points (150 for ba.com, 150 for avios.com)

Also promotions may occur in the future between Shell and Avios that might change the general picture detailed above, so aside from the 2000 Avios bonus (twice!) you should pick up a card just in case, and get to work on the 300 points....

Last edited by meester69; Feb 16, 2012 at 5:30 pm
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Old Feb 9, 2012, 7:03 pm
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Originally Posted by meester69
At any rate, the Shell Drivers Club discount is equivalent to 0.5p/litre for regular fuels, or 1p/litre on V-Power for V-power Club members. V-Power costs between 5p and 10p more than the regular stuff, and no real evidence that it makes a difference, although some swear by it.
I wouldn't let non-premium fuel go anywhere near my "babies".

The guys at "Which" seem to think it makes at least a slight difference, 2.9% to be exact, even in a 1.6 ford focus and 5.3% in a 1.4 Golf

http://www.fordownersclub.com/forums...ost__p__119723
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Old Feb 9, 2012, 7:59 pm
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Originally Posted by PanGalactic
I wouldn't let non-premium fuel go anywhere near my "babies".

The guys at "Which" seem to think it makes at least a slight difference, 2.9% to be exact, even in a 1.6 ford focus and 5.3% in a 1.4 Golf

http://www.fordownersclub.com/forums...ost__p__119723
Well it's not any Golf it's a twin charger with a specific output of over 100bhp/litre.

I have the 2.0 R4 16v engine in my car which is merely turbocharged and it says to put the 99RON in, but I don't, and it's more than fast enough funnily.

Look at the numbers for fuel consumption:

Golf 1.4 TSI

95RON:
Esso: 33.5mpg
Tesco: 33.3mpg
Shell: 32.9mpg

99RON:
Tesco 33.6mpg
Shell: 33.6mpg

Now I don't know how they tested, but common sense would tell us that the Tesco, Shell and Esso 95RON fuels should come out the same, and a lot of people that like Shell's expensive marketing will tell you that Tesco fuel is terrible and they only use Shell. But the numbers here vary - 32.9mpg for the Shell is the lowest, and 33.5mpg for the Esso is the highest, so it's reasonable to assume that this is all just noise and this difference is statistically not significant.

In other words the difference between the 32.9mpg and 33.5mpg on the standard fuels is better explained by other differences (driving style, and so on), than by choice of fuels, since we would not expect Tesco fuel to be better than Shell.... So our assumption is Tesco, Esso and Shell petrols were all the same and the differences are not significant.

Given that this is so, and even disregarding the fact that the 33.6mpg for the premium fuels is barely any better than the standard fuels, and certainly not enough to offset the cost difference, our conclusion from here should be that there is no evidence, even in a twin charged engine, that you use less petrol by buying premium fuel.

The standard non-turbo engine does show slightly better fuel consumption, but it's only around 1% and certainly not enough to recoup the cost difference of typically 4-8%.

The numbers you quote are for bhp. I tend to feel that unless you are driving Le Mans 24 hours, the precise number of bhp to your wheels is of very little relevance. 2-4% improvement is not going to turn a Lada Riva into a Porsche 911.

Bottom line is this: the premium fuel will 100% certainly take more money out of your pockets but whether it's saving you any fuel (it won't save you any money, that's for sure!) or making your car perform any better is something of a mystery.

The bhp numbers look much more credible than the fuel consumption, but even here I'd like to know their methodology and see more testing results, perhaps with more different engines.

The Premium Diesel shows neither economy nor power improvement so you are certainly throwing money away on this.

Edit: more testing here - http://www.thorneymotorsport.co.uk/t...s_Update.shtml It gives fairly convincing evidence that the premium fuel gives more power than regular. Which is interesting enough.

Unfortunately for Shell, the Tesco premium fuel is rated higher than theirs....

So, back on topic: use premium fuel if you want to, not because it will save money (it certainly won't - it will cost more), but if you have a powerful car, it might give you more power (the Thorney Motorsport testing above is done with an M3, which gives an idea of the sort of vehicle)....

So none of this really makes the Shell Drivers Club much cop, considering Tesco fuel is just as good, and most importantly (and relevantly!), Tesco fuel earns more Avios!

Even if your local petrol station is Shell, and you always buy V-Power, so you are eligible for the V-Power Club, the online shopping kickbacks still are not as good as what you can get from Avios/BA directly.

Anyway, stick the card in your wallet, use it if you are in there for what ever reason, but for God's sake don't go out of your way for it....
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Old Feb 10, 2012, 1:49 am
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I downloaded the Shell app and I activate an offer of 50 points if I fill up 30 litres within a 2 week window.
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Old Feb 10, 2012, 1:52 am
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Originally Posted by steve1975l
I downloaded the Shell app and I activate an offer of 50 points if I fill up 30 litres within a 2 week window.
Nice one!, I was just about to post this, anyone who took my advice last week and downloaded this app, well done!

I'm going to reply to 69's post in a few moments, after I've finished my coffee and made some popcorn.

Last edited by PanGalactic; Feb 10, 2012 at 2:00 am
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Old Feb 10, 2012, 3:09 am
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Originally Posted by meester69
Well it's not any Golf it's a twin charger with a specific output of over 100bhp/litre.

I have the 2.0 R4 16v engine in my car which is merely turbocharged and it says to put the 99RON in, but I don't, and it's more than fast enough funnily.
On my "other" forum, you would be told to stand in the corner for using 95RON.

I have an R32, one of the last off the line infact. She is the concorde of Golfs, I don't think they will make one like that again in my lifetime thanks to the tree huggers

Here's a picture of her in all her shiny black glory...

http://www.r32oc.com/garage.php?do=u...e_view&id=3843

Originally Posted by meester69
The numbers you quote are for bhp.
Of course, nothing else matters

Originally Posted by meester69
Bottom line is this: the premium fuel will 100% certainly take more money out of your pockets but whether it's saving you any fuel (it won't save you any money, that's for sure!) or making your car perform any better is something of a mystery.
That is like saying, next time you fly somewhere, don't bother paying for a CE or F, Y will still get you there

Originally Posted by meester69
Unfortunately for Shell, the Tesco premium fuel is rated higher than theirs....
Finally, we agree on something! Momentum is better than V-power


So none of this really makes the Shell Drivers Club much cop, considering Tesco fuel is just as good, and most importantly (and relevantly!), Tesco fuel earns more Avios!
The point is there is a 4 x 2,000 bonus going on, I can't be bothered to do the maths right now, but it's a pretty strong bonus for a relatively small spend/inconvenience.
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Old Feb 10, 2012, 3:28 am
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Is the card international

I've recently signed up to Shell in order to get the 2000 chavios bonuses, and I noticed that "Clubsmart" is available to be monitored through awardwallet.com

I also noticed that during the set-up process it asked for my country, indicating that the scheme is live in a number of territories across Europe. Does that mean that we can use the card in Europe too? That would certainly be an advantage over Tesco for some of us.
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Old Feb 10, 2012, 3:41 am
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Originally Posted by gnarly
I've recently signed up to Shell in order to get the 2000 chavios bonuses, and I noticed that "Clubsmart" is available to be monitored through awardwallet.com

I also noticed that during the set-up process it asked for my country, indicating that the scheme is live in a number of territories across Europe. Does that mean that we can use the card in Europe too? That would certainly be an advantage over Tesco for some of us.
Just called them, had to give my card number, date of birth, postcode and first line of address before they would answer any questions!!!

So I asked if I could use the card outside the UK, answer was sadly NO

Since I had them on the phone, I also asked when I could expect to receive my V-Power card and when I would start earning double points, answer was, at the end of March when the statement would be generated and sent together with the V-Power card in the post.
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Old Feb 10, 2012, 3:47 am
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I might have this wrong but I think you need to be careful re the 150 shell points = 75 avios = 2000 avios "quarter bonus"

Whilst this is true, the site says they only transfer 10 avios when you reach 20 shell points. So in practice, a new shell user needs to earn 160 points = 80 avios in order to breach the 75avios/quarter threshold.
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Old Feb 10, 2012, 3:52 am
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Originally Posted by DClass4Me
I might have this wrong but I think you need to be careful re the 150 shell points = 75 avios = 2000 avios "quarter bonus"

Whilst this is true, the site says they only transfer 10 avios when you reach 20 shell points. So in practice, a new shell user needs to earn 160 points = 80 avios in order to breach the 75avios/quarter threshold.
Correct according to T+C's! So yes, be careful!

Although they do give you a 50 points bonus for registering your card, also 100 extra points appeared on my account last month for no apparent reason.

The Avios offer also states the bonus can be included for the purposes of the 4 x 2,000 offer.

Someone's really been paying attention in class today
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Old Feb 10, 2012, 6:23 am
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Originally Posted by PanGalactic
On my "other" forum, you would be told to stand in the corner for using 95RON.

I have an R32, one of the last off the line infact. She is the concorde of Golfs, I don't think they will make one like that again in my lifetime thanks to the tree huggers

Here's a picture of her in all her shiny black glory...
Lovely.

I have an Eos....

I actually considered an E46 M3 Convertible, you can pick them up for pennies now, but I just thought it was a bit chavvy in the end....

I still don't think RON99 will make any noticeable difference.... Have used it once or twice I think.
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Old Feb 10, 2012, 6:54 am
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Mods can you please merge this into the thread started by Raffles yesterday.
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Old Feb 10, 2012, 7:44 am
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So I understand. If my Shell bonus is just via petrol do I need to get it spent by end Feb or March?
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Old Feb 10, 2012, 7:46 am
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Shell awards are as follows: Fill up in Jan/Feb/Mar, Avios on account in June. Fill up in Apr/May/Jun, Avios on account in September. Fill up in Jul/Aug/Sep, Avios on account in December. Fill up in Oct/Nov/Dec, Avios on account in March. Bonus Avios will be awarded within 28 days of the end of each quarter. Shell Bonus Avios will be awarded within 28 days of the Shell award appearing in your account and will be backdated to include the month in which you collected the Shell Drivers' Club points and not the date they appeared in your Avios account.

So there it is, clear as MUD
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Old Feb 10, 2012, 2:47 pm
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Those were the old rules, I think. The current T+Cs are pathetic:

Shell awarding is as follows:
Fill up in January, February, March Avios awarded in May
Fill up in April, May, June Avios awarded in September
Fill up in July, August, September Avios awarded in December
Fill up in January, February, March Avios awarded in March
Avios must be in your account by the end of each quarter to qualify for the bonus Avios for that quarter.
http://www.britishairways.com/travel...c/en_gb?#shell

So no purchases in October, November or December qualify, and January/February/March purchases get double credit. As if.

Did you say MUD? You're too gentle.
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