wlai

With the pandemic I haven't been traveling the last year or two, as work is now all remote and haven't gotten on any personal trip. Just now got an email from BA that if I don't have any "activity" in the next two months the points are going to expire. I have over 150K so it'll be a waste.

Does anyone know what is considered "activity" on the account, other than using points to fly, or flying to add points? I'm not in position to fly in the next couple of months. Are there any purchases or car rental I can book instead?

Thanks for any tip!

neofung

Redeem something or transfer points from credit card / hotel loyalty program to your Avios account.

squawk

The easiest if you’re in the UK or have access to a Nectar card would be to credit Sainsbury’s Nectar points. These arrive within a day or two. In fact because these are two way transfers, I think you could transfer from your Avios account to an empty Nectar account then transfer back at some date in the future. Tesco clubcard transfers used to be a good option but they withdrew from the scheme.

Anything purchased through the BA eStore should work, although some retailers take a long time to credit. Others are explicitly marked as crediting quickly. I bought a Lego set as a gift last week and it credited within a few days. For more info on which retailers credit quickly and which don’t, there are a couple of threads on the forum about the eStore.

There are also options to get Avios via completing surveys - can’t remember the name of the site but a Google should get you there. These usually credit pretty quickly. Not a very efficient use of time, generally (you get 10-50 Avios per survey and some of them aren’t quick), but good to prevent expiring.

wlai

Thanks, unfortunately I'm in the US, but I'll look up the survey and eStore idea! Thanks.

mikeyfly

Have you checked your last few months transactions, BA “gifted” a single Avios to accounts with imminent expiry to reactivate the Avios. See here Mystery 1 Avios

guv1976

I made a purchase from Bed, Bath & Beyond last year through the BA online shopping portal and earned Avios that way.

wlai

Oh right! I can do that from Marriott Bonvoy. Any idea how long it takes for the transfer to show up?

guv1976

In my case, I think it took three or four weeks.

anniegray

You could book a hotel stay?

T8191

‘Gaming’ the system always carries risks. A subsequent no-show could result in the original transaction being back-dated to 0.

beachmouse

The eStore for the USA has typically had iTunes as a partner and I’ve pushed back my Avios expiration date a few times by spending $3 or so buying a couple of songs, though that doesn’t always credit particularly quickly.

anassef

I would also propose another solution which is purchasing the least amount of Avios possible. It’s instant and would work too (it’s what I did at least because they had a 50% discount at one point and I was short on time so I didn’t want to risk losing all my miles)

PGHflyer

Does having an award ticket re-deposit count as mileage activity (it should IMO but just want to make sure)? Not sure why Executive Club doesn't just put the actual mileage expiration date on our accounts like every other friggin airline out there, no one likes an information hunt.

Globaliser

No, not every other airline. See this post, just today, relating to Qantas: Qantas Point Covid Extension