Collecting miles and points is a popular way for frequent travellers to rack up cheap flights across the world, and it is often used as a way to blag an upgrade into business for less than the price of an economy ticket. One traveller has managed to get return flights to New York by using her Uber account.
Up until now point based travel has usually only been accessible to to those who fly a lot, whether its for business or avid backpackers, but
Mirror journalist Jada Jones managed to get a return flight to New York for just under £100 without spending money on flights to rack up points.
Avios is the reward currency of British Airways where flyers can build up air miles and collect points whilst shopping in partnered retailers. The most well-known partner is AMEX which is a popular way for many travellers to rack up reward points outside of travelling, as points are collected by everyday spending on the American Express credit card.
Here, members have to spend £1,000 in the first three months of the membership to receive 5,000 Avios, from here its 1 Avios point for every £1 spent. But unbeknown to many you can rack up points everyday, even in your simple work commute as Jada pointed out.
Sharing her travel hack she said: "I'd heard all about air miles before I ever got a BA account of any kind, and I honestly didn't realise how easy it was. I realised that by doing my weekly shop on a BA card would rack me up Avios I could use towards flights.
"Then I found out if you link your account to Uber that you can get Avios there too. Flights can cost a fortune but using a combination of points and my companion voucher I can actually do a return to New York City for £100.
"I've managed to earn two companion vouchers, once you have it you have a year to use it. This means I can go to Europe for really cheap and barely any points but more excitingly I can get a return flight to NYC using 25,000 Avios.
"It either gives you a second economy class ticket for a companion on the same flight as you or if you're travelling solo a 50% discount on the Avios price when booking myself an economy ticket."
Since linking her BA Card to her Uber account Jada has managed to rack up more than 40,000 points, which has accumalted across ordering taxis and using towards groceries and general expenses. A move which Jada feels has made travelling more accessible to her.
She said: "It makes long haul trips feel a little bit more accessible. I've got friends and family over in New York City which is great as it means I don't have to worry about the expensive hotel costs over there, instead my big focus is spends and flights.
"Whenever I'm planning a family holiday I tend to be the one who books to get that extra boost of points, I can go visit friends and family in New York anytime before next April for an absolute bargain."
How to collect Avios points on Uber
Connecting an already existing British Airways Avios account to Uber is pretty simple to do, and here's how.
Customers should go into their Uber and tap 'Account', from here head to the bottom of the Settings page.
Then select 'British Airways Executive Club' and tap 'link account' on the pop up on the next screen. From here it'll take users through different instructions and personal information, once set up each Uber ride will collect points.
Points can also be racked up in everyday shopping bills at Sainsbury's, shoppers can link their Avios points to their Nectar card.
