Different ways to earn Avios from hotel bookingsWant to earn more Avios? Try these approaches when you next book a hotel
The Avios Estore is a godsend for earning points. It takes sixty seconds to log in and select a retailer, and the returns can be hundreds or thousands of Avios. If you're booking a hotel, then there are a few different ways to earn, and in this article, I'll break down the highest rates.
Different ways to earn Avios from hotel bookings
- Earn hotel points by booking directly with a brand, then convert these to Avios. I won't be covering this route in this article.
- Book through the Avios Hotels booking engine and earn 10 Avios per pound spent.
- Book directly from a hotel brand via the Avios Estore and earn up to 12 Avios per pound AND points directly with the hotel brand.
What's the difference between Avios Hotels and the Estore
Avios Hotels is a hotel booking website powered by Expedia. It looks very similar to Hotels.com, Booking.com, etc, although it's fair to say it looks like they did maybe five years ago. The site is not awful, but it's a little dated. That doesn't really matter as you'll earn 10 Avios points per pound you spend.
I've found this Avios earning route to be very reliable. Whereas the Estore can be hit or miss (more on this in a moment), every single booking I've made through the Avios Hotels website has successfully earned me points.
The Estore is a website and app that lists hundreds of brands. These include hotels, but also most popular retail brands, utility companies, insurers and more. By visiting the Estore, clicking a link and then buying from the brand as you normally would then you'll earn Avios from that transaction.
There are two challenges with the Estore. Firstly, for hotels, your Avios will be sent to you quite a while after you've completed your stay. For example, with Hilton, it's 90 - 120 days after you've checked out.
The second challenge with the Estore is that a reasonable percentage of your transactions get declined. The issue - they claim - is usually around cookies, and the data that told the retailer the transaction came via the Estore is lost or de-prioritised. There's some logic in that, but it's also somewhat suspicious. In the last month, three of my Hilton transitions have declined; even though I booked on a "clean" browser, I made no changes to the trip before I arrived, and I checked out successfully.
There's an element of risk in using the Estore, especially for hotels; however, if there are no better options for earning Avios, then you have nothing to lose.
In almost all cases I would book a hotel via the Avios Hotels website. It's far more reliable.
(If you're wondering what the highest earning product or service is on the Avios Estore, you get 60 Avios per £1 you spend on the VPN company NordVPN.)
The best hotel brands for earning Avios
(Note that the amount you earn per £1 spent can change based on offers - it's worth double checking on the Estore as it could increase or decrease since I've written this)
| Hotel Brand | Avios You'll Earn |
|---|---|
| Thistle | 12 per £1 spent |
| Citizen M | 10 per £1 spent |
| Radisson | 8 per £1 spent |
| Marriott | 6 per £1 spent |
| Village Hotels | 6 per £1 spent |
| Malmaison | 6 per £1 spent |
| Hilton | 4 per £1 spent |
| Ramada | 3 per £1 spent |
| IHG | 3 per £1 spent |
The best hotel aggregators for earning Avios
| Avios, You'll Earn | Avios You'll Earn |
|---|---|
| Agoda | 9 per £1 spent |
| Booking.com | 6 per £1 spent |
| Hotels.com | 5 per £1 spent |
| Travelzoo | 5 per £1 spent |
| OneFineStay | 5 per £1 spent |
| LateRooms | 3 per £1 spent |
| Airbnb | 2 per £1 spent |
