Heathrow Rewards - How Can It Work For an Avios Collector?

What is Heathrow Rewards and How to Join

Heathrow Rewards is an airport loyalty programme that allows you to earn points for shopping and dining at Heathrow Airport. In most cases, members collect points while at the airport, but there are ways to earn them even when you're not catching a flight.

Joining is straightforward. Simply head over to the Heathrow Rewards website, fill in a few details, and you're all set. The programme is completely free to join and takes just a few minutes. If you’re joining for the first time, you're in for a little welcome treat as new members get 100 bonus points after signing up. There's just one rule: only one membership is allowed per household.

How to Collect Points with Heathrow Rewards

If you’ve ever wondered how to make the most of your time at Heathrow, turning your wait time into rewards could be a great way. Below are some of the ways you can earn Heathrow Reward points as you wait to catch your flight:

Shop and Dine at the Airport: Last-minute gifts, pre-flight meals, and airport coffees can all earn points at Heathrow’s shops, restaurants, and bars, including those in the Arrivals halls. The best part? There’s no minimum spend to worry about; just spend £1 and you can collect points.

Official Heathrow Parking: Every time you park your car at the airport-owned car parks, you earn points. For every £1 spent, you add 1 point to your Heathrow Rewards account. 

Heathrow Express: Planning to catch the train to or from the airport? Book your tickets on the official Heathrow Express website or their app, and you'll earn 1 point per £1 spent on your fare.

Left Luggage, Porter Services, and More: Need to stash your bags for a bit? Or maybe you fancy a little luxury with porter services? These services also help you accumulate points. You’ll earn 1 point per £1 at Excess Baggage Company and 1 point per £1 on the £30 fee for porter services.

Exchange Money: Exchanging money through Travelex can also be a great way to add to your point tally. You’ll earn 1 point for every £10 you exchange.

Heathrow Rewards Tiers

Heathrow Reward tiers are a way of categorising members based on their spending habits at the airport. It’s essentially a loyalty ladder - the more you spend, the higher you climb, unlocking even better point-earning rates and perks along the way.

At the starting line, we have the basic Heathrow Rewards level. As a new member, this is your initial tier. For every £10 you part with at Heathrow, you'll accumulate 10 points.

However, if you spend frequently and surpass the £750 mark within a calendar year, you graduate to the Heathrow Rewards Premium tier. Here, the rewards get even better. Instead of the standard rate, you'll earn 20 points for every £10 spent. That's double the rewards, so your points will stack up even faster.

Can you Earn Avios with Heathrow Rewards?

Yes, you can easily convert Heathrow Rewards points into British Airways Avios. Simply head to the Heathrow Rewards website and choose the option to transfer your points to Avios. So, not only do you benefit from your purchases at Heathrow, you also get closer to your next discounted or free flight when you book flights with Avios using a Reward Flight Finder (RFF) or upgrade with BA or Aer Lingus AerClub.

But Avios isn't the only frequent flyer programme you can convert your points to. Below is a list of other airlines that are Heathrow Rewards frequent flyer partners:

• Lufthansa Miles & More
• Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
• Royal Brunei Royal Skies
• Aegean Miles+Bonus
• Asia Miles
• Emirates Skywards
• Virgin Flying Club

Spending Your Heathrow Rewards Points

Below are some of the ways you can redeem your Heathrow Reward points:

• Fancy a bit of shopping at Heathrow? You can get a £5 Heathrow shopping voucher for just 500 points. Some retailers, like World Duty Free, make it easy by allowing you to instantly redeem by merely scanning your Heathrow Rewards membership card. However, other shops might ask you to order paper vouchers via the Heathrow Rewards website beforehand.
• Regularly park at Heathrow? A £10 Official Heathrow Parking voucher is yours for 500 points.
• For those preferring a quick transit, a £5 Heathrow Express voucher is available for 500 points.
• Another way to redeem your points is to convert them into airline miles. For this, the conversion rate is 1p = 1 mile with an airline partner. But if you value those frequent flyer miles at more than a penny each, you might find there's a premium on this conversion.

With Heathrow offering a variety of redemption options, it can be a bit tricky to determine which offers the best value. So, let's break it down. For most redemption options, the value sits at a straightforward 1p per point. That means if you're eyeing those shopping vouchers or thinking of hopping onto the Heathrow Express, each point you've earned is worth a penny. However, with Official Heathrow Parking, your points double in value, giving you 2p per point. 

Is Heathrow Rewards Worth It for Avios Collectors?

Heathrow Rewards isn't just about gathering points, it's about flexibility and choice. One of its standout features is its 'convertible currency' nature. While 1 Heathrow Rewards point does equal 1 Avios, it's potentially even more valuable. Why? Because you aren’t locked into using them just for Avios. You can switch them up for other airline miles or even use them for some airport shopping.

If you frequently use Heathrow Airport services, be it for shopping, parking your car in the official lots, or catching the Heathrow Express, then joining the Heathrow Rewards programme is a no-brainer. It's completely free to join, and with the convenience of downloading the card right to your smartphone, there's no fuss of added bulk in your wallet.

Using our Reward Flight Finder (RFF) can help you maximise the benefits of your points, especially when combined with Heathrow Rewards. So, if you frequently book flights with Avios, Heathrow Rewards certainly seems like a worthy addition to your points-collecting toolkit.

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