How we used Avios to see the world: Avios insiders reveal how they did it

Who are you? Fong Chau, Content Manager at Avios.com and the Avios app.
Where did you go with your Avios? I took my husband and son to Japan for two and a half weeks.
What did it cost? 118,000 Avios and £780 return for two adults and one child in World Traveller using a credit card voucher.¹

Tell us about your trip:

I knew I wanted to take my family on a big trip before my son started primary school and we could no longer take advantage of cheaper flights during term time. As a family, we were obsessed with Studio Ghibli films (my son), Yohji Yamamoto clothes (my husband), and ramen (me), so Japan felt like a no-brainer.

Before working at Avios, I assumed long-haul holidays would be too expensive for all of us to travel together. But after a short time on the job, I realised using Avios could save us thousands of pounds.

So I made collecting Avios my mission. I set up simple ways to collect, like linking all my payment cards to my British Airways Club account so I could automatically collect Avios when I went shopping in stores, linking my Uber account so I collected Avios on every eligible trip, and checking the Avios app before buying anything. If I could collect Avios with a retailer, it only took one extra click. Suddenly, I felt a lot less guilty about our a cheeky Uber Eats order, knowing it was helping to pay for our trip to Japan.

We booked in September to travel in June. Even though Reward Flight seats are available on all British Airways flights, Tokyo is one of the most popular destinations, so we knew we had to be flexible with dates.

Checking availability on the Avios app was really easy as it shows flight availability for the year ahead at a glance, so you don't have to check availability by individual dates. Before we knew it, we were boarding at Heathrow and touching down at Haneda Airport, where a giant Hello Kitty mural welcomed us to Tokyo for our first big trip as a family.

With Avios, I know it’ll be the first of many.

Who are you? Luke Knowles, Customer Loyalty Adviser at Avios.
Where did you go with your Avios? I took my dad to Geneva for a birthday treat in November 2023.
What did it cost? A return ticket for two adults from London Heathrow cost 60,000 Avios and £15 in Club Europe.¹

Tell us about your trip:
I decided to take my dad to Geneva on a bit of a whim. We’d planned another trip for some winter sun, but travel disruption meant we had to change plans quickly. Neither of us had been to Switzerland, and we found good availability just three weeks before flying — even during ski season and peak Christmas market travel time.

While we were there, we took a day trip to the ski village of Chamonix, even though neither of us could ski. It was exactly how you imagine a ski resort to look — picturesque and straight out of the telly. We loved trying the local beer and food, especially the cheese and chocolate. Walking round the village in November, surrounded by snow, really got us in the mood for Christmas. We also visited the French town of Annecy, which reminded me of Venice with its canals — it was beautiful.

Using Avios meant I could upgrade our flights to Business Class. Dad loved having lounge access at Heathrow and Geneva and it made the whole trip feel extra special.

Who are you? Rebecca Terry, Loyalty Lifecycle Lead at Avios.
Where did you go with your Avios? We went on a family ski trip to Edinburgh during February half term in 2025.
What did it cost? 76,000 Avios + £4 for a family of four (two adults, two children under 12) in Euro Traveller.¹

Tell us about your trip:
Skiing is something I loved growing up — my mum took me, and now I get to take my own children. Edinburgh is a great base, with around five ski resorts in Scotland nearby, plus plenty of family-friendly attractions. My kids loved the National Museum of Scotland, Dynamic Earth and Edinburgh Castle.

We flew from Heathrow on a Sunday and returned on a Thursday. We booked about six months in advance and, even during half term, found plenty of availability at convenient times.

We spent one night in Edinburgh before heading to Glenshee Ski Centre in the Cairngorms National Park, where we spent three days on the slopes, with my children learning to ski for the first time.

We love using Avios to fund our family adventures, as soon as one trip is booked, we start collecting again. For example, we booked our Edinburgh stay using Avios Hotels and and an Airbnb near our ski resort and were able to collect Avios on both, so our holiday was already helping pay for the next one.

Using a Household Account also meant we could pool our balances, so all the Avios we collect goes towards a family adventure.

If you’re looking to book your next adventure then you can head over to our Reward Flight finder where you can see where your Avios can take you.

Still have some collecting to do before you can book a flight? Explore all the ways you can collect Avios and start your journey towards you next holiday.

¹ Disclaimer: All prices where correct at the time of booking.