Together for more than a decade, Executive Club Members Matt Richardson and Rosie Wood are getting married this September – but you could argue that their greatest achievement is their dextrous use of the Executive Club’s Avios Household Account. Here, Matt reveals how the pair have travelled the world with a combined Avios pot

Travel has always been a massive part of my life – some of my best memories have been in the context of some trip or other. Shortly after graduating, I joined the Executive Club in 2016, keen to start building up an Avios balance to make my travel plans as affordable as possible. It was a no-brainer to also sign up my partner (and now fiancée), Rosie. We decided to start pooling our Avios together from the get-go with the Executive Club’s Household Account, meaning we can both collect Avios individually (keeping our own separate balances), but club together for bigger trips. After all, there’s strength in numbers.

Throw in British Airways’ shopping platform, the British Airways American Express Credit Card, and the new partnership with Nectar – and it’s infinitely more possible to collect the Avios you need for a Reward Flight without even taking off.

Here are some of our top trips that have been made that bit more special, and the tactics we used to get there…

San Francisco and Los Angeles, California
When? May 2018
Booking type? 1 x Companion Voucher; World Traveller Plus
The trip: This mammoth multi-centre trip packed so much into 12 days. We flew into San Francisco for a whistlestop three nights, before grabbing a hire car from Avis (collecting yet more Avios) and hopping on the Pacific Coast Highway – which is just as amazing as everyone says it is. We stopped for a night in Carmel-by-the-Sea before continuing down Highway 1 to Los Angeles. It was one of our most memorable trips by far – my only complaint is that we should have spent more time in San Francisco, a city that I could quite happily live in. 

Mallorca, Spain
When? August 2022
Booking type? 40,000pp Avios redemption;* Club Europe
The trip: Originally scuppered by the pandemic, we finally made it to this sun-drenched Balearic Island last summer (it was 37°C when we were there). We split our time on Mallorca between three hotels in order to see three different sides of the island – our favourite being the pared-back adults-only retreat, Finca Serena, surrounded by 40 hectares of olive groves and vines.

Edinburgh, Scotland
When? January 2023
Booking type? 1 x Companion Voucher on a Reward Flight Saver booking; Club Europe
The trip: Never wanting to waste a Companion Voucher, this was a fairly last-minute booking – a short but sweet weekend up in Scotland. Flying up to Edinburgh on a Friday afternoon, we were off to the races as soon as we landed. Then it was on to dinner at exceptional family-run restaurant Timberyard, pottering around the Royal Botanic Garden and scaling Arthur’s Seat on a balmy Saturday morning.

Tel Aviv, Israel
When? May 2019
Booking type? 42,000pp Avios redemption;** Club World
The trip: Our first jaunt to the Middle East, Israel was everything we expected and more. Six days gave us enough time to really get under the skin of the city, and also make a day trip to Jerusalem to see both sides of the fascinating country. We stayed at The Vera, a trendy boutique hotel that served free wine in the lobby. Winner. 

Athens, Greece
When? September 2023
Booking type? 48,500pp Avios redemption;* Club Europe
The trip: This is a future booking – it’s going to be our honeymoon straight after our wedding at the beginning of September. We’ve got 18 hours in Athens – we’re aiming to head to the Acropolis at sunset – before travelling across to Antiparos for six nights of Cycladic serenity.

*plus £1 per person, off-peak return
**plus taxes, fees and charges

Matt and Rosie’s must-knows

Add children to your account. You might not realise that children can collect Avios just as adults can. Our friends with children always do this.

You might be able to share Avios on your Household Account, but sadly not Tier Points or your Executive Club level. So, if you’re lucky enough to be Gold, don’t assume everybody else in your household will be able to reap your benefits.

With a British Airways American Express Credit Card, Cardholders earn a minimum 1 Avios for every £1 that they spend. But if you and a partner both have individual card accounts already, you can also be added as supplementary cardholders on the other person’s account. This might sound incredibly confusing, but it makes sense when working towards a Companion Voucher. As soon as a voucher has been earned by one account, switch to the other to repeat.

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This article has been tagged Opinion, Avios