Newbie after advice

[Holmfirthfox]

Hi I’m almost a year into my Barclay Card (£20 PM) Ive collected 111000 Avios points. I will shortly be booking another Australia and return via New Zealand flight. Should I change my card to AMEX and if so which one?

Also how should i best use my Avios points. I know I need a very large number to get Business Class to Oz so should I just use them to get a price reduction on my next booking or use them for a European holiday? I do have a companion voucher but cannot find it on my account anywhere .

Sorry for the basic questions but there appears to be some very knowledgeable people on here who could advise.

Thanks

Steve

[drdan]

I would be considering QR for the return from NZ, even at full price they are a good deal…and use avios.

If you’re a newbie to Amex, scroll half way down the link below to earn a lot of sign up bonuses from Amex… And remember that MR can convert to other currencies too…

https://www.headforpoints.com/2024/09/18/what-amex-sign-up-bonuses-are-you-still-eligible-for-4/

Note that the companion voucher is useful only if you can find availability to Oz (very tough) and of course BA won’t get you back from NZ.

Good luck!

[NorthernLass]

These are very wide-ranging questions and the most helpful thing you can do is to set some time aside to read Rob’s articles on avios, Amex and the companion voucher. Also scroll through the threads on here and read any with titles you’re interested in.

The recent changes to BA have made some vouchers “disappear”, but if you click on “book a flight with avios”, the option to use the voucher should hopefully appear as an option.

Using avios to get a price reduction usually gives very poor value and generally isn’t recommended here! You’ve got a decent amount and might be able to get to somewhere like BKK or KUL with the Barclays voucher then connect from there to Oz or NZ, or continue collecting till you have enough. BA seats to SYD are like hen’s teeth so you need to have a Plan B to get there in any case.

[Skywalker]

If your circumstances allow, there is no reason you cannot maintain an Amex card and your existing Barclaycard – in fact you will need your Barclaycard when the Amex isn’t accepted, as sometimes happens.

Start here: https://www.headforpoints.com/2020/04/06/how-do-you-book-flights-using-avios-points/

On the left, there is a drop down box with other articles in the series.