The Reason I Started Collecting Points in the UK (and What I Got Wrong)

I’ve always loved points. Back in Brazil, I even booked our honeymoon to New York before we had a wedding date, just because I found a really cheap flight. We were already engaged, and I thought: okay, now we have a honeymoon, so let’s set the date!

But what I knew back then was very basic. I used my credit card, and I collected points every time I filled up the car, through the petrol station’s programme, and moved them to the airlines. That was it. That was everything I knew.

And then we moved to the UK.

Starting from zero in the UK

We moved here in September 2018, and I had no idea you could collect points here the way I did in Brazil. I didn’t even know it existed. So for a while, we just paid whatever the airlines were charging.

And yes, I’ve spent a lot of nights up late, refreshing flight searches, trying to find a cheap ticket. Especially for my stepson. When we first moved, he stayed in Brazil with his mum (since 2021 he lives with us again), so we were always trying to bring him over.

In that first year or so, we didn’t really feel the need to go to Brazil. My stepson came for Christmas in 2018 and we travelled around the UK. Then at the end of 2019, a whole group came over: my mum, my grandmother, my stepdad, my stepson, and the ladies who worked for my grandma all their lives (they’re like family to me!). We had an amazing trip together. We went to France, to Disneyland Paris, and we drove all the way up to Scotland.

They went back at the beginning of 2020. And then the pandemic started.

The moment everything had to change

In 2020, I got pregnant, and my son was born in October, right in the middle of the pandemic.

My husband is a musician, and for musicians, that time was really hard. There were no gigs, no events, nothing. Financially, it was a difficult time for us. I was at home with the baby, I didn’t want to go back to work, I wanted to be with my son.

And travelling was a nightmare. Covid rules, vaccines, and flights were so expensive.

So I started thinking: my son is going to grow up. He’s going to turn two, and then he’ll start paying for his own seat. And I need to be able to take him to Brazil at least once a year, so he can spend time with our families. Without it hurting our budget.

That became my biggest motivation.

Learning the UK points world

So in 2021, I started learning properly about points in the UK. I took a course with a Brazilian woman who lives in Germany, and I learned so much from her.

That’s when I discovered shopping portals. And then I found out that Nectar points could become Avios, and Tesco Clubcard points could become Virgin Points. And I was devastated! Because for years, I’d been using both of them for money off my shopping at the till. I couldn’t believe I’d been swapping such valuable points for pennies.

Then I learned that BPme, from filling up the car at BP, also becomes Avios. And little by little, I learned all these things that completely changed how we spend money at home. We still do the same things, we still buy the same stuff. But now we turn almost everything into points.

If you want to know more, I wrote full posts about how I use shopping portals and how I turn my Tesco Clubcard points into Virgin Points.

No credit card? No problem

A lot of people think you need a credit card to collect points. I didn’t have one at the beginning. I didn’t have anything!

And I still managed to book our trips. Everything came from shopping portals, Nectar and everyday shopping. And shopping portals are the most powerful way to earn points. A credit card gives you 1 or 1.5 points per pound. Through a portal, you can get 2, 5 or even 12 Avios per pound. No card is going to give you that.

So a credit card is not a requirement. It helps, for sure. But you can do this without one.

Our first trip to Brazil with points was in 2022. And in 2023, I brought my mum over to stay with my son while we went to a friend’s wedding in Italy. It was the first time I was leaving him, so I wanted him to be with my mum. Her flight from São Paulo to London cost me less than £50 out of my own pocket. (I told the full story of my mum’s visit in another post)

My big credit card mistake

When I finally decided to get a credit card, I made a big mistake.

I still didn’t understand all the rules in the UK, and I just went for it. I applied for the British Airways American Express, the free one. Because in my head, paying an annual fee for a credit card? Never. That didn’t make any sense to me.

I got 5,000 Avios as a welcome bonus. And I thought I was doing amazing!

Little did I know, it was a terrible deal. Honestly, terrible. Because with Amex, whether you get a welcome bonus depends on which of their cards you’ve had before, and in what order you apply for them. So that little 5,000 Avios bonus stopped me from getting much bigger bonuses later. But we learn from our mistakes, right?

The card I’d start with today

If I could start again, my first card would be the American Express Preferred Rewards Gold.

It’s free in the first year. After that, the annual fee is £195. The welcome bonus is much bigger than the 5,000 Avios I got so excited about. And several times a year, Amex runs a boosted welcome offer, which makes a huge difference. You also get four Priority Pass lounge visits a year. So even if you downgrade or cancel the card after the first year, you’ve already had those benefits.

It’s also always worth applying through a referral link, because you usually get a bigger bonus than applying directly on the Amex website. If you’d like to use mine, here it is. Full transparency: I get a referral bonus too, at no cost to you. But only apply if it makes sense for you.

And please remember: a credit card only makes sense if you pay it off in full every month. Otherwise, the interest will cost you much more than any points are worth.

Over time, I also learned how to manage cards: when to cancel, when to downgrade, when to apply for a new one. But that’s a story for another post!

For me, the card is an accelerator. Especially with the welcome bonus and referral bonuses. But the biggest part of my points still comes from shopping portals.

It was never about cheap flights

Learning about points was never about “I need to travel as cheaply as possible” or “I don’t have money to travel”.

My goal was always what I told you at the beginning: to take my son to Brazil at least once a year, without it weighing on our budget. We spend this money anyway. So if I could turn all, or most, of what we already spend into points, the trips to Brazil would get so much easier.

And in 2025, I saw exactly why this matters.

I had a health issue that I needed to sort out in Brazil. I booked the flights on a Saturday and flew on the Monday, with my son. Because it was an emergency, I didn’t know when we’d be coming back, so I only booked one way, and booked the way home later, once I knew our date.

That last-minute return trip to Brazil, for two people, cost us £443.60 in cash. Everything else was points we collect here, in our everyday life.

And then, a year later, I had to go back. This time on my own, to follow up on the same health issue. I’d already booked part of my flight before our Easter trip, because I knew I needed to go. So we landed back from Hawaii on a Saturday, and on the Monday, I was on my way to Brazil again. And once more, I booked the way home just a week before.

That whole trip, there and back, cost me £315.90 in cash. The rest, again, was points.

Two trips to Brazil, a year apart, booked when I needed them, and neither of them touched our budget. Of course, I always depend on availability. But when there is availability, I can book without thinking twice. And that was always the whole point for me.

It takes time, but it works

I won’t lie to you. Points take some work. It’s not something where you do nothing and the flights just appear. And it’s not for tomorrow either. You don’t start today and fly next week.

It’s a longer-term project. You collect a little here, a little there, and slowly you build up your points. And then, when you need them, they’re there. For a holiday, for a family visit, or for a moment like mine, when you just need to get on a plane.

So if you’ve been thinking about starting, don’t wait for the perfect moment, okay? One click on a shopping portal this week is already a start.

If you have any questions, leave them in the comments. We’ll be really happy to help!

Lots of love, and see you next time! Xx

Fly Smart Club is an educational website. The content in this article is based on my personal experience and is for information only. It is not financial advice. Card benefits, fees, welcome offers and terms can change, so please check the latest details with the provider and consider your own circumstances before making any financial decision. Some of our articles contain referral links. If you sign up through one, Fly Smart Club may receive a reward, at no extra cost to you.