This week I\u2019m channelling my inner Victor Meldrew as I cast a very jaundiced eye over a new special offer.<\/p>\n
You know how I love a loyalty scheme? I\u2019ve come across one portion of a very popular scheme that may not be worth it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Last week, Tesco and Aer Lingus announced a strategic partnership that will allow Tesco Clubcard members exchange their Clubcard tokens for Avios points, which can be used to buy flights.<\/p>\n
Typically, a Tesco customer earns one Clubcard token for every \u20ac1 spent.\u00a0<\/p>\n
There are ways of boosting those tokens by buying groceries on special offer, signing up to newsletters, buying fuel at certain filling stations, and having a Tesco mobile phone. Even then, the conversion to tokens is still along the same lines.<\/p>\n
Avios members would need 8,000 credits for a return flight to Amsterdam. Every \u20ac2.50 of Tesco Clubcard tokens translates to 600 credits, so that single return flight would cost \u20ac35 worth of Tesco Clubcard tokens plus taxes and charges (more for luggage).\u00a0<\/p>\n
This sounds like a bargain, is there a catch?<\/p>\n
Firstly, you may have overlooked what\u2019s involved in earning those Clubcard tokens in the first place.<\/p>\n
If you have a Tesco Clubcard account and you want to your accumulated tokens to spend on Avios credits towards that flight to Amsterdam, you\u2019d need to have spent \u20ac3,500 in-store to earn \u20ac35 worth of tokens.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Spread over a year, that\u2019s just over \u20ac67 per week of groceries bought in a single supermarket chain. For a return flight for one adult, before taxes and charges.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s where it gets interesting. Using the Aer Lingus website, I can see that the cheapest return flights to Amsterdam midweek in December including taxes and charges for one adult cost \u20ac95.33.<\/p>\n
These are saver prices \u2014 meaning there is no actual flight charge, and the booker only plays taxes and destination charges.<\/p>\n
Speaking to those in the travel business, this can happen when airlines have \u2018slots\u2019 to preserve in either airport and are travelling there and back regardless.<\/p>\n
That would surely mean that a customer could use up those hard-earned points on the same flight and still have to pay \u20ac95.33.<\/p>\n
They could potentially be sitting on the plane beside someone who got the flights at the same price. Curiouser and curiouser.<\/p>\n
As my father would say, \u201cthe thick plottened\u201d when I read the small print. It turns out that Avios seats are limited to a maximum of 12 per flight.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not all bad news. There are some decent special offers for Tesco Clubcard customers. For example, \u20ac5 worth of points can be turned into \u20ac15 off a Tesco mobile bill, or \u20ac15 can be swapped into a standard three-month Disney+ subscription.<\/p>\n
Many people swear by converting the tokens into vouchers for ferry trips and saving money on the family holiday.<\/p>\n
In fairness to Tesco, it seems like they are genuinely trying to provide additional value for their Clubcard members.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It\u2019s just a huge pity that the Avios system is so opaque and difficult to navigate, that it may not offer value for money for those who choose to convert their points.<\/p>\n
So, before you convert loyalty points you\u2019ve accumulated in the past year, take a long hard look at the benefits.<\/p>\n
For my own part, I\u2019ve simply saved those points up and while I haven\u2019t spent a whopping \u20ac3,500 in Tesco, I have a small voucher on the way to put towards my Christmas shop. Every little helps, or so they say!<\/p>\n
SPEAKING of Christmas, news of a bird flu outbreak in a flock of turkeys in Carlow may have consumers worried about one of the most important items on the dinner table.<\/p>\n
Trust me, at the moment it\u2019s more stressful for farmers than it is for consumers.<\/p>\n
Up until now, mandatory housing orders were implemented in smaller areas such as Fota Island and now Carlow.<\/p>\n
The exclusion zones have been less than 5km and the area around these zones were subject to greater monitoring.<\/p>\n