Are Points Useful When Backpacking?

Whilst we normally talk about using your points for luxury hotels and business class flights they are also a useful tool if you want to go backpacking. Surprised? Well, whilst it’s unlikely you’ll be splurging out on luxury hotels backpacking, points can help you decrease your cost of flights & provide a bit more luxury in a hotel room when you need space to work/relax. Let’s see how points can make a difference when backpacking…

Flights to popular Backpacking locations

One of the largest costs of any backpacking trip is the cost of the flights to your start location, particularly if you are only booking a one-way flight & plan to return from elsewhere later on. The cost of these can easily reach 4 digits depending on your route and destination. With points you only need to pay the ‘taxes & fees’ which can lead to a substantial saving on your ticket. Here are some examples (prices will obviously vary but to give you a rough idea…)

Normally we wouldn’t recommend using Avios for Economy flights (why?) but seeing as it’s unlikely you’ll be flying Business Class if you’re backpacking we are focusing on the cheaper options (Economy) in this article.

Philippines

A return connecting flight from London to Manila, Philippines in Economy will cost you £1,100 booking with BA alternatively you can use 88500 Avios + £ 328.12. Just over a £750 saving which means you’d be getting around 0.87p a point which is under our 1p valuation. With hostels costing on average between £5 – £20 a night that means at £10 a night you’ve just paid for over two months of accommodation! Or alternatively two weeks in slightly ‘nicer’ accommodation (£240), food & drink (£210), activities (£175) & transport (£125). Not bad right?

Colombia

A return connecting flight from London to Bogota, Colombia in Economy will cost you £702.42 booking with Iberia alternatively you can use 83,750 Avios+ £272.37. Just over a £430 saving which means you’d be getting around 0.51p a point which is again well under our 1p valuation. With hostels costing on average between £5 – £15 a night that means at £7.50 a night you’ve just saved almost two months of accommodation! Alternatively two weeks in slightly ‘nicer’ accommodation with breakfast (£220) & food & drink (£210.) You’d just need money for your activities and transport during those two weeks!

Thailand

A return connecting flight from London to Bangkok, Thailand in Economy will cost you £926.56 booking with Qatar alternatively you can use 75000 Avios + £281.51. Just over a £645 saving which means you’d be getting around 0.86p a point which is under our 1p valuation. With hostels costing on average between £5 – £20 a night that means at £10 a night you’ve saved over two months of accommodation costs! Alternatively two weeks in slightly ‘nicer’ accommodation with breakfast (£200), food & drink (£210), activities (£210) & just over £25 left towards your transportation.

Hotels in popular Backpacking locations

Whilst a hotel won’t be your first port of call when backpacking they can provide a safe and peaceful space to recharge or get some work done if needed. They also won’t equate to a real cash saving unless you would have stayed in the hotel either as they are always going to be a lot more expensive than a hostel. The best thing about using points for hotel stays is normally they don’t require any additional ‘taxes & fees’ like flights do. Here are some examples (prices will obviously vary but to give you a rough idea…)

Like in our flight examples we are ignoring the pence value per point you get in these examples. If you are interested in getting the most value from your points and learning when to choose points and when to choose cash see our articles on Hilton Points & Marriott Points.

Philippines

You can spend a night in the Hilton Manila for as little as 39,000 Hilton Points (19,500 Membership Reward points, cash rate £217.09,) the Sheraton Manila Bay for around 16,800 Marriott Points (11,200 Membership reward points, cash rate £169.86), or the Park Inn by Radisson North EDSA for 15,000 Radisson Points (5,000 Membership reward points, cash rate £62.42.)

Colombia

A night in the DoubleTree by Hilton Bogota Salitre AR for 20,000 Hilton points (10,000 Membership Reward points, cash rate £60,) the Four Points by Sheraton Bogota for 13,500 Marriott points (9,000 Membership Reward points, cash rate £53), or the Faranda Collection Bogota for 30,000 Radisson Points (10,000 Membership reward points, cash rate £43.50.)

Thailand

You can spend a night in the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Sukhumvit Bangkok for 17,000 Hilton points (8,500 Membership Reward points, cash rate £52), the Aloft Bangkok Sukhumvit 11 for 12,000 Marriott points (8,000 Membership Reward points, cash rate £53), or the Radisson Suites Bangkok Sukhumvit for 15,000 Radisson Points (5,000 Membership reward points, cash rate £42.)

Earning points

So you’ve learned how points can be useful when backpacking but how can you earn them? And will you ever be able to earn enough to make it worthwhile? The best thing to do is make a plan as long as possible before you go to help you reach your goals. Here are some of our tips to help you maximise your points earning…

Use it for your day to day life

Use a points-earning card for as many things as you can. Every point counts and if you use your card for shopping, Petrol & general life you’ll soon find the points will add up. If you are shopping online look at sites like the BA Avios eStore, Virgin Atlantic’s Shop Away or Topcashback (allows you to convert your cashback into Avios.) These will allow you to earn points on your normal purchases so it’s worth a look before purchasing to see if there are any ‘points back’ deals for your purchase.

Utilise sign-up bonuses.

There are various cards that have sign-up bonuses for spending X amount of money within 3 months. We cover ones for ‘low spenders’ here – https://pointsuncovered.com/earning-points/what-are-the-best-reward-credit-cards-for-low-spenders/ – but if you are filling ambitious we have guides to fast track to 250,000 Marriott points, 200,000 Avios or 169,000 Virgin Points. If you feel like you might struggle to hit a sign-up bonus things to consider include…

1. Is there a certain of the year you spend more e.g. Christmas? You can always time an application around that sort of time.
2. Do you have any big purchases coming up? As above you can time your application to suit.
3. If you have any trips (holidays, concerts etc) coming up with friends or family consider offering to book for everyone! Providing they all send you the money of course!
4. If you know you regularly shop somewhere consider buying a gift card for that shop in advance to meet a spending target.
5. Top up with extra petrol or top up your oyster card to the maximum.

Refer friends/family

American Express offer generous referral bonuses on many of their cards. If you refer one of your friends/family members you will recieve upto 18,000 points per referral and upto a total of 90,000 points a year. You can view what referral bonus you will get for different cards here – https://www.americanexpress.com/uk/benefits/refer-a-friend.html

Conclusion

If you plan your points earning/spending in advance it could lead to a much longer and relaxing backpacking trip. Not only will you save cash on things you would have purchased point bookings are normally flexible allowing you to change your trip at short notice for little or no fee. Have you used points when backpacking?