Map of Lucknow

Air miles schemes always seemeda complicated and ungratifying business in the past; our long haul aspirations borne out of workaday boredom only ever amounted to a few paltry points and an inevitable loss of interest. But don’t be put off for life; the new scheme from Avios is a shared reward currency which fits nicely into our everyday spending habits.

Tesco (Club Card) and Shell are on board, as well as the Lloyds Bank Duo Avios Credit Card Account and the Lloyds TSB Duo Avios Mastercard which reward your spending habits with generous Avios points. The Avios site itself is pretty helpful in directing you towards the scheme which best fits your lifestyle.

Even if your spending habits are fairly minimal fuel, run-of-the-mill groceries – you’ll begin to appear on the European flights radar, and if you use Totally Money’s best value flights guide, you can really begin to extract value from the scheme.

Meddle with the Totally Money tool for a few minutes and you’ll feel your ambitions begin to ignite. Cities like Amsterdam are never far away once you surpass that 8000 point mark, and if you reach 9,000 points you’ll be eligible for the best value Avios destination in the world Billund, Denmark.

If that doesn’t take your fancy, earn 15,000 points and you have a flight to Menorca one of the nicest beach holidays in Europe (and the second best value’ flight on the Avios list). If a city-break is more your scene, Palma, Majorca’s alluring capital, represents third best value and is one of the most underrated city excursions in the world.

The Totally Money air miles guide also uses clever filters to channel your dreams into a genuine goal. Click the best for romance’ filter and you’ll find that Granada in Southern Spain comes out as best value. Do you view the Alhambra as the most romantic structure in Europe?

Incidentally, there are some very thoughtful suggestions in the romantic’ category such as Budapest, which has a night time ambience which is hard to beat.

The best for wine section highlights Spain, Italy and France, with Menorca scoring number one. The charming Balearic island is a good all-rounder in the Totally Money air miles stakes, and may well become the object of your air mile dreams 15,000 points will take you there. If you start reaching that 20,000 point mark, the world becomes your oyster.

The Avios world is split into zones: Zone 1 requires 9,000 Avios points, Zone 2 needs 15,000, and Zone 3 demands 20,000 Avios.
If you love travelling, join Avios and get some return on the money you spend. Whether it’s a return to Prague or a transatlantic voyage to America, air miles are well and truly back in fashion.