Matt Bunnell

Matt Bunnell is the founder and editor of MaxYourTrip. A frequent traveller for both business and leisure, Matt writes about airline loyalty programmes, Avios, UK rail travel, airports and ways to save money and get more from every trip. His articles combine detailed research with first-hand travel experience.

BA Club Europe passengers

Can You Build Your Own Business Class for Less?

Flights, Tips & Hacks / /

Short-haul Business Class can make flying considerably more enjoyable. Fast-track security, lounge access, extra luggage, priority boarding, more space and complimentary food and drink all improve the journey – but they come at a price.

So we wondered: could we recreate the Business Class experience ourselves for less?

We found a British Airways Club Europe flight from London Gatwick to Malaga for £220 and compared it with Economy fares on seven alternatives: BA itself, easyJet, Ryanair, Vueling, Wizz Air, TUI and Jet2.

We then added the extras required to create our own version of Business Class: checked and cabin luggage, fast-track security, lounge access, priority boarding where available, an extra-legroom seat, a hot meal, some fizz and a gin & tonic.

The results surprised us. Vueling managed to beat BA Business Class by £33 and Wizz Air by £28 – but Ryanair, Jet2 and TUI actually ended up costing more than the real thing.

Can You Build Your Own Business Class for Less? Read More »

c2c class 720 train

c2c Loyalty Rewards: Earn Credit on Train Travel

Trains / /

If you regularly travel with c2c between London and Essex, its Loyalty Rewards programme gives you an effective 1% back on eligible train travel.

The scheme is available to passengers using a c2c Smartcard. You’ll earn one loyalty point for every £1 spent on c2c tickets, with each point worth 1p towards future journeys.

A 1% return isn’t particularly generous compared with some other UK train loyalty schemes, but regular commuters spending thousands of pounds a year could still build up a useful amount of credit.

In this guide, we’ll explain how c2c Loyalty Rewards works, how to join and whether it’s worth using a c2c Smartcard to collect the points.

c2c Loyalty Rewards: Earn Credit on Train Travel Read More »

Is It Cheaper to Book a Hotel Directly or Through Hotels.com?

Tips & Hacks / /

Hotel chains frequently claim you’ll get their best price by booking directly, while online travel agents push hard on their own member discounts and special offers. Clearly they can’t all be the cheapest.

So we decided to test it.

We picked 16 hotels in London and priced the cheapest advance-purchase room for two people for exactly the same Saturday night. We compared four prices: the hotel’s public rate, its loyalty-member rate, the public hotels.com price and the hotels.com member price.

The results show there is no universal winner between booking direct or through an Online Travel Agent (OTA), but they did reveal some interesting patterns about where you’re most likely to find the better deal.

Is It Cheaper to Book a Hotel Directly or Through Hotels.com? Read More »

Air France A350

Flying Blue Family: How to Pool & Transfer Miles

Flights, Points & Miles / /

Flying Blue, the frequent flyer programme of Air France and KLM, allows families to combine their miles, potentially turning several small mileage balances into enough miles to book a reward flight.

A Flying Blue Family account can contain up to eight people – a maximum of two adults and six children. Everyone continues earning miles in their own Flying Blue account, but the designated Family Leader can transfer miles from the other members into their account, free of charge.

This can be particularly useful when some family members fly infrequently, miles are approaching expiry or you’re just short of the miles needed for a reward flight.

However, there are some important restrictions. Transfers are one-way, the Family Leader cannot be changed and, once transferred, the miles effectively belong to the leader. In this guide, we’ll explain how Flying Blue Family works, when it’s useful and the potential pitfalls to consider.

Flying Blue Family: How to Pool & Transfer Miles Read More »

Avis employee

Avis Preferred: Benefits, Status Levels & How to Get President’s Club

Points & Miles, Travel Insights / /

Avis Preferred is the free loyalty programme from Avis, offering regular customers discounts, faster car collection, upgrades and other benefits.

There are three membership levels – Avis Preferred, Preferred Plus and President’s Club – but you don’t necessarily need to rent frequently to get top-tier status. American Express Platinum and selected World Elite Mastercard holders can qualify for President’s Club, while Avis also offers status matches from competing car-hire programmes.

Avis is also particularly interesting for Avios collectors, with several different ways to earn Avios on rentals.

We’ve looked at how Avis Preferred works, what the different status levels offer and, importantly, whether its advertised discounts actually produce the cheapest rental price.

Avis Preferred: Benefits, Status Levels & How to Get President’s Club Read More »

Fuel pump

How to Earn Avios When Buying Petrol & Diesel

Points & Miles / /

Fuel is a significant expense for many households, so if you’re filling up anyway, you may as well earn Avios at the same time.

A car travelling 10,000 miles a year and averaging 40mpg can easily consume more than £2,000 of petrol annually. Finding the cheapest fuel should therefore always come first – apps such as FuelFinder UK can help you compare prices in your area – but there are also opportunities to earn Avios when filling up at BP, Esso and Sainsbury’s.

In this guide, we compare how many Avios you can earn, how the different loyalty schemes work and whether converting your points into Avios actually represents good value.

How to Earn Avios When Buying Petrol & Diesel Read More »

OpenTable Regulars: Earn Points & Get Rewarded for Eating Out

Points & Miles / /

OpenTable is an online restaurant reservation service used by over 70,0000 establishments all over the world, allowing diners to search by location, cuisine, price and availability.

OpenTable also operates a loyalty programme. OpenTable Regulars allows members to collect Dining Points which can be redeemed towards dining experiences or Amazon gift cards, while making just six qualifying reservations can unlock Gold status and additional benefits.

So how does OpenTable Regulars work, what are the points worth and is it worth using?

OpenTable Regulars: Earn Points & Get Rewarded for Eating Out Read More »

How to Earn Extra Avios and Tier Points with British Airways Holidays

Flights, Points & Miles / /

Booking a trip with British Airways Holidays can offer several advantages over booking your flight, hotel or car hire separately – including additional Avios, extra Tier Points, potentially cheaper fares and the ability to secure your trip with a relatively small deposit.

In some cases, a British Airways Holiday can even cost little more than the flight on its own, making the additional benefits particularly attractive.

However, there are some important rules to understand – particularly around what actually qualifies as a BA Holiday and how the additional Avios and Tier Points are calculated.

How to Earn Extra Avios and Tier Points with British Airways Holidays Read More »

GWR Rewards: How to Earn Free Train Tickets & Lounge Access

Trains / /

If you regularly travel with Great Western Railway (GWR), its GWR Rewards loyalty programme could earn you free Standard and First Class train tickets, First Class lounge access and discounts on food and drink.

You don’t necessarily need to travel that frequently either. Depending on how much you spend, just three days of qualifying travel can be enough to earn a free Standard Class return ticket anywhere on the GWR network.

There’s also a useful benefit just for joining: new members receive a voucher giving 40% off two GWR Advance single tickets.

So how does GWR Rewards work, how quickly can you earn free tickets and is it worth joining?

GWR Rewards: How to Earn Free Train Tickets & Lounge Access Read More »

Virgin A350

How to Book Virgin Atlantic Flights with Flying Blue Miles

Flights, Points & Miles / /

For UK residents, one of the more attractive uses of Flying Blue miles is to redeem them for flights on fellow Skyteam member Virgin Atlantic.

This enables members to take direct long-haul flights from the UK, avoiding connecting in Amsterdam or Paris. As well as from Heathrow, Virgin also operates services out of Manchester and Edinburgh, making it even more attractive for those who live in Northern England and Scotland.

We analysed the scheme to see if using redeeming for Virgin Atlantic is a good use of your Flying Blue miles.

How to Book Virgin Atlantic Flights with Flying Blue Miles Read More »

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