Words & Photos: Avios
Here’s where they’re going, how they’re going to travel to get there, their top accommodation choices and how much money it’s going to cost
An independent survey commissioned by the Avios Travel Rewards Programme has revealed that 90% of holidaymakers are staying in South Africa this December.
Local is clearly very lekker, especially considering the fact that Table Mountain and Umhlanga Rocks are in South African holidaymakers top five holiday destinations.
Holidaymakers are conscious about avoiding overspending this festive season: 27% plan to spend less money this December compared to previous December holidays, while 36% endeavour to spend the same amount of money. Interestingly, 65% of holidaymakers surveyed collect loyalty points and 86% of holidaymakers look for discounts and cost-effective deals for the December holidays.
The Avios Travel Rewards Programme www.avios.com is a new loyalty programme that launched in South Africa recently. It allows travellers to collect Avios points to use towards flights on premium airline British Airways.
Nick Pilbeam of Avios says, “The Avios Travel Rewards Programme is free to join and gives members the chance to collect via everyday spending on items they would normally purchase. This means that the money they save on flights can be used towards extending their holidays or travelling more frequently.”
Being able to save on travel costs and holiday for longer offers huge advantages, especially considering the fact that 78% of holidaymakers surveyed will be away for one week or more this December.
Flights start from 4 500 Avios and a R350 Reward Flight Saver (RFS) fee, one way, from Johannesburg to Durban. All British Airways domestic and regional flights have up to 50% cheaper taxes, fees and carrier charges than most rewards programmes because with Avios, these RFS fees are capped at just R700 return. British Airways Executive Club Members also enjoy these benefits.
While 56% of holidaymakers plan to stay with relatives or in a self-catering apartment, 13% will be staying in hotels. The good news for Avios Travel Rewards Programme members is that one of the programme’s newest partners is the Protea Hospitality Group. Members can now collect Avios points on hotel accommodation (one Avios point is collected for every R10 of a guest’s accommodation spend) and spend those points on flights in South Africa, Europe and worldwide on premium airline British Airways.
Avios can also be collected on everyday spend by shopping at Pick n Pay, paying for purchases with the Avios credit card (issued and supported by ABSA), and filling up with fuel with BP. Other collection partners include premium airline British Airways, Lew Geffen Sotheby’s International Realty and Avis car rental.
For more information visit www.avios.com or call the South African customer call centre on 0860 0 AVIOS / 0860 0 28467.
