In the past year, we’ve spent most of our nights abroad. Despite being status holders in various hotel loyalty programs, we’ve spent significant time in Airbnb properties.
Even though hotels typically provide a more comfortable and standardised quality, we enjoy the extra amenities offered by an Airbnb property. An example would be the washer and kitchen which is essential for long-term travel.
It is well known that Airbnb does not have its own loyalty program. Therefore, it is not always as straightforward to earn points on your bookings.
Luckily, there are still some ways currently to earn some extra miles or points on your bookings.
Delta Airlines
Rate: 1 Delta Skymile per US$1
You can earn Delta Skymiles when you make your booking through the Delta landing page. If you’re a Delta loyalist or someone who flies an airline in the SkyTeam alliance, this can be a neat way to top up your miles bank.
Another advantage of Delta Skymiles is that it never expires. This can be good for someone who doesn’t want to always be checking their miles balance and making sure they don’t expire.
British Airways Avios
Rate: 3 Avios per US$1
Our preferred way of making Airbnb bookings is through the British Airways Airbnb landing page. This is currently the way to earn the most number of miles per dollar spent on Airbnbs.
Do remember that Avios expire after 36 months of inactivity. However, if you have Avios credited through Airbnb bookings, it extends your entire stash of Avios.
According to the terms and conditions, it can take up to 2 months after your stay for the miles to be credited. Therefore, you cannot count on it to extend any miles that are expiring in the near future.
Through our bookings over the year, we’ve gained quite a substantial amount of Avios from this method.
Using Credit Cards
To double dip, you can consider using credit cards with spending bonuses to make the booking.
Our preferred card is the DBS Women’s World Mastercard which gives 4 miles per dollar on online transactions. Recently, Airbnb’s payment processor has switched to Singapore, so using the card during booking and choosing SGD allows us to avoid all the typical foreign transaction fees.
In Conclusion
Using a combination of shopping portals and the right credit cards, we can get approximately 6.1 miles per dollar which is quite substantial. Valuing a mile at a conservative 1.5 cents, that’s about 9% back in your bookings.
For someone who stays in a lot of Airbnb apartments over the years, it can really stack up and make a big difference. We don’t know how long the shopping portal partnerships will continue, but it’s good to make hay while the sun still shines.
