Helena’s Points Challenge Part 2: How Many Avios Can I Earn On Safari

Well!

I knew this challenge would be interesting.

What I didn’t expect was quite how many of you would ask for the full breakdown, nor the fact I would surpass my goal of 10,000 Avios by a huge margin!

This has turned out to be such a great example of why we talk about having a clear points strategy. Every single pound was thought about intentionally earning me Avios. Instead of letting thousands of pounds drift past without a second thought, I tired my utmost to strategically spend to enable as big a point haul as possible. Stacking points earning where possible, with a points earning card, and the Avios store where possible.

To be totally honest, the trip itself wouldn't have changed had I not done any of this. The experience will be exactly the same, 10 days away with 3 of my closest girl friends. But the outcome behind the scenes looks very different.

And once you see the total Avios earned from this one trip, you’ll understand exactly why I’m such a firm believer in having a plan, sticking to the plan and making your money work harder for you. Seriously, let the cost do the heavy lifting and get you on your next holiday.

The big ticket items

The safari itself

The centrepiece of this entire challenge was, of course, my week in Botswana with Horizon Horseback Safaris. This was undeniably a significant expense. But instead of simply transferring the money and moving on, I paid using our Barclaycard Avios Plus, earning 1.5 Avios per pound.

That single transaction alone generated 6,443 Avios!

There is something deeply satisfying about knowing that while I’m galloping across open plains, my future self is quietly earning her next trip in the background. This was always going to be a big spend. Turning it into a big earn just feels smart.

The transfer flights

Unfortunately getting to the safari isn't quite as simple as just flying into Johannesburg. Which of course is famously not in Botswana! We have a chartered flight between there and Botswana, which I utilised our Barclaycard Avios Plus to get that 1.5 Avios per £1 spent rate.

That generated 1,200 Avios without any additional effort whatsoever. I have to say I am both exceptionally excited and nervous for these flights. I am not the best with turbulence, nor am I great with tiny planes, however the views will hopefully be outstanding and fingers crossed I can get some beautiful photos and footage to show you.

Return flights to Johannesburg

This is where things get slightly more layered shall we say.

My flight out to Johannesburg with British Airways was an Avios redemption, where I used some of our accumulated Avios alongside a Barclays Cabin Upgrade Voucher to move from economy to premium economy (as voted by you all on Instagram). On top of that, I paid £374.79 in taxes (a little painful, yes) and another £96 for seat selection within premium economy.

The return journey from Johannesburg to London Heathrow, on the other hand, was a straightforward cash fare. Well, almost straightforward. Because this was a one way ticket from Johannesburg the fare was in Rand, which came to £380.79, plus an additional £73.89 so that I could sit with my friends on the way home. For this fare I paid with a card that had no foreign exchange fee, as the 2.99% exchange rate free charge on the Barclaycard would have completely negated the 683 I would have earned.

Naturally, I didn’t earn Avios on the redemption portion of the outbound flight, but I did earn points on the taxes and seat selection, all of which I charged to my Barclaycard. For the return leg, as it was a cash fare, I received the usual amount of Avios and Tier points associated with a cash fare, economy flight on this route.

In total, my flights, outbound redemption and cash return combined, earned me a total of 3,596 Avios, turning what could have been a purely spend-heavy part of the trip into a tidy points win.

Safari Travel Insurance

Good travel insurance is a must regardless of holiday type. Hot take which I may be roasted for but I will die on this hill. If you go on holiday without it you are an idiot, and you have no right to complain that you can't get money back if your trip is impacted by flight delays, accommodation mishaps or anything else. Don't be cheap, just by the travel insurance!

Now, understandably, a horseriding safari isn't usually covered by most travel insurance companies, this is specialist level travel insurance. So we went with Sportscover Direct as they do cover this, and a multitude of other "insane" sports. We opted for the highest level, as quite frankly we are in the middle of nowhere in Botswana and you can never be too careful.

I purchased ours on the Barclaycard for all of us, as group bookings meant a discount on the total cost. Safari-specific travel insurance for four of us came to £946.60, but even that generated 1,420 Avios.

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The kit: Where it got tactical

Now for the bit I know many of you were really curious about. The kit.

This is where the challenge became a bit more fun, because it wasn’t just about putting big expenses on a card, it was about researching the best options available when purchasing a lot of smaller purchases.

The riding hat

Safety first, always. I bought a Charles Owen EQx Kylo in navy with pewter, and somehow managed to find the exact size and wide brim version I wanted when it was sold out almost everywhere. That felt like a small victory in itself.

At £70.95, paid on the Barclaycard, it earned 107 Avios. Not life-changing in isolation. But part of the wider picture.

The boots

Alongside a hat, a good pair of riding boots are a must. I wasn't wanting to spend a fortune, they just needed to do the job. So I purchased a pair for £77.50 from Premier Equine (half price, hello) and have been aggressively breaking them in since they arrived in early January. I've worn them to work, to the shops, around the house (clean, I promise Sam) and of course on my recent horse rides to get me horse riding fit again. Believe me when I say, 5 hours in a saddle with uncomfortable boots would be a nightmare, so these babies needs to be like butter on my feet by March 12th!

These lovely boots earned me 117 Avios, every little helps.

Sports bras: The unsung heroes

If you are going to be in the saddle for up to five hours a day, this is not the place to compromise. So I bought two new ones from Marks and Spencer which earned 343 Avios, thanks to shopping via the Avios Store.

Comfort may not be glamorous content, but it is critical safari infrastructure. And no, you are not getting a photo of these!

DJI Osmo Pocket 3

Ok, so Sam and I have been toying with this fab little camera for a while. But now that there are over 12,000 of you in our wonderful community, and that we want to start filming some more serious content for you all, we bit the bullet and grabbed this amazing camera.

Also, this trip really is a once in a lifetime occasion and I wanted to document it as much as possible for content reasons, but most importantly to celebrate a wonderful trip away with my friends Laura, Emily and Zoe.

Bought on the John Lewis website via the Avios store, and purchased on (you guessed it) the Barclaycard, we earned 1,198 Avios on this little baby!

Yes, she is pricey, but we will be using this camera for a long time to come, and it's a good chunky Avios return for something that will (hopefully) preserve the memories for life.

This is exactly the kind of purchase where points earning softens the blow.

Clothes, breeches & borrowing cleverly

Thankfully I wasn't starting this journey with a fully empty wardrobe contrary to what some people might think.

I’m borrowing three tops from Laura and Emily, thank you girls. As a certified short gal, there was no chance I was squeezing into anyone else’s spares regarding breeches. So these had to be bought. But buying second-hand kept costs down, and this was where Vinted came into it's own. Unfortunately it isn't on the Avios store, which is such a shame but the good old Barclaycard once again came to my rescue and allowed me to earn on card spend where possible. I picked up four tops, three pairs of breeches and one pair of linen trousers for the evenings, on Vinted totalling £150 which earned 225 Avios.

Avios, please add Vinted to your roster of points earning companies! Thank you!

Luggage: The unexpected win

Because of the tiny aircraft restrictions between South Africa and Botswana, I needed a soft-sided holdall in very specific dimensions. I know, you're all shocked that of all people I didn't have the right bags for this trip.

So, off I skipped (online) to Mountain Warehouse who had both a holdall and a back pack with the right dimensions. And the best part, they had a sale on as well as a bonus Avios offer.

The holdall and backpack should have cost £119.98, but I picked them up for £59.98, a £60 saving! The prices shown on the photos were before a discount code was applied on top of the sale price.

On top of that, by shopping strategically I earned 450 Avios (thank you festive bonus) plus 90 Avios from the Barclaycard. In total I earned 540 Avios for purchasing these bags, plus saving myself £60!

The pre-holiday Boots order

No holiday is truly complete without the joys of a Boots order, or in my case three because I kept forgetting things! On my order(s) were all the classics for a first aid kid (always good to be prepared), mosquito bite relief (because itchy bites with nothing to assist is horrid), and everything to keep me clean.

My orders ended up netting me 450 Avios thanks to a gorgeous 6 Avios per £1 spent on the Avios store ... but I forgot to use a points earning card so no extras there.

How Many Avios Can I Earn On Safari

When you add everything together, safari, flights, insurance, kit, luggage, camera, the total Avios earned comes to just 15,639.

My original target was 10,000 and we’ve comfortably beaten that.

And I didn’t manufacture spending to get there. I didn’t buy things I didn’t need. I didn’t stretch beyond the budget. All I did was route the spending correctly, utilise the Avios store and bonuses where possible and also utilise a points earning credit card.

Why this matters

This is the takeaway I really want you to remember: you don’t need to fly every week, be a business traveller, or invent complicated schemes to make points work for you. The real magic happens by not letting any spend go to waste around big life moments, and re-thinking how you spend your money. Whether that is a safari, your wedding, a honeymoon, or any other milestone trip. The experiences you were going to pay for anyway should always earn you points, so finding a way to utilise this spend to earn you points will always win.

The key thing here is having a strategy, and sticking to it. Buy only what you truly need, but stack your points-earning tools wherever you can, whether that’s the Avios Store, a points-earning credit card, or other clever avenues, to turn ordinary spending into progress towards your next goal.

I had to pay for the safari regardless. The insurance was certainly a non-negotiable. The flights had to be booked. And even the kit was all necessary, I didn't buy anything I didn't need. All I did was make the spending work smarter.

And now, while I’m out in Botswana riding across open plains, my Avios balance is quietly building towards the next adventure, whatever that might be. That, to me, is the real win, turning unforgettable experiences into stepping stones for even more to come.

So yes. You can enjoy the safari of your dreams and earn enough points to plan the next one. All it takes is a strategy, some persistence, and a little drop of patience.

And honestly… who doesn’t want a holiday that keeps on giving?

Helena

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