LeShuttle Is Giving Back 25% of Your Avios - But Is It Worth It?

Spending Avios on vouchers is usually a poor deal. But LeShuttle is giving back 25% of the Avios you spend on its vouchers until 5 November - and if a drive to France is already on your list for the next year, that changes the maths enough to be worth a look.

Quick question before we dive in - this one's related to today's main story:

Cast your vote above - the answer is waiting near the bottom... keep scrolling 👇

Redeem Avios for a LeShuttle voucher on avios.com between 5 October and 5 November 2026, and 25% of the Avios you used comes back to the British Airways Club account you redeemed from. LeShuttle's own example: spend 10,000 Avios on a £50 voucher and get 2,500 Avios back.

Vouchers start from 1,000 Avios for £5. There is no limit on how many qualifying redemptions you make during the promotion, and the bonus Avios are credited automatically within 30 days of the promotion closing. You do not need to claim them. The bonus is tied to the redemption itself, not to booking a crossing.

Let's do the maths. At 200 Avios per £1, a LeShuttle voucher normally gets you 0.5p per Avios. Take 25% back and 10,000 Avios really costs you 7,500 for £50 of travel - about 0.67p per Avios.

That is still below the roughly 1p per Avios I use as a benchmark for a good flight redemption (my own working figure, not an official rate). So this is not a reason to cash out Avios you could fly with - but if you were going to pay for the crossing anyway, a quarter off is real money.

This is where people lose Avios, so it is worth two minutes:

If your Avios are split across family members, a BA Household Account lets you pool them into one balance before you redeem.

Check LeShuttle's terms before you book to see whether you earn Avios on the crossing. The offer itself does not cover this.

LeShuttle does not say whether the part of the fare paid by voucher earns Avios, so I would not count on it. And if your Avios are close to sitting idle for too long, any redemption counts as activity - our guide to whether Avios expire explains the rules.

If a LeShuttle crossing is booked or near-certain in the next 12 months, take the 25% back. It turns a weak redemption into a fair one. The fare covers the vehicle and up to nine passengers, so it can suit families travelling together. If the trip is still a maybe, leave your Avios for flights and check what they could get you with our Avios flight cost tool.

The answer is about 35 minutes from Folkestone to Calais. Short enough that a 10,000-Avios voucher can get the whole car to France before your coffee goes cold.

Have you ever spent Avios on something other than flights - LeShuttle, hotels, experiences - and was it worth it? Hit reply and let me know. I read every response!

That's it for today - but one last nudge: if you need more than one voucher to cover your fare, start well before the 5 November deadline.

These are the top credit card welcome bonuses we're tracking. Offers change frequently - see all cards.

1. HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard: 70,000 reward points when you spend £2,000 in your first 90 days (£290/yr)

2. Platinum Card: 50,000 points after spending £6,000 in 3 months (£650/yr)

3. Business Gold Card: 40,000 points after spending £3,000 in 3 months (£175/yr)

Looking to redeem your points? Here's what's available right now (via Award Travel Finder):

Hotels:

Status Matches:

• Flying Blue Status Match - Air France / KLM (SkyTeam)

• Flying Blue (New Markets) - Air France / KLM (SkyTeam)

• Flying Blue UK (BA Status Holders) - Air France / KLM (SkyTeam)

Buy Points & Miles Deals:

Browse every award deal we track at AwardTravelFinder.com →

Award Travel Finder hunts down the best redemptions so you don't have to.

See all deals at AwardTravelFinder.com →