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British Airways Executive Club has partnered up with Cruise118 to offer 3 Avios for every £1 spent on cruises.

“Planning a Cruise? Boost your Avios balance on all major cruise lines through our Cruise118 Partnership. Collect 3 Avios per £1 spent.

Collect Avios on all major cruise lines when booking with our partner Cruise118. Simply visit the dedicated Cruise118 and Executive Club partnership site to book and you will collect 3 Avios per £1 spent.

Book your next luxury adventure today.“

Sounds pretty good, right?

I had a quick glance through the terms though, and a couple of things raised big warning flags:

“The rates for Cruise bookings via Cruise118 (the BA linked version of the site) may differ from regular bookings with the same conditions on Cruise118 (the standard site)…

The Cruise118 Best Price Guarantee WILL NOT apply to Avios Cruise Bookings.”

Intrigued, I clicked through to both versions of the Cruise118 site in order to compare a few cruise prices and this is what I found:

Normal Cruise118 site

British Airways linked Cruise118 site

Note that the two images above show the exact same cruise, but if you click through from British Airways, you’ll pay £30 per person more.

You would earn 2,367 Avios per person on top, but £30 for 2,367 Avios is not a great deal at all. You’d effectively be paying ~1.267p per Avios, when most people value them at 1p or lower

A similar pattern was observable on all the cruise deals I looked at.

Conclusion

As when booking anything travel-related, always spend at least a few minutes shopping around to make sure you really are getting a good deal.

Cruise fares can vary enormously depending on where and when you book, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen the same company charging different prices for the same cruise at the same time before!

If you want a good cruise deal, ignore the BA-linked version of Cruise118. Take a look at sites like Vacations To Go instead – it’s very old-fashioned looking, but the deals are sometimes superb.

What’s your favourite way to find cruise bargains?

Terms

1. Eligible Participants must book their cruise through Cruise118 and dedicated customer service line and be a member of the British Airways Executive Club in order to receive Avios.
2. The rates for Cruise bookings via Cruise118 may differ from regular bookings with the same conditions on Cruise118.
3. Upon completion of booking, the customer must provide their British Airways Executive Number and corresponding surname.
4. The membership ID of the intended beneficiary of the Avios must belong to the individual making the booking.
5. Any applicable cancellation or booking policy will apply in full to the Avios booking made.
6. Only Avios can be collected, not tier points.
7. The collection rate of Avios for Cruise118 bookings is 3 Avios per £1 spend. The Avios award will be based on GBP value.
8. Avios will be credited to the intended beneficiary account within 6 weeks of departure date.
9. Customers can retrospectively collect Avios after making the booking by contacting [email protected].
10. The Cruise118 Best Price Guarantee WILL NOT apply to Avios Cruise Bookings.
11. If customers have any queries regarding missing Avios, please contact [email protected].
12. All bookings are subject to Cruise118 Terms and Conditions. Cancelled reservations will not be eligible to earn Avios and amended bookings may result in a change in the Avios collected.
13. Avios are issued and redeemed in accordance with the Avios Terms and Conditions. British Airways Executive Club Terms and Conditions.
14. British Airways reserves the right to remove any Avios points and close any account that we believe has dishonestly obtained or redeemed Avios.