Travel hacking is a really popular trend in the travel world. But you rarely hear of opportunities to join budget airline reward schemes.
As a budget traveller, signing up for credit accounts to earn flight miles isn’t something I feel financially stable enough to do just yet. And I think my bank manager would agree! Which is why I’ve found a range of budget airline reward schemes and membership clubs that you can use, even on the cheapest flights in Europe!
The best thing about these frequent flyer schemes is that the airlines that run them frequently show up as the lowest cost flights when I do a flight search online. And I always check for the cheapest flights on Skyscanner.
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Budget Airline Reward Schemes & Membership Clubs in Europe
EasyJet Plus
When it comes to cost of membership, I believe the EasyJet Plus airline reward scheme offers the best value for money.
An annual membership costs £170 and the long list of benefits are all amenities that you would usually have to pay extra for on each flight.
Membership Benefits
Allocated Seating
You get to choose your seat without the usual added extra cost. Depending on where you prefer to sit on the airplane, booking an allocated seat without EasyJet Plus can cost you anywhere from £1.99 – £19.99 for each flight you take!
Additional Cabin Bag
The current carry-on luggage allowance for EasyJet flights is for a bag with measurements of 56 x 45 x 25cm. With the EasyJet Plus membership you’re entitled to carry on one more small bag (such as a handbag or a laptop bag) which fits under the seat in front of you.
If I had a penny for the number of times I’ve had to hide my small handbag under my coat because it didn’t fit in my carry-on…!
Fast Track Security and Speedy Boarding
My mum loves speedy boarding. And let’s be honest, any hack that gets you through an airport and onto a plane quicker than everyone else is a huge plus!
Fast Track security is available at airports that offer a separate security lane for those with special permission. Which will be you if you have an EasyJet Plus membership. So no more standing in huge lines, panicking about making it to the gate on time.
And once you’re at the gate, you get preferential boarding!
Membership Details
Cost
EasyJet Plus costs £170 annually. You can sign up by clicking here or by clicking the button below.
Wizz Air Discount Club
The Wizz Air Discount Club works in a similar way to EasyJet Plus with two main differences. The first is that it’s cheaper (€29.99 per year) and the second is that the benefits offered aren’t quite as good. However it’s definitely worth looking into if you fly a lot of Wizz Air routes!
Membership Benefits
Companion Discount
This is by far my favourite feature of all these budget airline reward schemes. Any benefits you receive from being a member of the discount club will be extended to one more travel companion booking under the same reference.
This is great if you travel as a couple – as only one of you has to buy membership for the year in order for both of you to receive the discounts!
€10 Minimum Fare Discount
On any flight you buy with a cost of over €19.99, you receive a minimum of €10 discount. Doesn’t sound bad to me!
€5 Discount on Luggage
If you’re checking in luggage, or need to pay for extra-large carry-on luggage, then your Wizz Air Discount Club membership counts towards €5 off of one of those items.
Membership Details
Cost
Membership of the Wizz Air Discount Club costs €29.99 per year per individual, or €59.99 per year for a group membership. You can sign up by clicking here or the button below.
Wizz Air Privilege Pass
If you’re willing to spend a bit more than you would with the Wizz Air Discount Club, then the Wizz Air Privilege Pass offers far more benefits, at a higher cost of course.
The Privilege Pass costs €199, making it the most expensive of these budget airline reward schemes. But if you frequently travel Wizz Air routes then it’s worth the cost.
Membership Benefits
Allocated Seating
This Privilege Pass allows you to choose any seat on the aircraft – free of charge! This includes extra legroom and first row seats, all of which can cost from €1 – €31.00 per flight.
Priority Boarding
Getting a pass to get onboard an aircraft ahead of the rest costs €5 online or €25 if you book it at the airport check-in. But this is included in the Wizz Air Privilege Pass, so you never have to pay again for the rest of the year.
Additional Small Carry-On
Tired of trying to cram everything into one carry-on? The Privilege Pass allows for an extra item to be carried on with you, as long as the dimensions fit 40 x 30 x 18cm.
Large Carry-On
If taking an extra carry-on item isn’t enough, you’re also entitled to fly with a larger cabin bag than those without the Pass. The standard size cabin bag allowed onboard is 42 x 32 x 25cm. But Privilege Pass holders are allowed bags up to 56 x 45 x 25cm.
Membership Details
Cost
The Wizz Air Privilege Pass costs €199 per year. You can sign up by clicking here or the button below.
Vueling Punto
Vueling Airline’s reward scheme, Punto, offers points on all Vueling flights, which you can then use to buy more flights to over 160 destinations!
The best part about this budget airline reward scheme is that it’s completely free.
Reward Scheme Benefits
Earn Points on Each Fare
Much like any other frequent flyer programme, Vueling offers you the chance to receive points when you purchase any of the following:
- 1 point for every £1.71 spent on flight bookings.
- 1 point for every £12.79 spent on car hire.
- 1 point for every £8.53 spent on hotel bookings.
- For a full list of point earnings click here.
Retrieve Points
The points price for outbound flights begins at 500 points, and the points price for return flights begins at 1,000 points. So as soon as you collect 500 points (essentially, as soon as you spend around £855 on Vueling flights) you can begin claiming your points.
Points Scheme Details
Cost
There is absolutely no sign up fee to join the Vueling Punto frequent flyer programme. All you need to do is click here and register.
Norwegian Reward
This budget airline reward scheme is also based on frequent flyer points rather than membership. The difference with Norwegian Reward is that they don’t have the greatest number of routes out there compared to the other budget airlines.
However, of all budget airlines, Norwegian Air is my favourite and I try and fly with them as often as I can when I see a route available on SkyScanner.
Reward Scheme Benefits
Earn Points on Each Fare
Norwegian reward works on the basis of exchanging ‘CashPoints’ for money spent with them.
So every LowFare flight ticket you buy with Norwegian earns you 2% Cashpoints, and every Flex ticket you buy earns you 20%.
What’s more, you can also earn these CashPoints when you book hotels and car hire through Norwegian Air – much like with Vueling Punto.
Increase Benefits
Norwegian Reward shows itself to be a true frequent flyer scheme not only by offering points for money spent, but also for loyalty to the airline. For every sixth flight they offer members exclusive benefits such as:
- a CashPoints boost
- Free seat reservation
- Free fast track
- Free checked baggage
Retrieve Points
Unlike the previous budget airline reward schemes, you don’t have to save up enough CashPoints until you can afford a flight. The points can be used for partial flight payment and also for the following:
- extra baggage
- seat reservation
- cancellation insurance
- booking changes
Point Scheme Details
Cost
Once again, this fantastic points scheme is free of charge to sign up for. All you have to do is click here or click the button below to register.
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