If, like me, you have a million different loyalty cards for your favourite airlines, but rarely remember to use them when booking a flight – it is time to dig them out from the back of your purse and check just how many points / avios / air miles you have available, as they could be worth more than you think.

Upgrading your flight to the next category is always costly (in terms of air miles), and unless you have around 25,000 British Airways Avios (two round-trips from London to Cape Town), there is little chance that you will be able to upgrade your ticket, but there are other ways in which you can spend your airline currency…

You can book hotels, rent a car, and book a reward flight using your air miles, and if you do not have enough Avios for the entire trip, you can ‘top it up’ with cash, or ‘pool’ your air miles together with those of a family member and pay it off without spending a penny!

A great idea for those who travel frequently, but with different airlines, this system allows you to use up your air miles before they expire, and enjoy some of the ‘perks’ generally reserved for business or first class passengers.

Having redeemed my pending Avios against an overnight stay in a 4* Hotel (completely free of charge), I now realise that air miles are not just about ‘upgrades’, and if you travel long-haul even once per year, they are most definitely worth collecting.