Red by Dufry, your favourite airport discount app, recently rebounded in 2024, so I thought I’d just run over the details. Now known as Club Avolta, it’s still your go-to for duty-free discounts, lounge access, and unexpected airport flexes.
Club Avolta covers 5,000+ shops and restaurants in 73 countries, including World Duty-Free and Autogrill (you know, that place you speed-walk into when your gate says “Final Call” and your stomach says “sandwich”).
If you’ve ever wafted through Terminal 5, spritzing testers and pretending your flight delay is actually me-time, you’re already halfway to being a loyal Avolta queen (or king).
In This Post
The Benefits: Why You Should Care
Here’s what you can expect once you join and yes, it’s still free.
| Tier | How to Unlock | Discount | Bonus Bits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Club | Free to join | 5% off | App-only promos |
| Gold | 1–2 year subscription | 10% off | Lounge access, loyalty perks |
| Platinum | 3-year subscription or status match | 10%+ | VIP exclusives, Avios rewards, smug energy |
Discounts apply at Dufry-owned stores across the globe, including up to 10% off retail and 5% off food and drink, depending on your tier. The app gives you digital access, a scannable QR code, and exclusive promos.
Already signed up for Red by Dufry? You don’t have to lift a finger; your account automatically rolls over to Club Avolta. The app may just ask for a cheeky little update.
Extra Perks You’ll Actually Use
- Avios earning: Bag 1 Avios per £1 spent at Heathrow when you link your BA Executive Club account in the app
- Double dip: Earn Heathrow Rewards on top of your Avios, go on, treat yourself
- Redeem Avios: Swap your points for Club Avolta shopping vouchers
- Lounge deals: $28 access to DragonPass lounges or 25% off Plaza Premium
- Global reach: Use your benefits at airports across Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and beyond
- Reserve & Collect: Order online, pick up airside like a professional over-packer
Status Match: Shortcut to Platinum
Now, here’s the fun hack: status match.
Club Avolta will upgrade you to Platinum for a whole year just for having elite status with pretty much any airline or hotel. Think of it as a travel-free pass to look important at the checkout, no matter your boarding group.
All you have to do is:
- Download the Club Avolta app and create your account
- Head to the status match page
- Upload proof of your existing airline or hotel status
- Wait for your digital tiara to arrive (not literally… sadly)
Once you’re Platinum, you’ll unlock that 10% discount, 5% off F&B, plus all the VIP benefits that come with the tier. You can also subscribe directly to fast-track yourself: one or two years gets you Gold, and three years gets you Platinum. But let’s be honest, the status match is the cheeky route we’re all taking.
2 comments
tHANK YOU! i HAVE SEEN THE PROMPT ON the self-checkouts at hudson news in the us airports but never actually looked into it. as someone who travels at least once a week this will be very useful!
funny to see this again… (why won’t this let me use lowercase??)… I joined and also got the comp to platinum. However… very interesting using in the US (mostly hudson news outlets). I have noted most places with self-checkout computers the attendant staff just default pushes the “no” to the prompt as it comes up first before you can scan an item. I ask them why they do that, or how do I scan my club avolta and they just go “uhhhh… what? oh, that, nobody uses that.”
At manned locations, more interesting… this weekend i tried to use it 3 times at 3 different airports. first one was a coffee stand that had a club avolta sign out front and floor stickers. the cashier had heard of it but had no idea what to do initially… but she figured it out after about 2 minutes of pushing buttons. The second was a hudson news in a smaller airport. i held out my barcode/digital card and she said “what is that?” did not know what club avolta was by name… i pointed to the sign on the counter right next to her. she had no idea what to do. she tried to call a supervisor but nobody answered her. she called another store, they didnt know either. And they couldn’t get the supervisor to answer. She called a coworker who was off work who said they knew it was a discount of some kind but no further. i finally said it’s fine, just let me pay… but she was insistent to learn how to do so. with getting no help, she just gave me her airport 10% employee discount and called it a day. third location was a sandwich shop at a large hub airport. three different staff members said they don’t participate. I pointed to the sign out front, the 2-foot diameter sticker on the floor, and the stack of brochures in front of me on the counter. they all shrugged and said “call in and get your points.”