Avios and Air Malta …. a funny little story
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Most people know that – if you redeem your Avios points via avios.com and not ba.com – you can redeem for flights on Air Malta. Aurigny, the Channel Islands airline, Flybe and Monarch are also available at avios.com.
You can move Avios points from ba.com to avios.com using the ‘Combine My Avios’ function on either website. I wrote about these avios.com redemption in detail in this post from our Avios Redemption University series.
When I first wrote about this it was picked up by the Malta Points blog. After a few months, someone at Air Malta noticed the piece.
Air Malta then got on the phone to Tom who runs Malta Points. Because Air Malta had no idea that Avios was giving away its flights!
This does sound slightly crazy. However, Air Malta is not exactly a big business – it only has 11 aircraft! – so the left hand is definitely aware of what the right hand is doing. Their ‘commercial department’ (probably two people!) was quite clear that they did not have any deal with Avios!
There is nothing wrong with this of course. What I would guess happened was this:
Avios identified Malta as a popular holiday destination for UK residents
British Airways, at that point, did not fly to Malta (it does now having restarted services last year)
Avios decided that the scheme would benefit from offering Malta and linked up their reservation system to pull in Air Malta flights from one of the Global Distribution Systems
If you book an Air Malta flight at avios.com, it seems that Avios is paying the standard cash price across to Air Malta!
This leads to the obvious question of whether Flybe, Aurigny and Monarch have proper agreements with Avios or if Avios is simply buying their seats on the open market as well.
All very odd.
How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (April 2024)
As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Avios points from UK credit cards. Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses!
In February 2022, Barclaycard launched two exciting new Barclaycard Avios Mastercard cards with a bonus of up to 25,000 Avios. You can apply here.
You qualify for the bonus on these cards even if you have a British Airways American Express card:
Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard
Get 25,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £10,000 Read our full review
Barclaycard Avios Mastercard
5,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £20,000 Read our full review
There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:
British Airways American Express Premium Plus
25,000 Avios and the famous annual 2-4-1 voucher Read our full review
British Airways American Express
5,000 Avios for signing up and an Economy 2-4-1 voucher for spending £15,000 Read our full review
You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points. These points convert at 1:1 into Avios.
American Express Preferred Rewards Gold
Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review
The Platinum Card from American Express
40,000 bonus points and a huge range of valuable benefits – for a fee Read our full review
Run your own business?
We recommend Capital on Tap for limited companies. You earn 1 Avios per £1 which is impressive for a Visa card, along with a sign-up bonus worth 10,500 Avios.
SPECIAL OFFER: Until 12th May 2024, the Capital on Tap Business Rewards Visa card is offering a bonus of 30,000 points, convertible into 30,000 Avios. You must have a Limited Company to apply. Click here to learn more and click here to apply.
Capital on Tap Business Rewards Visa
Huge 30,000 points bonus until 12th May 2024 Read our full review
You should also consider the British Airways Accelerating Business credit card. This is open to sole traders as well as limited companies and has a 30,000 Avios sign-up bonus.
British Airways Accelerating Business American Express
30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios Read our full review
There are also generous bonuses on the two American Express Business cards, with the points converting at 1:1 into Avios. These cards are open to sole traders as well as limited companies.
American Express Business Platinum
40,000 points sign-up bonus and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review
American Express Business Gold
20,000 points sign-up bonus and FREE for a year Read our full review
Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.
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