New promo: earn 1,000 Avios in BA and avios.com for collecting with a new partner

Avios.com and British Airways Executive Club both launched an interesting new promotion yesterday which could get you 1,000 Avios in each scheme.

Full details are here on avios.com.

You will receive 1,000 Avios if, between now and 21st November, you earn Avios from a partner you have not previously earned from since 3rd October 2015.

Each programme has its own exclusions and rules:

avios.com

The obvious rule which might trip you up is ‘Flight partners’.  These are treated as one partner.  If you have credited a BA flight to avios.com in the last year, crediting an Iberia flight will NOT trigger the bonus.

Similarly, Avios e-store shopping is treated as one partner, irrespective of which retailer you used.

The following are excluded: “Purchase, Gift or Transfers of Avios; Survey Partners (E-rewards, Reward for Thoughts, Survey Sampling International); Member Get Member (MGM) referrers; Shell Drivers’ Club; Avios awarded for refer a friend”

If you have a Household Account, the account will only earn the bonus once irrespective of the number of account members who use a new partner.

So, how can you trigger the avios.com bonus?

The easiest options are either a Tesco Clubcard transfer or a TopCashback transfer.  The latter is what I will be doing, I think, with the smallest transfer I can manage – which will be the size of the smallest cashback item waiting to be paid.  I am certain I have not transferred to avios.com in the last year.

Crediting a BA flight is fine – unless you have BA status, in which case you will lose your status bonus which will cost you Avios.

Heathrow Rewards points transfers are also an easy option.

British Airways Executive Club

The same restrictions apply as for avios.com.  In particular, earning from flying counts as one partner so using a different airline is not good enough.

The same merchants are excluded.

Hotel partners are NOT grouped together so if you have transferred from one hotel scheme this year you CAN transfer from another and trigger the bonus.  If you are a top tier Starwood Preferred Guest member, the minimum airline transfer is just 1 point.

Personally, I will either do a Tesco Clubcard transfer (I need to check if I have done one in the last year) or move the minimum 1,000 American Express Membership Rewards points across.  That will do the trick.  Heathrow Rewards is another possibility.  Most people will find TopCashback the easiest although I have already done that this year.

Most of us should be able to earn 1,000 Avios in each scheme easily enough, especially as there are 6 weeks to manage it.

Note that the deadline for awarding you your 1,000 bonus Avios is 31st January, so don’t do this if you need the points to post quickly.

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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:

There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:

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.

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.

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.

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.

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.