When miles really matter

For all the debates you can have about what miles are worth, you sometimes find yourself grateful that you have them at all.

I was up at 5am yesterday morning entertaining my wide-awake young son whilst the rest of the household slept.  Looking at my overnight emails, I saw one from a cousin in Canada.  Her sister’s daughter (who I was meant to be hosting in London next week, as part of an archetypal young persons tour of Europe) had had an accident in Venice and was now on her own in an Italian hospital.  Her mother obviously wanted to get over there as quickly as possible.

The daughter had no travel insurance, however, since there is a Canada / EU medical treatment deal in place and she had few possessions with her worth stealing.  This meant her mother would not be covered for the extortionate cost of buying a last minute flight ticket from Canada to Italy. 

The cousin who had emailed me thought that I may be able to help, since she knew I had got my own Mum out to Canada earlier this year on a miles ticket, and that I had also booked some internal Air Canada flights on Aeroplan miles by trading some hotel points with a friend.

Within an hour, I was able to book her on the British Airways flight from Calgary yesterday evening, with a connection to Venice today.  I was even able to book her into Club World for the long haul, which will give her the chance to get some much needed rest on the way.  

Yes, there is still a slug of taxes and charges to be paid, but it will cost them a fraction of the money they would otherwise have had to spend.  I will write off the Avios, but I am not exactly short of them and it is hard to think of a better cause.

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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.