Latin American airline LATAM available for Avios redemptions from early 2014

The two major Latin American carriers, TAM and LAN, have confirmed they will join the oneword alliance – which includes British Airways – in early 2014.

TAM and LAN merged last year to form LATAM. Whilst LAN has been a long-term member of oneworld, TAM is currently a member of the other main airline grouping, Star Alliance. It will now quit Star in early 2014 and immediately join oneworld.

(AviancaTaca remains a Star Alliance member, so the alliance retains a presence in the region.)

The combined group, which is based in Chile and listed on the stock exchange there, flies to 150 destinations in 22 countries. As well as Chile, there are subsidiaries based in Peru, Brazil, Ecuador, Argentina, Colombia and Paraguay.

Rather like International Airlines Group, which owns British Airways and Iberia, LATAM is actually a holding company. LAN and TAM are continuing to fly under their own brands.

LAN flights are already available for Avios redemptions via ba.com. TAM flights – which mainly operate to and from Brazil – will be added from early 2014.

Given that Qatar Airways and Sri Lankan are also in the queue to join oneworld – as will US Airways when it merges with American Airlines – the number of destinations that can be reached using Avios is set to increase sharply in the next 18 months.

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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.