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New: earn Avios when buying Heathrow Express tickets

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Heathrow Express has launched a new partnership with Avios, allowing you to earn Avios when buying Heathrow Express tickets.

There are four earning levels:

  • 100 Avios per adult standard single ticket purchased
  • 200 Avios per adult standard return ticket purchased
  • 200 Avios per adult business first class single ticket purchased
  • 400 Avios per adult business first class return ticket purchased

You cannot earn Avios if you book via the standard Heathrow Express portal (I think).  You need to visit www.heathrowexpress.com/avios.

Avios will be credited to your account within 21 days from the date of travel not the date of booking.

The requirement to use the special links above means that the Avios are not ‘free’, as you cannot, as far as I can see, combine a promotional code with earning Avios. 

This means that you cannot mix and match earning Avios with any of the ‘free first class upgrade’ codes that were emailed recently or any other discount codes which may appear, although I don’t think there are any working ones at present. 


How to earn Avios from UK credit cards

How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (December 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 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 card

Barclaycard Avios Mastercard

Get 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

30,000 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 – 30,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express

Huge 80,000 bonus points and great travel benefits – for a large 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.

Capital on Tap Business Rewards Visa

20,000 points (ONLY TO 9TH DECEMBER) Read our full review

Capital on Tap Pro Visa

30,000 points (TO 9TH DECEMBER) plus good benefits Read our full review

There is also a British Airways American Express card for small businesses:

British Airways American Express Accelerating Business

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

50,000 points when you sign-up 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.

Comments (3)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • Andy says:

    Good spot however one problem, you can not get railcard discount (Gold card, Network, Senior, Family or Young Persons) on the Hex site. I expect many people living in London and the South East and working in London will have Gold cards through thier annual rail season ticket.

    one of the best ways to reach your amex min spend for bonus is buying you annual rail ticket on it and pay your amex bill with an intrest free season ticket loan from your employer.

  • MaltapointsTom says:

    I possibly stand corrected, but I don’t think you also earn Heathrow Reward points when you get the Avios bonus.

    When you book via the standard HEX site, you can log in, which then links your purchase to your HR account and so gives you HR points.

    If you book via the HEX BA/Avios site, you are simply required to enter your BAEC/Avios account number (so they can credit the Avios) – there does not appear to be a log in option (or anywhere to enter your HR number), so I do not see how they could award you HR points on the purchase.

    Of course if you’re not using a discount code (per comments above), the HEX BA/Avios site is the far better option. The HR-Avios exchange rate is 1:1, so for a standard class return you would get 200 Avios rather than, effectively, 34 (i.e. the 34 HR points on the £34 purchase).

    • Dave says:

      Something that might work (not tried it), log into the Heathrow Express site first, then go to the HEX Avios page, as it’s hosted on the same site you should still be logged in and may get the worldpoints.

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

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