British Airways changes the Household Account rules – you can now redeem for ANYONE
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I wrote a piece earlier in the year about setting up and using Household Accounts at British Airways Executive Club and avios.com.
Household Accounts have obvious benefits, allowing the Avios points from your entire family to be used for a single redemption.
However, a BA household account came with a massive caveat – if you had one, you could never redeem for anyone outside your Household Account.
For many people, this was not a problem. For me, it was a massive deal breaker. I regularly redeem tickets for my parents in law in Germany or other extended family members. Last year I booked a seat at a few hours notice for an Aunt in Canada whose daughter had become seriously ill whilst travelling in Venice. I want that flexibility.
Quietly, British Airways has sneaked out a change in policy.
Go to ba.com, click on Executive Club and then Household Accounts. You will come to this page. Scroll down and you will see a reference to ‘Family & Friends’.
Family & Friends
This is how BA describes it:
Once you have a Household Account, you can create a list of family and friends, so you can spend your Household Avios on more people who are important to you, and who don’t live at the same address as you.
There is then a link which allow you to create a Family & Friends list.
There is a long T&C’s on ba.com, but I have distilled it for you:
You can have five people on your Family & Friends list
A person cannot be removed from your Family & Friends list until they have been on it for six months
Only the head of the Household Account can add or remove people from the Friends & Family list. De facto, it is one Family & Friends list per household account, rather than per person.
You need the full name, date of birth and an email address to add someone to your Family & Friends list
Overall, this is a massive improvement to Household Accounts with British Airways and they deserve credit for implementing it. Household Accounts should now look a lot more attractive for most people than they once did.
Travel Companions list
Alongside this innovation, BA has also brought in an online ‘travel companions’ list.
If you regularly book revenue or award tickets for someone, you can now store their details online. This will make it substantially quicker to make repeated bookings.
Again, this is a simple improvement to ba.com but one which should save some people a lot of time.
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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