Should you add a different frequent flyer number to your Avios flights?

There was an interesting post on US site The Points Guy last weekend about whether – when flying on a reward ticket – you should put in the frequent flyer number of a different airline.

The rationale for this is that airline industry IT is often not the best.  Whilst it is very rare to be awarded back miles for a reward flight on the airline you used to book your ticket, they will occasionally credit to other airlines.  This is especially likely to happen if your travel is disrupted and your ticket is reissued.

Would I recommend this?

To be honest, if you have British Airways status, I would NOT recommend it.  You should keep your BA number in the booking.  This will ensure that you get priority treatment if your travel is disrupted and passengers need to be rebooked.

(If you had swapped your BA Gold number for an American Airlines ‘no status’ number, BA would put you at the back of the queue for rebooking.)

Of course, if you are redeeming Avios, have NO BA status but DO have status with another oneworld airline, then it makes sense to put that number in the booking for the same reason.

Does this strategy ever work?

Yes, it does.  There was a time now gone, and I can’t remember the exact details, when some BA redemptions would credit to American Airlines (or was it the other way round?).

In the good old days of BMI, you could also credit Star Alliance reward flights to Diamond Club, although I never did.  They would not post automatically, but if you sent in the boarding pass then they would be credited.

I did once get BMI miles on a Thai Airways business class ticket I won in a competition.  It was booked into a reward ticket class, but there was a problem with the ticket at Heathrow and the ticket agent reissued it.  The reissued version qualified for miles and was solely responsible for my wife and I retaining BMI Silver status that year!

All in all, though, I wouldn’t see this as a serious opportunity to earn yourself additional miles.

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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.