Avios Big Reward – did Head for Points persuade Avios to improve the prize?

Back in May, I wrote this article about ‘The Avios Big Reward’ competition.

I said, frankly, that it stank.

Avios was encouraging people to send in tear-jerking videos, often about how someone they know has coped bravely in the face of terrible adversity.  These videos would be shared by Avios on social media AND on TV – and Avios took the copyright for two years.

And what was the prize?  Two economy tickets to New York.

Of course it stank.  There was even a high chance that the winner would be someone with a disability who would not even be able to fly comfortably in economy.

You didn’t even get your hotel paid for – and New York hotels can be hugely expensive as we all know.  That would be unfortunate for any winner who got the prize because they had thrived despite being hard up.

Google jumps in to help!

You might argue that – since the average article on this site is only read by 3,000 people (assuming only half the email subscribers open each email) – I have no impact in the market.  You could be right, although you would be surprised how many people I talk to in the industry who admit to being amongst those 3,000.

However, Google likes Head for Points.  Many articles I write rank well.

My article criticising ‘The Avios Big Reward’ actually ranked ABOVE the official website for the promotion for a time.  It still comes in at fourth position, directly below the three official Avios pages.  And the headline for that article was ““The Avios Big Reward” is unveiled – and it’s rubbish”.  Everyone who searched for ‘Avios Big Reward’ on Google saw it.

The prize is awarded

Last night I saw the TV commercial where the prize was awarded.

The winner is actually given two Club World tickets to New York, instead of the two economy tickets that were mentioned in all of the promotional material for the competition.

I’m not saying that Head for Points was responsible for Avios seeing the light and improving the prize.  The Google position of my original article and the existence of senior figures at Avios Group on the HfP feeds may have counted for something though.  Some HfP readers also tweeted Avios about it.

Whatever the reason, I’m pleased they did it.

They could still have thrown in a hotel as well ….!

(PS.  It is also worth noting that the TV ad talks of collecting exactly 1 million Avios.  The original prize pot as advertised was 43 pairs of 9,000 Avios tickets, 5 pairs of 15,000 Avios tickets and one pair of World Traveller flights to New York.  That is a total of 1,004,000 Avios.  By giving the winner Club World tickets, the total went up to 1,084,000 Avios.  This implies that the decision to give the winner Club World tickets was taken late in the process.)

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How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (April 2025)

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

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.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on the ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 30,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (30,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to a huge 80,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (80,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

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

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, and the standard card is FREE. Capital on Tap cards also have no FX fees.

Capital on Tap Visa

NO annual fee, NO FX fees and points worth 1 Avios per £1 Read our full review

Capital on Tap Pro Visa

10,500 points (=10,500 Avios) 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.