The importance of Tesco to Avios

Avios emailed most members yesterday with details of the current Tesco transfer promotion that I wrote about last week.

To confirm, there is NO transfer bonus this quarter.  Instead, you will receive an entry into a competition to win one of 200 x 9,000 Avios prizes when you convert at least £5 of Clubcard vouchers.

There was one interesting titbit in the email.

Apparently, 2.52 BILLION Avios points were collected via Tesco Clubcard in the last 12 months.

As I wrote here, 97 billion Avios were issued in total in 2013.  This means that Tesco is only responsible for around 2.5% of all Avios points issued.

Of course, a lot of those 97 billion Avios were issued to BA and Iberia flyers who collected them ‘by accident’ and will not redeem them.  Anyone who transfers from Tesco is clearly serious about using their Avios so the 2.5% number probably understates the importance of the relationship.

2.52 BILLION Avios is equivalent to 1 billion Clubcard points or £10 million of Tesco vouchers at face value.  You would assume that Tesco is paying across at least the face value of the vouchers to Avios, because other Clubcard boost deals simply would not work if partners received less.  That said, £10 million is only a drop in the ocean compared to British Airways and Iberia annual passenger revenue of €16 billion in the last financial year.

PS. If you are not a regular Head for Points visitor, why not sign up for our FREE weekly or daily newsletters? They are full of the latest Avios, airline, hotel and credit card points news and will help you travel better. To join our 70,000 free subscribers, click the button below or visit this page of the site to find out more. Thank you.

How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (July 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 Card

30,000 Avios and the famous annual Companion Voucher voucher Read our full review

British Airways American Express Credit Card

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 Credit Card

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

50,000 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 points worth 0.8 Avios per £1 on the FREE standard card and 1 Avios per £1 on the Pro card. Capital on Tap cards also have no FX fees.

Capital on Tap Visa

NO annual fee, NO FX fees and points worth 0.8 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 Card

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.

The American Express Business Platinum Card

50,000 points when you sign-up and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review

The American Express Business Gold Card

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.