The Economist back-pedals on the 12,000 free Avios promotion

Back in November I wrote about a very generous promotion that The Economist was – and still is – offering in conjunction with Iberia Plus.

You will receive 12,000 Avios for taking out a £155 subscription to the magazine for one year.  Whilst this is not a bad deal on its own, it is an even better deal if you take up The Economist on the clause in their terms and conditions which allows you to cancel at any point for a pro-rata refund.

I first got wind of trouble last Monday when a reader told me that he was having difficulty getting the call centre to cancel his subscription.  Since the terms and conditions of the offer are very clear, I told the reader to keep pushing back as The Economist has NO CHOICE but to refund him.

I added a warning note to my original article at that time.

On Tuesday, another reader told me that he had successfully cancelled via email with no problems.  I thought the first reader had just hit a grumpy agent.

Yesterday, however, this clause started appearing on subscription confirmations:

The website for this offer has now been updated to include this information.

The terms and conditions were changed on January 16th.  If you ordered before that date, you will receive your refund.  If there is any push back from the magazine, push back yourself.  You are due your money.

If you applied on or after January 16th, you are now bound by these rules:

Cancellation

Unless specifically stated in any Subscription offer or promotion when you place your Subscription order, you have the right to cancel your Subscription at any time. Please note that if your Subscription includes a digital element, by placing your order you agree that we may start your Digital Subscription immediately and you acknowledge that you will lose your right to a refund in relation to any issues that have been published before you cancelled.

If you exercise your right to cancel, unless the terms of any Subscription offer or promotion state otherwise, we will reimburse all payments received from you, less a pro-rated amount for each issue delivered (if your Subscription contains a print element) or published (if your Subscription is a Digital Subscription only) before you cancelled.

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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.