Get double Avios – or other airline miles – with Preferred Hotels throughout 2015

Preferred Hotels Group is not a hotel chain.  It is, effectively, a marketing consortium made up of a number of independent hotels from around the world.

Whilst it is one of the British Airways Executive Club hotel partners, I have never covered it before.  I thought it was time to correct that.

There are over 650 hotels represented from 85 countries.  The three brands used are ‘Preferred’, ‘Sterling’ and ‘Summit’ although almost all of the hotels trade under their historic names.  The phrase ‘A member of Preferred Hotels / Sterling Hotels / Summit Hotels’ is usually tacked on the end.  Confusingly, some of the hotels are also members of other loyalty schemes!

In London, for example, the group is represented by ME London (also part of Melia Rewards), The Bentley, The Stafford, The Lanesborough (currently closed, was also part of SPG), Lancaster London, The Beaumont, The Mandeville and The Draycott Hotel amongst others.

Preferred Hotels has its own reward scheme called iPrefer.  You can see full details here.  The good news is that you can double-dip by taking both iPrefer points and Avios or other airline miles.

iPrefer is basically a cashback scheme.  For every $1 you spend, exclusive of tax, you earn 1 point.  For every 2,500 points you earn, you receive a $50 gift certificate.

There are two problems here:

You need to spend $2,500 post-tax before you receive anything back

You can only use the vouchers against another stay at a Preferred Hotels Group property.  Hotels may accept the vouchers against meals or spa treatments if you are not a guest but this is purely at their discretion.

Even though the benefits are pretty feeble, you might as well join for two reasons:

All iPrefer members receive free internet just for signing up

You can, as I mentioned above, double-dip with earning miles so you are not sacrificing anything

Earning Avios with Preferred Hotels

You earn Avios points simply by handing over your British Airways Executive Club card at check in.  The standard rate is 500 Avios per stay.

Until 31 March 2016, Preferred is offering double Avios points.  That means 1,000 points per stay.

You need to stay for at least two nights to receive double Avios.  A number of hotels are also not participating.  Further details can be found on the Preferred Hotels site – click on ‘Miles & Points’ and scroll down to ‘Double Miles’.

I am currently updating my master list of all hotel brands which offer Avios points and will publish it soon.

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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.