Why British Airways On Business points are now worth a lot more

On Business is the British Airways loyalty scheme for small businesses (PartnerPlusBenefit is the Star Alliance equivalent if you are based in the UK and Ireland.)

I wrote two long explanatory articles about British Airways On Business here and here.  In summary, if you own a registered company you can open an On Business account and ‘double dip’ on every flight.  The travellers still receive their Avios points whilst the company receives On Business points.

The best thing about On Business points is that availability is FAR better than you get with Avios points.  It is not as good as it used to be, but for redemptions at peak periods On Business can be a life saver.

The worst thing is that, for short haul redemptions, you had to pay the full taxes and charges.  This was usually around £120 on a return economy flight.  This meant it was crazy to redeem them on short-haul except at very peak times.

As I wrote in January, British Airways has removed fuel surcharges from short haul redemptions.   The reason you usually don’t see it when redeeming Avios points is that the landing and security charges still cost more than the £35 Reward Flight Saver fee in most cases.

For On Business redemptions, however, the removal of the fuel surcharge makes a BIG difference.

A typical Eurotraveller redemption between London and Hamburg (a route I book often) used to cost well over £100 in charges when booked using On Business points.  Today, it costs just £59.  That is still £24 more than you pay when redeeming Avios but availability is better.

Looking at Club Europe, On Business costs £72 versus £50 for a Reward Flight Saver.  The gap is down to a manageable £22.

If you had been sitting on your On Business points because you didn’t have enough for a long-haul redemption and because you were put off by the short-haul surcharges, take another look.  The value of On Business points has now jumped up, just as the value of your Avios points is falling.

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How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (September 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.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 26th September 2024, sign up for FREE Barclaycard Avios Mastercard and you will receive a sign-up bonus of 10,000 Avios. This is double the usual bonus! You only need to spend £1,000 within 90 days. Our full review is here. Click here to apply.

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.

There is also a British Airways American Express card for small businesses:

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.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 22nd October 2024, the bonus on American Express Business Platinum is increased to up to 80,000 Membership Rewards points, worth 80,000 Avios. You will receive 8 points per £1 spent for the first three months, on up to £10,000 of spending. Click here to read our full card review. Click here to apply.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 22nd October 2024, the bonus on American Express Business Gold is increased to up to 40,000 Membership Rewards points, worth 40,000 Avios. You will receive 4 points per £1 spent for the first three months, on up to £10,000 of spending. The card is FREE for your first year. Click here to read our full card review. Click here to apply.

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.