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 (January 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.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

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 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.