Travelex replacing Moneycorp at Heathrow – what happens to the BA partnership?

During June, Travelex is taking over the Moneycorp foreign exchange desks at Heathrow.

There seems to be a continual merry-go-round here, because it wasn’t too long ago that Moneycorp replaced American Express Currency Exchange.

What is not clear at the moment is what happens to the British Airways Executive Club partnership with Moneycorp.

The BA partnership has been a bit of a joke ever since American Express Currency Exchange pulled out.  BA had an exclusive deal with Amex for earning Avios on foreign currency.  When Amex lost their desks at Heathrow, they remained as BA’s exclusive partner for pre-ordering currency.

This was a bit tricky, of course, since you couldn’t actually collect it at the airport.  The only way to earn Avios on pre-ordered currency was to use American Express Currency Exchange online and have it delivered to your home or office.

(There is one upside to this.  If you pre-order currency online from Amex via this site – to earn Avios – or this site, which doesn’t earn Avios but has better exchange rates, it is charged as a purchase to your Amex card.  This means that you earn points on the transaction and that it counts as qualifying spend towards any sign-up bonus or BA Amex 2-4-1 voucher.)

BA agreed a deal with Moneycorp to award Avios for ‘walk-up’ transactions at Heathrow.  If you pre-ordered at substantially better rates, you were not meant to earn Avios – although Moneycorp would occasionally award them accidentally.  You need to be a little short in the brain department to buy foreign currency at Heathrow without pre-ordering it, however, given the spread of around 20%. 

There is no sign at the moment of a new Travelex deal being agreed with British Airways.  This may mean, as of the end of June, there is no way of collecting Avios on currency purchases at Heathrow.

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How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (May 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.

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 Credit Card

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 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.