Get 2,000 Avios points when you join Zipcar
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British Airways has a low key partnership with ‘by the hour’ Avis-owned car rental group Zipcar. It is so low key that I didn’t know that the sign-up had been increased from 1,000 to 2,000 Avios at some point in the last few months.
I like Zipcar. We have a membership in London and there are about 15 cars within a 15-minute walk of our house. The nearest, which is available 80% of the time, is about 30 seconds away. £6-£7 per hour for the car, plus £59.50 annual fee, is a lot cheaper and easier than owning a car.
Regular HfP readers will remember that, slightly bizarrely, I was interviewed for Management Today last year about my use of Zipcar, Uber and Gett. Terrible photograph as well.
The process is very simple. You initially unlock the car using a credit card-sized membership card or via your smartphone. The keys are in the glovebox. At the end of the rental, you reverse the process.
If the petrol tank drops below 25% full, there is a fuel card in the car to allow you to fill it up. This is an additional opportunity to earn some free Avios if you visit a Tesco, Esso or Shell garage.
If you join Zipcar via this British Airways / Zipcar sign-up page, you will receive 2,000 bonus Avios points.
Once you are a member, you receive 50 Avios for every trip you book. This is a pretty decent return given that a short one hour rental will cost you as little as £5.95.
If you are already a Zipcar member, you can opt in to the Avios option at no extra cost. Annoyingly, however, it cannot be done until your membership is next up for renewal. You need to email [email protected] and they will switch you over to the BAEC membership plan at that point.

How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (May 2022)
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. You qualify for the bonus on these cards even if you have a British Airways American Express card:

Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard
25,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher for spending £10,000 Read our full review

Barclaycard Avios Mastercard
5,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher for spending £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
25,000 Avios and the UK’s most valuable card perk – the 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 £12,000 Read our full review
You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points.
The Platinum Card has doubled its sign-up bonus to 60,000 Membership Rewards points, which convert to 60,000 Avios, if you apply by 1st June 2022.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold
Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & two airport lounge passes Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express
60,000 points (SPECIAL OFFER) and an unbeatable set of travel benefits – for a 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, along with a sign-up bonus worth 10,000 Avios.

Capital On Tap Business Rewards Visa
10,500 points bonus – the most generous Avios Visa for a limited company Read our full review
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.

British Airways Accelerating Business American Express
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
40,000 points sign-up bonus and a long list of travel benefits 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.
(Want to earn more Avios? Click here to visit our home page for our latest articles on earning and spending your Avios points and click here to see how to earn more Avios this month from offers and promotions.)
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