Bits: earn Avios taking taxis in Italy, Nectar / Virgin trains, Avios wine offers extended

News in brief:

Earn Avios taking taxis in Italy

If you are in Rome or Milan in the near future, you can now earn Avios with two local taxi groups.  Pronto Taxi operates in Rome and Auto Radio Taxi operates in Milan.

You earn:

2 Avios per €1 on trips to airports (Fiumicino and Ciampino in Rome, Linate, Malpensa and Bergamo in Milan)

1 Avios per €1 on other trips

It is a slightly odd earning system.  You tell the driver when you get into the taxi that you want to collect Avios points.  He will take down your membership number and, in theory, you receive the points within 48 hours.

The following membership numbers are accepted:

• British Airways Executive Club
• Iberia Plus
• Meridiana (the Italian airline which uses Avios)

It is obviously impossible for the taxi driver to verify the name of the passenger, so this could be a way of crediting some Avios to a family member whose account may be at risk of expiry due to three years of inactivity.

Earn Nectar points with Virgin East Coast via ticket machines

It seems that Virgin East Coast has added the ability to earn Nectar points when you buy tickets directly from their own ticket machines.  This will get you a small extra rebate to make up for the pain of not getting an Advanced Purchase discount …..

Virgin West Coast has had this feature for some time.

Note that, if you book tickets online, you have the option of taking Virgin Flying Club miles instead of Nectar points at the same rate (2 per £1).  The Flying Club miles are worth far more than the Nectar points, although if you are not already a Flying Club collector it makes far more sense to go with Nectar.

Avios wine offers extended

Both of the current Avios and British Airways Executive Club wine offers have been extended to 31st September, with some tweaks to the offering.  As a reminder, there are two distinct offers available:

The deals are slightly different depending on what freebies you want!

The new avios.com deal is here.   You receive:

A 12-bottle wine case, chosen from seven options all priced at £54.99

3 free bottles of Sauvignon Blanc worth £47 (this is a better deal that the previous offering of two free tumblers!)

1,000 Avios points (250 Avios points if you are an existing Laithwaite’s customer)

Free delivery

The unchanged British Airways Executive Club deal is here.  You receive:

A 12-bottle wine case, chosen from seven options priced between £52 and £58

3 free bottles of rioja worth £36

1,000 Avios points (250 Avios points if you are an existing Laithwaite’s customer)

Free delivery

The only major difference is whether you take the free rioja or the free sauvignon blanc.  Remember that you’ll need to give a BAEC number if you take the rioja and an avios.com account number if you take the sauvignon.

Either way, there is one snag you need to deal with.

By ordering, you are signing yourself up to Laithwaite’s Wine Plan.  Every 8-12 weeks they will automatically send you another 12-bottle wine case.  It is very easy to stop this happening – simply amend your account online or give Laithwaite’s a call to cancel your Wine Plan membership, there is no penalty – but you must trust yourself to remember.

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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.