MeliaRewards extends its Avios partnership to British Airways Executive Club
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Spanish hotel group Melia has, not surprisingly, had a long term relationship with Iberia. This allowed you to earn Avios in Iberia Plus from your stays, and to convert existing chunks of MeliaRewards at the rate of 100 points to 30 Avios.
Melia has now extended this to British Airways, Aer Lingus, Vueling and Meridiana. You can credit your stay directly to a British Airways Executive Club account rather than having to move them across from an Iberia Plus account. Full details are here.
To promote this new deal, Melia is offering a very generous launch offer of 9 Avios per €1 you spend.
This is a good deal. A £200 spend, excluding taxes, would earn you over 2,000 Avios for example.
You need to book your stays between 9th March and 9th May for stays by 15th June. Existing bookings do not appear to count and should be rebooked if the rate is flexible and the price has not increased.
About Melia
Melia brands include Gran Melia, Melia, ME, Paradius, INNSIDE, Tryp and Sol. As well as being the biggest hotel group in Spain, the company has a decent presence elsewhere with 350 hotels in 40 countries. In the UK you have:
ME London, the Norman Foster designed hotel on the Strand which has a good reputation. Think of a hotel like The Trafalgar nearby or a more sophisticated W.
Melia White House, a surprisingly pleasant art deco era hotel near Regents Park where we had our 2016 and 2017 HFP Christmas parties
INNSiDE Manchester, the first UK outpost for Melia’s four-star business brand. I reviewed INNSiDE Manchester and was impressed.
We’ve also reviewed the INNSiDE New York NoMad here, the Gran Fenix in Madrid here and the impressive Gran Melia Palacio de los Duques in Madrid here. Reader Nick reviewed the historic Rome property here when he won a Melia-sponsored competition on HfP a couple of years ago. A review of the new INNSIDE in Hamburg is coming soon.
If you have an American Express Platinum charge card, you will receive free Gold status in Melia Rewards.
Melia Rewards Gold offers the following benefits – which, to be honest, are not life-changing except for late check-out:
- 30% bonus points
- free breakfast for a companion (so basically 2-4-1)
- free wi-fi
- 3 x 20% off vouchers for room bookings
- 4pm late check-out at city hotels, 2pm at resorts
Late check-out IS guaranteed as long as the hotel is not 100% full. You will also receive free wi-fi. There is no upgrade benefit.
Full details of the new Melia / British Airways partnership can be found on this page of the Melia website.
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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.
