Maximise your Avios, air miles and hotel points

A new ‘buy Avios’ promotion launches today

Links on Head for Points may pay us an affiliate commission. A list of partners is here.

British Airways Executive Club is launching a new ‘buy Avios’ promotion today.  It will also apply if you gift Avios to someone else.

BA has lifted the annual purchase limit to 200,000 Avios as part of this offer.  Here are the bonus tiers:

  • Buy or gift 1,000 to 15,000 Avios and receive 20% bonus Avios
  • Buy or gift 20,000 to 35,000 Avios and receive 30% bonus Avios
  • Buy or gift 40,000 to 90,000 Avios and receive 35% bonus Avios
  • Buy or gift 100,000 to 200,000 Avios and receive 45% bonus Avios

AerClub members in Ireland will have a similar deal.  The offer runs until 6th August.

At the top end, you are paying a whopping £3,215 for 290,000 Avios.  That is 1.11p per point.  This is not necessarily a great idea as the best value is generally obtained by buying a small number of Avios to top off your account. 

If you saw me on BBC1’s Rip Off Britain recently (you can watch the segment here, it is only 3 minutes long) you will know that one of the members of the public I tried to help had bought 100,000 Avios for £1600 without fully understand the restrictions behind them.

I am not a buyer at 1.1p.  However, as my core article on ‘What is an Avios worth?’ shows, it is easy to get a lot more than 1.1p when redeeming.  My valuation is low because I do a lot of Gold Priority Rewards (using double Avios to force open a seat) and don’t always have a BA Amex 2-4-1 voucher to use.  If you are strategic you should do better than me.

The BA ‘buy Avios’ page is here.  If the offer doesn’t show, check back later in the day.

However ….

Before you buy, you should know that Groupon has launched another cheap Avios promotion in Spain, with Iberia Plus.  Click here for details.

Here are the prices:

  • 4,000 Iberia Plus Avios for €54 (1.2p)
  • 8,000 Iberia Plus Avios for €99 (1.1p)
  • 15,000 Iberia Plus Avios for €189 (1.1p)
  • 20,000 Iberia Plus Avios for €249 (1.1p)
  • 35,000 Iberia Plus Avios for €439 (1.1p)

You might find this a cheaper option for smaller quantities.

These Spanish Groupon offers – unlike the recent Irish offer – can get messy.  All of the information is in Spanish (Chrome can translate) and if you have problems you are dealing with the Iberia and Spanish Groupon contact centres.

You can buy a LOT of points though.  The limit is 5 coupons per Iberia account for the 4,000, 20,000 and 35,000 Avios packages and 10 per account for the 8,000 and 15,000 Avios packages.  These Avios can be transferred across to British Airways via ‘Combine My Avios’ without any problems.  Buyer beware though.

The Groupon Spain page you need is here.

HFP-Barclaycard-Avios-Card

How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (May 2023)

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:

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 30th May, the sign-up bonus on the Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard is doubled to a crazy 50,000 Avios! Apply here.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 30th May, the sign-up bonus on the free Barclaycard Avios Mastercard is doubled to 10,000 Avios. Apply here.

Barclaycard Avios Plus card

Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard

CRAZY 50,000 Avios for signing up (to 30th May) and an upgrade voucher at £10,000 Read our full review

Barclaycard Avios card

Barclaycard Avios Mastercard

10,000 Avios for signing up (only to 30th May) 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

25,000 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 £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.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 13th June, the sign-up bonus on The Platinum Card is doubled to 60,000 Membership Rewards points – and you get £200 to spend at Amex Travel too! Apply here.

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

60,000 points AND a £200 Amex Travel voucher until 13th June! 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 10,500 Avios.

Capital On Tap Business Rewards Visa

Get a 10,000 points bonus plus an extra 500 points for our readers 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 bonus and a £200 Amex Travel credit every year 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.

Category

British Airways and Avios, Iberia and Iberia Plus

Comments (148)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • TripRep says:
    23 Jul23 July 11:23

    Hoping TRH takes his comments on this gem…
    https://loyaltylobby.com/2018/07/23/to-fly-to-serve-british-airways-cabin-crew-manager-has-been-suspended-for-working-as-male-prostitute-during-layovers/

  • grammer says:
    23 Jul23 July 12:20

    O/T
    Hi Rob,
    Have you had any confirmation from Amex re a devaluation of MR points transfer to Marriott (via SPG?) starting in August?
    https://www.turningleftforless.com/book-hotel-stays-discount-marriott-spg-merger/

    If so anyone planning on a Marriott redemption would do well to transfer points from Amex asap…

    Cheers,

    • Nick M says:
      23 Jul23 July 12:58

      Is this just for the Australian Amex?

    • Rob says:
      23 Jul23 July 13:23

      I am not expecting a devaluation – the SPG Amex will remain better than MR so no need to take MR worse.

    • Peter K says:
      23 Jul23 July 13:46

      Quoted from the article:
      “These are just some of the hotels on offer. American Express Membership Reward Points transfer rates to Marriott Points will be devalued after 26th July, from 1:1.5 points, to 1:2/3 points.”
      That basically takes them to the level we already get in the UK…i.e. 2 MR points go to 3 Marriott points.

      • Rob says:
        23 Jul23 July 14:04

        You need to understand, though, that there are many other Marriott card products in the US and that Marriott has a dominant relationship with Visa. Amex, despite weasle words to the contrary, is being squeezed out in the UK in a way that is unlikely to happen here. The SPG Amex card in the US is also being devalued whilst in the UK it is not.

        • Graham Walsh says:
          23 Jul23 July 21:50

          Just a thought, should I clear out my SPG account of points before they head over to Marriott as I want to them for BA/Avios?

      • Genghis says:
        23 Jul23 July 14:05

        Though 1:2/3 is 2:4/3 ≠ 2:1?

  • Gill says:
    23 Jul23 July 12:36

    OT

    I’ve got a week in Seoul and a week in HK in October and will have a Marriot 1-5 TP. I can attach the voucher to Courtyard Namdaemun but interested to know if it’s currently possible to switch a voucher to another hotel once it’s been applied? Courtyard HK would be cat 5 post Aug and wondering if there is a (hopeful) chance it would be bookable with a pre Aug TP.

    Final question – How long after statement does it normally take for SPG Amex points to transfer across?

    Thanks

  • Elijah says:
    23 Jul23 July 12:42

    Hi there

    I can’t seem to be able to book a flight using Avios for family member. Already added as travel companion. No drop down menu appears. Help! Thanks

    • Peter K says:
      23 Jul23 July 12:51

      Can you not go into their BAEC account and book it from there?

      • Elijah says:
        23 Jul23 July 13:01

        I’m the only member and this is what It says.

        Due to restriction on ba.com, you must be a passenger to make this booking with Avios.
        To make this booking for someone else, please contact your local Executive Club service center.

        ????

  • Lady London says:
    23 Jul23 July 12:44

    OT can anyone provide link to request seats using rj or finnair? finnair is not allowing on ib booking. Can;t find the right page on rj. Can this only be done 24hrs before the flight? I’d like to do it much earlier… Travelling Y not sure if this makes a difference.

  • Genghis says:
    23 Jul23 July 13:05

    Add to “My Family and Friends”

  • Mark says:
    23 Jul23 July 13:21

    OT – Help please
    Re: Amex Plat insurance when travel company does not accept Amex.
    Amex help folks tell me travel protection insurance must be paid for on Amex Platinum card.
    OK, BUT: Amex T&C’s definitions state: “Purchased” means items paid for or pre-booked using your Card **or items paid for where Your selected provider would not accept your Card**
    It seems clear, but Amex help guys can’t / won’t confirm this point.
    Does anyone have personal experience of this?

  • Steve says:
    23 Jul23 July 13:53

    4th (or possibly 5th?) Avios bonus points offer from BA this calendar year, which coupled with the recent Iberia & Groupon Avios offers has made collecting/buying Avios ‘easier’ than usual.

    Does this mean a points devaluation is definitively on the cards…? I have read infrequent comments from posters’ and Rob to this end but unsure whether this is based on any info’ from BA, or just a gut-feel?

    Apologies the ask is a tad open-ended but sitting on a slew of points that I was hoping to use for specific flights next year but am now thinking it would be better and more economical to use them sooner rather than later….

    • Alex W says:
      23 Jul23 July 18:13

      Rob has already predicted that a devaluation looks likely. When that will happen, I’m sure is a closely guarded secret. Whether we will get any advanced notice – who knows. Some airlines give no notice of devaluations at all.

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

New to Head for Points?

Welcome!  We’re the UK’s most-read source of business travel, Avios, frequent flyer and hotel loyalty news. Let us improve how you travel. Got any questions? Ask them in our forums.

Crazy deal: Get a 50,000 Avios bonus with the Barclaycard Avios Plus credit card until 30th May!

Barclays Avios credit card

Bonus doubled to 30,000 Virgin Points on the Reward+ card until 13th June!

VAA

Latest Forum Posts

Get 60,000 points and a £200 Amex Travel voucher until 13th June with American Express Platinum

Amex Gold

Check reward flight availability instantly for free!

See a whole year of reward seat availability on one page at SeatSpy.com

GET £10 CASHBACK WHEN YOU SPEND £150 ON CURRENSEA

Currensea

Booking a luxury hotel?

Our luxury hotel booking service offers you GUARANTEED extra benefits over booking direct. Works with Four Seasons, Mandarin Oriental, The Ritz Carlton, St Regis and more. We've booked £1.7 million of rooms to date. Click for details.

SME? Earn points worth 10,500 Avios with Capital On Tap

Get 20,000 bonus points and your first year free with American Express Gold

Amex Gold

The UK's biggest frequent flyer website uses cookies, which you can block via your browser settings. Continuing implies your consent to this policy. Our privacy policy is here.

Got it!