An email arrives about Avios ….

If you were wondering how the general public approach their miles and points – and where the programmes are making real money – take a look at this email I received earlier in the week.

Whenever I appear in the media as I did recently over the BA data breach I tend to hear from a few people like this who are outside our usual sphere of readers.

I won’t comment but as a HfP reader you probably know that this situation is wrong on so many levels.  If this person had contacted me before doing the transfer things would have been so much different:

Hello Rob

I’m completely new to the world of points. I have just transferred 421,000 Amex points gathered over 24 years to BA Avios to book a trip to the USA for my wife’s 70th birthday.

I’m travelling on 02.10.18 BAXXX to New York, currently booked in as Economy. There appears to be no availability in premium Economy or Business class which how we’d like to travel.

We are travelling in the US and then returning to have six days in Washington before flying back on BAXXX Business Class to Heathrow.

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How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (April 2024)

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:

There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:

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.

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.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 12th May 2024, the Capital on Tap Business Rewards Visa card is offering a bonus of 30,000 points, convertible into 30,000 Avios. You must have a Limited Company to apply. Click here to learn more and click here to apply.

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.

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.

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.