Avios closing down its South African programme – what happens to your points?

Avios Group has announced that its South African programme is closing on 31st May 2019.

As with the closure of Avios Travel Rewards Programme in the UK, members are being encouraged to open a British Airways Executive Club account and transfer their balance.  Members will also be able to transfer points to Kulula, the South African low cost carrier, and use them for a discount on a future flight.

This appears to be a messier process than the closure of the UK scheme.  Whilst the UK scheme was almost a straight transfer to BAEC with few partner losses, South African residents are losing virtually all of their collection opportunities.  Partnerships including BP South Africa and the Pick n Pay supermarket chain, as well as the Avios credit card in SA, are being wound down.

It isn’t clear if there will still be any way of collecting Avios via Kulula flights in South Africa after 31st May.

You can find out more details on the Avios South Africa site here.

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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.