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How to earn Avios points on foreign currency transfers with Midpoint

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This articles shows how you can earn Avios points when you make foreign currency transfers with Midpoint.

It has been 18 months since we last mentioned Midpoint on HfP and, as feedback about their rates is generally positive, I thought it was time we took another look at what they offer.

EDIT 2022:  This article is now out of date.  Midpoint ceased to be an Avios partner at the end of 2021.

What is Midpoint?

Midpoint is a UK-based platform for making international payments. It is FCA regulated.

The company can transfer funds to 55 countries in 25 currencies.  It uses segregated trust accounts at major local banks to ensure that funds remain safe.  It claims that typical individual users are expats, international students and those with property abroad.

How to earn Avios with Midpoint

How to earn Avios with Midpoint

The earning rate is 1 Avios per £10, up to an annual maximum of 100,000 Avios.  I believe the cap is removable by negotation based on my past discussions with the CEO.

The service is available to both businesses and individuals.

Avios can be deposited into any Avios programme.

What are Midpoint’s fees?

Midpoint is fully transparent.  You can get a quote on their home page here.  Midpoint uses the interbank FX rate so the fee is the only expense you have – there is no FX spread.

Fees range from 0.3% to 0.5%, minimum £10, based on the amount transferred.

Whilst 1 Avios per £10 transferred may initially seem quite low, it is a decent return on your fee.  You would pay £236 to transfer £50,000 into Euro, for example.  If you value the 5,000 Avios that you would receive at £50, it offsets more than 20% of the fee.

How to earn Avios with Midpoint

How do I register to earn Avios with Midpoint?

You can register as an individual or a business on this page of the Midpoint site.

During the registration process you must upload a proof of identity (i.e. passport) and proof of address.  Accounts will be approved within 15 minutes during office hours.  Some additional documentation is required for business customers.

At the end of the registration process you can add your Avios account number of the programme you would like to receive the Avios into. Make sure that your last name is the same as the one registered with your Avios account in order to receive your points.

You can find out more about the partnership on the British Airways lifestyle and finance partners page here.

The Midpoint website is here if you want to find out more.

How to earn Avios from UK credit cards

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:

Barclaycard Avios Plus 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 card

Barclaycard Avios Mastercard

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

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 £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.

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

40,000 bonus points and a huge range of valuable benefits – for a 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, 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.

Capital on Tap Business Rewards Visa

Huge 30,000 points bonus until 12th May 2024 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 sign-up bonus 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.

Category

British Airways and Avios

Comments (21)

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

  • Boi says:
    9 Mar9 March 04:31

    Are their fees negotiable? I am still looking to exchange £600K if anyone has wonderful ideas on best rates +/- points earning opportunities.
    (the rate is more important as it is a large sum but if I can double dip….)

  • Koala says:
    9 Mar9 March 07:46

    I always compare any quote with TransferWise, now Wise. They are rarely beaten.

    • Michael C says:
      9 Mar9 March 08:01

      Must admit that’s been my experience too.

      • Bobri says:
        9 Mar9 March 08:39

        Always compared them vs Revolution and they were never cheaper (but I had to sign up to Revolution premium as I needed to exchange more than 1,000 per month)

        • The real John says:
          9 Mar9 March 10:16

          Why mask Revolut’s name in a discussion about what Revolut actually wants to be used for?

          I believe there were recent changes to fees making Revolut no longer worthwhile. Furthermore, the risk of getting large (or small) amounts stuck with them for months is not worth it even if they decided to offer rates under spot.

          • Bobri says:
            9 Mar9 March 12:04

            Autocorrect

          • ADS says:
            10 Mar10 March 00:52

            Yes, in August 2020 Revolut reduced the fee free fx limit from 5,000 gbp down to 1,000 gbp

            As well as the risk of Revolut deciding to freeze your account, there’s also the risk that their app will stop working on your phone (as it did on mine recently). And Revolut have no phone support or website that you can use move your funds.

    • jil says:
      9 Mar9 March 08:42

      before revolut put more restriction, I often found revolut showing the same rate as wise but without fee (I mainly use CHF EUR).

    • dragonfly says:
      9 Mar9 March 11:35

      👍 +1 for Wise. I have done 2 transfers (£ to US$) this month and funds received in US$ account the next day. Even if the fees (+ fee for using credit card) their all-in rates still came out better than OFX and XE.

  • Steve says:
    9 Mar9 March 07:54

    Transferwise – very good rates. Done dozens of transactions. 100% reliable

  • memesweeper says:
    9 Mar9 March 08:21

    Just put EUR 50,000 into the Amex FX International Payments calculator. Was quoted:

    GBP  43,693.30
    of which GBP 496.76 was fees, the rate is 1.1575

    … so double the fees that Midpoint charges, midpoint rate is 1.167, so that’s better too. All-in you’d only need 43000-ish GBP to send 50000 EUR on Midpoint, so a saving of GBP 700 over Amex.

    However Amex generates a *much* higher return in MRs (=Avios)… roughly 40,000 MRs versus 4,000 Avios by my calculation.

    • Chris says:
      9 Mar9 March 10:59

      @ memesweeper: is the MRs correct though as according to the previous HfP article on this Amex service you get 1 MR point per £20, not 1 MR point per £1 transferred….

      @ Rob, i’m sending a decent chunk of GBP to AED and have a call with Midpoint shortly, will tell them you referred me

    • KBuffett says:
      9 Mar9 March 11:35

      I think AmEx have a separate currency desk for contactable my telephone and negotiable rates I believe and they award MR. This may be outdated information.

      • memesweeper says:
        9 Mar9 March 12:46

        I think Amex have two services with similar names and features — the example I gave was from the one I use, which Rob reviewed as ‘Premium Rewards’. Rob has also reviewed ‘FX International’ which is at 1MR per £20. It seems Amex themselves brand them both FX International Payments which is thoroughly confusing!

    • ADS says:
      10 Mar10 March 00:48

      I tried 5,000 euro to GBP

      Transferwise will give me 4,999.59 gbp

      Midpoint will give me 4,975.12 gbp
      and 428 avios

      So Transferwise win by 20.19 gbp (valuing Avios at 1p)

  • Alex J says:
    9 Mar9 March 13:24

    Looks like this is purely designed for larger transfers. I need to shift £130 to NOK every month for the next 13 years to pay off my student loan but the £10 minimum fee makes it a complete non-starter compared to Transferwise. Shame.

  • Chris M says:
    9 Mar9 March 22:55

    Try TorFX they have good rates

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