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Mobile app-only bank Monese launches an exclusive partnership with Avios Group

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The globally-connected banking service Monese has launched an exclusive partnership with Avios.

Back in December we wrote about how Avios Group had joined a £60m funding round for Monese and asked whether this was going to lead to an Avios earning partnership.

This week we got some answers.  Monese and Avios have announced that users can now link their Avios account to their Monese account and see their Avios earning and spending in the app. For now you cannot earn and spend via Monese, but watch this space …..

Earning Avios from Monese

What is Monese?

Monese is a globally connected banking service that was founded in 2013 by Norris Koppel.  It aims to simplify the process of getting a bank account in Europe.  It’s a ‘mobile app only’ bank that gives users a £ and a € account allowing them to bank like a local across the UK and Europe. Accounts can be opened within two minutes with a photo ID and a video selfie.

The company launched its banking product in 2015 and has currently 800,000 users in 30 countries and supports 12 languages.  Customers are currently moving $3 billion through their Monese accounts each year.

How does Monese work?

You can find full details of how Monese works on its website.

In summary, there are three different plans to choose from.

  • Starter – FREE
  • Plus – £4.95 / month
  • Premium – £14.95 / month

What are Monese’s key feature?

Monese accounts are linked to a contactless Mastercard that is accepted in 200 countries and territories. Users can make unlimited transactions with their card, but depending on the plan there might be charges for ATM usage and foreign exchange transactions.

Monese accounts can be operated like a traditional current account with your salary paid in.  If you don’t want to do this, you can also top up your balance from another bank account or with cash using PayPoint or over the counter at a Post Office.

Introducing the new Avios partnership

This week Monese and Avios launched the first stage of their partnership.  Users can now link their Avios account to their Monese account and track their Avios earning in the same app as their banking balance.  This includes Avios earned from flights, via the e-store and any Avios earned from credit cards.

The app currently lists your last five Avios transactions and Monese is working on increasing this.

What does the future hold for Monese and Avios?

In the coming weeks Monese will introduce further benefits for Avios collectors. There will be various earning and spending opportunities including earning Avios for referring friends to Monese and earning Avios by paying for items with your Monese debit card.

Customers will also be able to send Avios to their friends as long as they have a Monese account.

Norris Koppel, CEO and Founder at Monese, says about the Avios partnership:

“We are delighted to be announcing this partnership with Avios, following our successful Series B fundraise. We serve a fast-growing and incredibly international audience who travel the world for study, work, family, or retirement. We’re proud to offer customers a smart, portable and seamless way to manage their lifestyles, as well as their finances. We know that these customers would value an easy and simple way to track and maximise Avios alongside their finances and travel. In the coming months, our Avios offering will become even smarter and stronger and it will help our customers make better decisions, wherever they may be in the world.”

Andrew Crawley, CEO, Avios Group, believes:

“Partnering with Monese is a significant move to making it even more convenient for customers to track their Avios while on the go. As Avios can be collected and spent in over 190 countries, we understand the need to have a banking account that’s as mobile as its customers. We look forward to working with Monese on our exciting plans to make collecting and spending even more rewarding.”

If you are reading this on a mobile device, you can get the Monese app by clicking here.

You can find out more about the company on its website here.

PS. If you are not a regular Head for Points visitor, why not sign up for our FREE weekly or daily newsletters? They are full of the latest Avios, airline, hotel and credit card points news and will help you travel better. To join our 65,000 free subscribers, click the button below or visit this page of the site to find out more. Thank you.

How to earn Avios from UK credit cards

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 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

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.

Category

British Airways and Avios

Comments (202)

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

  • Zane says:
    22 Feb22 February 09:27

    I think this signifies the end of this site as we knew it 😳

    • Frenske says:
      22 Feb22 February 10:36

      The day that we have to pay subscription, because of no ad income, that would be the real end.

    • Russ says:
      22 Feb22 February 11:28

      Said the same thing when Uber was introduced as an alternative to a chauffeur. The whole country’s going to the dogs….

      • Andrew L says:
        22 Feb22 February 15:50

        At least a chauffeur knows how to get to your destination, bloody Uber drivers don’t withoit you giving them turn by turn directions!!

  • luckyjim says:
    22 Feb22 February 10:06

    I don’t understand why people are complaining about this article. It is clearly an advertorial and is flagged as such. It is not the first and won’t be the last.

    I would much rather have this than articles which seem to be offering impartial advice but are peppered with sponsored links.

    • Andy says:
      22 Feb22 February 10:22

      Or those blogs which seem to just write gossip articles about people on planes…and why they love expensive alcohol just because it costs a lot….

    • Graeme says:
      22 Feb22 February 10:30

      Exactly. Some people seem to think they’re owed a service.

      Unless I missed the line that said I HAVE to open one of these accounts?

    • Rob says:
      22 Feb22 February 11:03

      It won’t be … two more next week 🙂

    • Andrew says:
      22 Feb22 February 16:49

      There’s a difference between advertorials which Rob would otherwise back (The Virgin credit cards spring to mind, arguably Curve) and ones which are clearly terrible products not suitable for any of the target audience of this site. This clearly falls into the latter category. More such articles would start to corrode the good reputation HFP has worked hard to create.

  • Dimitri says:
    22 Feb22 February 10:12

    I just had a call with them for a business bank account. Very disappointed with the call as they don’t seem to know their own product.. like their how much the are fees, restrictions etc.

    • Mr Dee says:
      22 Feb22 February 13:38

      there is no excuse not to know your product that your selling unless you are no good at your job

  • S says:
    22 Feb22 February 11:03

    Anyone paying £15/month is either very stupid, or very smart but not up anything good.

  • illuminatus says:
    22 Feb22 February 11:33

    I can’t understand all the negativity towards HFP above. This is clearly marked as an advertorial – how difficult is it to just ignore it if it is of no interest to you? Indeed Monese offering is very lacking, but this is the reason they need to run an advertorial here instead of Rob doing a proper article in the first place!

    Rob, keep up the good work and many thanks for your website, some people seem to feel over-entitled.

    • Stella says:
      22 Feb22 February 11:57

      All a blog site has is its reputation. if you don’t see how promoting an offering that is use your own words ‘very lacking’ and not worthy of a proper article devalues that reputation, then…..

    • Callum says:
      22 Feb22 February 12:36

      Running this implied an endorsement. As I’m sure you are, I’m very financially savvy so know it’s a (currently) poor product. Not everyone is however, so some may be influenced by it – which raises questions about the quality of advice that is offered here (it shouldn’t because it’s almost invariably great otherwise, but it does).

      That being said, it is clearly marked as an advert, doesn’t really matter if people are influenced into signing up (it’s not a good card, but it’s unlikely to be detrimental to anyone) and Rob needs to pay his domestic staff somehow, so I don’t personally have any issues with it.

      • Rob says:
        22 Feb22 February 12:47

        I need £100k per year to pay the (about to be) two full time HFP staff and our office rent, before I pay myself a penny to pay anyone else ….

        • Callum says:
          22 Feb22 February 16:05

          While I’ve always thought your overheads are a bit ridiculous for a three short articles a day blog (though it’s none of my business really), that was my point! You need money to run the site so it makes sense to have these advertorials.

      • Mr Dee says:
        22 Feb22 February 13:40

        It maybe a poor product to you but not necessarily to other people, which is why not every product is suitable for everyone. This product is incomplete until all the features are released though so I won’t pass judgement yet…

        • Callum says:
          22 Feb22 February 16:07

          I would argue that a £1 ATM fee being worse than a £0 ATM fee isn’t subjective and is the same for everyone. What aspects of the account am I missing that are better for some people that doesn’t already exists elsewhere?

        • Mr Dee says:
          22 Feb22 February 20:30

          None

  • Jimbob says:
    22 Feb22 February 11:43

    Any chance for an advertorial for the HSBC premier current account, with a link to a £175 sign up bonus? Seem they only give the sign up bonus to their basic current account

    • Genghis says:
      22 Feb22 February 12:59

      Premier has had the night away offer back for a while now. Came through a week after switch went through. I’ve booked a country night away with afternoon tea, dinner B&B in the summer.

      • Jimbob says:
        22 Feb22 February 13:17

        I’d just prefer the hard cash

      • Boi says:
        22 Feb22 February 17:12

        I already have HSBC advance but want upgrade to primier….what offer can I get? only offer I saw was switching from elsewhere.

        Also, I meet the salary part… what is the smallest investment/savings product to get to meet the second criteria?

        • Qwerty Bertie says:
          22 Feb22 February 17:21

          I took life insurance. Already had two policies with other providers, but wanted a small top up anyway and got something for £12 per month. £200k cover for ten years.

          In theory, you could get something much smaller and cheaper even than mine and qualify, for example: £10k cover for ten years. Probably only be about £1 per month.

    • Waddle says:
      23 Feb23 February 00:39

      Switch to the current account, pocket the £175, then go into the branch and ask to be upgraded to Premier.

  • Russ says:
    22 Feb22 February 11:59

    Talking about points (strenuous OT as no bits) AirEuropa’s offering a 40% lift on purchased miles until 7th March. AirEuropa is part of Skyteam Alliance other partners include:Aeroflot, Aerolíneas Argentinas, Aeromexico, Air Europa, Air France, Alitalia, China Airlines, China Eastern, China Southern, Czech Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Garuda Indonesia, Kenya Airways, KLM, Korean Air, Middle East Airlines, Saudia, TAROM, Vietnam Airlines, and XiamenAir.

    Mentioning it because they fly long haul wide bodied aircraft on short haul flights with a proper dedicated business class seat and cabin between the UK and Canaries/Balearics.

  • Luke says:
    22 Feb22 February 12:09

    How have none of the previous commentors missed the one interesting thing in this article IMO: The ability to send Avios freely to other Monese account holders… Might this create a marketplace for buying and selling Avios?

    • Mark2 says:
      22 Feb22 February 12:13

      Probably because, like me, they do not believe that this will give any useful benefit.

    • Russ says:
      22 Feb22 February 12:22

      I thought the interesting thing is that Rob’s picking up the flack for the article but it was Anika who wrote it.

      • Genghis says:
        22 Feb22 February 13:00

        Rob is the editor (“boss”)

        • Russ says:
          22 Feb22 February 13:39

          Yes I know. I also understand that the buck stops with Rob as Editor. However this is a ‘think piece’, something to make those with an interest in the area think and provides a heads up that a full article will be published, subject to editorial approval, when ready. Anika has done this very well and I’m sorry she hasn’t picked up any credit for her article.

        • luckyjim says:
          22 Feb22 February 13:48

          All Anika’s articles are well written (better than Robs even) but this one was probably written by Monese.

    • Mr Dee says:
      22 Feb22 February 13:41

      I already mentioned in earlier and nowhere it mentions free

    • luckyjim says:
      22 Feb22 February 13:44

      Because is does not say that you will be able to send avios ‘freely’ to other monese users. The word ‘freely’ does not appear.

    • Shoestring says:
      22 Feb22 February 17:35

      @Luke – well actually, I already mentioned it 3 times so you must have missed that.

      You are assuming too much without any evidence. You don’t know if it will be free to transfer Avios to other Monese users; nor if the quantity will be limited.

      I suspect it will cost a fee & be limited in quantity: that’s how BAEC operates already in Avios transfers. If it’s free, it would be for a paltry amount.

      • Andrew L says:
        22 Feb22 February 18:47

        Nothing seems to be free where Monese are concerned. The monthly fee for having their debit card in your wallet will be introduced soon! 😔

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

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