Maximise your Avios, air miles and hotel points

A quirk when you earn Avios flying with SriLankan Airlines

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As a member of the oneworld alliance, you can earn Avios and British Airways Executive Club tier points when you fly with SriLankan Airlines.  You can also redeem Avios for their flights.

A reader pointed out a quirk which is worth knowing if you have any SriLankan flights booked.  Iberia Plus is often more generous than British Airways Executive Club for some flights on SriLankan.

This is how it breaks down by sub-booking class:

Economy Class (based on % of miles flown)

N – 25% on BA, 25% on Iberia

O – 25% on BA, 25% on Iberia

Q – 25% on BA, 25% on Iberia

R – 25% on BA, 50% on Iberia

S – 25% on BA, 50% on Iberia

L – 50% on BA, 50% on Iberia

V – 50% on BA, 50% on Iberia

W – 50% on BA, 70% on Iberia

M – 50% on BA, 70% on Iberia

E – 50% on BA, 70% on Iberia

K – 100% on BA, 70% on Iberia

Y – 100% on BA, 80% on Iberia

B – 100% on BA, 80% on Iberia

P – 100% on BA, 80% on Iberia

H – 100% on BA, 80% on Iberia

Business Class

I – 100% on BA, 100% on Iberia

C – 125% on BA, 125% on Iberia

D – 125% on BA, 125% on Iberia

J – 125% on BA, 150% on Iberia

As you can see, some booking classes are the same in both schemes, some are better in Iberia Plus and some are better in BAEC.  If Iberia is better, and you don’t care about losing the British Airways tier points, you should credit your flights to an Iberia Plus account instead of a British Airways one.

You can move the Avios across to British Airways afterwards using ‘Combine My Avios’ so they won’t be orphaned in Iberia Plus.

You can learn more about BA’s earning rates on partner airlines on ba.com here.  The Iberia Plus page showing the earning rates on SriLankan is here.

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, oneworld alliance partners

Comments (63)

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

  • Tom1 says:
    17 Mar17 March 04:27

    Can anyone suggest some Hong Kong skybars please?
    Unfortunately had to cancel Conrad, so looking for something to replace the experience.

    • Tony says:
      17 Mar17 March 04:36

      Ozone on ICC

      • Jake Mc says:
        17 Mar17 March 04:59

        +1 to ozone. Good fun and great views.

      • Stu_N says:
        17 Mar17 March 09:47

        In HK at the moment so will watch this with interest.

        +1 for Ozone, though it’s really hazy at the moment so you may not get full benefit of the views.

        Woolomoloo roof bar at The Hennessy in Wan Chai is great too. A bit too great, actually based on a couple of nights ago. Whoops.

    • FlyingChris says:
      17 Mar17 March 08:34

      Not a Skybar, but the Lobby Bar @ the Intercontinental has stunning views of the harbour with its floor to ceiling windows on the waters edge.

    • TokyoFan says:
      17 Mar17 March 09:38

      Pullman Park Lane has great views from it’s rooftop bar

    • Andrew Morgan says:
      17 Mar17 March 09:56

      It’s not as high up (or open air) but I found the bar at the Peninsula much nicer than Ozone, and the view was still fantastic.

    • tom1 says:
      17 Mar17 March 10:28

      Thanks all, Bali this week (Hyatt Regency at 5k per night) and HKG next week, all on points.
      This is why I read this site!

      • Tony says:
        17 Mar17 March 11:21

        ToTTs at The Excelsior. You’ll catch it just before it closes for good at the end of the month. Apparently they’ve also established a small museum in the hotel. Lots of ‘modern’ Hong Kong history from the last 50 years in there I guess.

      • Polly says:
        17 Mar17 March 12:15

        Hi Tom,
        Must keep that in mind next Bali trip. Amazing value

        • Tom1 says:
          17 Mar17 March 13:10

          Polly -be quick – it goes from 5 to 8k tomorrow!! (18th). Only opened in December after refurbishment – I actually paid 7k to upgrade to club room with club access.

          Interestingly the other Hyatt is being reduced in price from 12k to 8k from tomorrow also.

          Both look like decent value options.

        • Polly says:
          17 Mar17 March 21:07

          To,, we will, but will look at the other one too. Good tips. And yes we always try to upgrade or book club rooms, always good value.

    • Hugh says:
      17 Mar17 March 18:33

      When I was in Hong Kong we worked our way through this list. Eyebar was our favourite.

      http://www.hong-kong-hotels.ws/top10/top10-rooftop-hong-kong.htm

    • Sapiens says:
      17 Mar17 March 23:52

      Wooloomooloo wan chai – more local and more vibey

  • Paul says:
    17 Mar17 March 07:06

    Handy to know about Sri Lanka however you would lose out on the Tier points so need to weigh up Avios difference v loss of tier points. Personally given how difficult are to use in the BA programme ( despite BAs claim) I only focus on three things when choosing a carrier now.
    1. How cheap is the business class fare.
    2. How good is the business class product in the air.
    3. Will it get me toward status.
    More recently I havnt been getting past item two. Status, again especially in the BA programme, has little real value when flying business class. It has some value when flying short haul economy but, even here, I find most European lounges used by BA accept priority pass.
    BA is now rarely the cheapest, even ex EU and doesn’t feature in terms of product.

    • Matt says:
      17 Mar17 March 07:51

      Does direct vs changes not determine your choice too? That would be no. 2 for me tbh or potentially no. 1 depending on route.

      • David says:
        17 Mar17 March 09:22

        With a preference for direct or indirect? If I’m in J on a oneworld carrier (and thus getting TPs), I’ll deliberately choose indirect – gives you the opportunity to see different places too!

    • Mr. AC says:
      17 Mar17 March 07:59

      To each his own. I’ve done 10+ redemptions on BA this year (with varying levels of savings against cash prices), by far more than I’ve ever managed to do on any other program. Both economy and Club World, as well as a smattering of upgrades. I also do value status for redemptions availability and extra Avios, but by far the most valuable is the non-EEA immigration fast track: 2+ hour lines last summer got old really fast. I estimate that I’ve already saved almost a full day of queuing thanks to BA status.

      • Alan says:
        18 Mar18 March 13:49

        I like it for lounge access on economy flights too – esp if flying from T3 where there’s a superb selection!

    • Doug M says:
      17 Mar17 March 09:13

      @Paul. BAEC has real value over other programs when flying business in that it gets you the better seats, and without paying.

  • The Savage Squirrel says:
    17 Mar17 March 07:57

    OT: The Virgin Atlantic Rewards credit cards. Do we know yet whether if you cancel and then reapply later you would receive a 2nd sign up bonus? If so, how long would you need to wait before reapplying?

    • Rob says:
      17 Mar17 March 08:39

      We don’t know. It almost certainly is possible but the gap could be more like 1-2 years.

  • Robert says:
    17 Mar17 March 08:42

    slightly OT but great to see the sale extended as I’m looking for a cheap tier point run for 100pts required. Emphasis on cheap, as I’ve looked at EDI to parma or HEL which have higher points but cost a fortune in CE. Any help would be much appreciated thanks, I can’t seem to get past a regional with a connection at LHR on to a European destination for £450+ which seems steep for sale prices?

    • Lottie says:
      17 Mar17 March 09:14

      I recently had to do the same depends if you looking to stay somewhere for the weekend but the cheapest options I could find were Lgw to edi x 3 with a £20 easy jet back (same day return booked as two singles) or Iberia to canaries for a weekend.

  • Andrew says:
    17 Mar17 March 09:03

    OT – Anyone successfully applied for a Tandem Credit Card?

    I’ve just been declined, “not the right time”, with a claim that they used the data from Experian to come to this conclusion. But, I use Experian’s “ProtectMyID” service and there’s no footprint (or promised instant warning) that anyone has checked my credit file. The only flag that’s showing is a basic AML check on Equifax.

    A former colleague applied for one on the same day, he’s in the same position, decline, check Experian etc – but no footprint. He subsequently put a review on a popular site with a one star score. Oddly, an individual with the same name as the person who signed off the “decline” email immediately put a 5 star score on the same site.

    All seems very strange. Do I trust Experian that they haven’t had an enquiry, or Tandem that they made an enquiry and have a robust credit sanctioning system?

    • Shoestring says:
      17 Mar17 March 09:22

      It can be frustrating to get declined for credit cards – and if you don’t quickly internalise & accept it as ‘one of those things’, it can eat away at you. Some might see it as almost a personal affront, particularly when your credit score is fine and you have no particular problems with other credit card providers.

      You have 2 choices:
      (a) challenge it as illogical & not what you want as a outcome, contact the provider and ask them to reconsider your application, we know from these groundling HfP comments in the past that this can be a successful approach with Virgin and Amex (particularly with the latter if you agree to reduce your credit limit) & get them to reverse their decision;
      (b) shrug, accept it, move on, life’s too short – anybody can be declined for unknown reasons and it’s not exactly one of life’s big tragedies or hurts, plenty more providers out there.

      I’m a (b) by nature but if I really wanted a card (eg Plat) for its advantages unavailable elsewhere, I would probably do something about getting the decision reconsidered. The question (I guess) is whether Tandem offers such a compelling proposition that you want to invest time in getting them to have another look at your application. Maybe somebody has experience of engaging with Tandem in this way?

      • Mr. AC says:
        17 Mar17 March 10:05

        Get a Curve maybe and:
        – Only 1 card to carry
        – Get 0.5% overseas on the MBNA until you exhaust your free 400GBP monthly FX allowance (then switch back to the “free FX” card in the app)

    • S P says:
      17 Mar17 March 09:38

      I have one. No issues with the application. It’s my goto for weekend fx spend now that curve have their out of hours fx surcharge.

  • Charlie says:
    17 Mar17 March 09:22

    OT – Denied for an AMEX Card last week.
    I’ve been an AMEX credit card holder for 15 years and was stunned to be declined for a third card, which has never been an issue before. Have long term cardholders been declined recently also?
    I presently have seven credit cards open (which is a new record for me), and wondering if it might be time to close down some old “reserve” unused ones like Halifax clarity, if people think it might help?

    • Shoestring says:
      17 Mar17 March 09:34

      There were quite a few people here recently getting refused by Amex for a new/ churn card, perhaps an indication that they’re getting a bit tougher in this respect. Doesn’t sound like you have been overdoing the churn, so maybe contact Amex and ask if there’s anything you can do to improve your chances of acceptance? This has definitely worked for people here in the past and often it was reducing the total Amex credit limit that helped.

      I wouldn’t go cancelling all long-standing but little used cards – a card long in existence with all the ticks is a big plus on your credit score. But yes – 7 cards could be slightly overdoing it (for you and your Amex application, I mean). Something to discuss with Amex – obvs don’t speak to a general CS agent but you need to find somebody their end with new application responsibility.

      • Doug M says:
        17 Mar17 March 10:01

        I’ve had odd CC results recently. I applied for the Virgin free card, I have paid already, and was refused, no biggie, I only really wanted the free points. On the paid card have spent in excess of £15K, have the voucher, and always pay full balance by DD.
        With Amex I then applied for the Nectar card and got it, then 4 weeks later the Gold card and got that, which slightly surprised me as I already have the SPG, so that was a 3rd Amex credit card. Within a couple of days of getting the Gold, Amex wrote to say they were upping the credit limit on my SPG unless I contacted them to explicitly refuse the increase. I spent £15K+ on the SPG in the last 6 months, it’s been my goto card.
        My take from this is Amex care more about your relationship directly with them than any outside credit agency checks. Virgin make strange decisions out of sync with traditional banks and card issuers.

      • Polly says:
        17 Mar17 March 12:23

        We have noticed credit limits reducing, then letters offering increases months in..but no refusals so far, thankfully.
        Think people need to pace themselves a bit more, if getting all three cards, PLAT/GOLD, BA AMEX, AND SPG for instance.

        • Russ says:
          17 Mar17 March 18:27

          But some people can hit the sign up bonuses in a weekend, actually I think the given wisdom on HfP is to time your applications to coincide with big spends. This week alone I’ve paid the council tax and made prepaid bookings with Marriott. That’s both the BA prem card and the SPG card bonus requirement fulfilled just there.

        • Polly says:
          17 Mar17 March 21:11

          Russ
          Agree, we have regularly,done so, esp with a QR sale or something. I keep the cards going as much as poss as we still have to wait it out for the next referral. Amex still get most of our annual spend so no problems nor guilt with roatating cards.

    • BJ says:
      17 Mar17 March 11:52

      Suspect you have simply exceeded the amount of credit that amex would be willing to extend to you. Simple solution is close some cards and reduce credit on others, including amex cards.

    • Alan says:
      18 Mar18 March 13:51

      Yep, refused a couple of months ago, a month after closing a BAPP with a £15k limit (have kept Plat open throughout). Have decided to just leave it for a while and try again.

  • Ant says:
    17 Mar17 March 09:56

    OT:IHG accelerate. “Stay at 2 brands & get 11,200 bonus points” – would a reward stay or using IHG certificate count towards this?
    If not any suggestions of a cheap HIX in Essex (Brentwood area)? Thanks

    • Doug M says:
      17 Mar17 March 10:03

      Not sure it’s that close, but the Chingford one on the North Circular is usually at the bottom end of pricing.

    • BJ says:
      17 Mar17 March 11:47

      No, reward stays only count if target refers to reward stays. Hard to justify two mattress runs for 11k, unless you only need one or the target also lets you trigger the bonus.

  • Graham Walsh says:
    17 Mar17 March 10:03

    OT Looking to do a Ex EU (DUB > LHR > US) flgiht and the outbound from LHR > DUB is the same plane coming back. Is 50 minutes enough to turn myself around in Dublin? Will only have hand luggage.

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