Maximise your Avios, air miles and hotel points

Get a special British Airways gift if you have flown to the moon

Links on Head for Points may support the site by paying a commission.  See here for all partner links.

British Airways is sending out a special gift to Executive Club members who have ‘flown it to the moon and back’.

Some members who have flown more than 477,710 miles on British Airways over the lifetime of their Executive Club account are being sent this celebration box of cheeses.

British Airways fly me to the moon and back

It is all part of BA’s 100th birthday celebrations.  Just in case you thought that BA was simply doing this as a PR gesture, this has not been publicised at all and I only know about because a reader sent me a copy of the letter he received.

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 (98)

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

  • Gordon says:
    19 Apr19 April 14:09

    According to “My Flight path” page on my Exec Club account I’ve been to the moon 4.1 times and am just short of 1 million miles flown. No gifts for me though! 😪
    Would be interested to know what other criteria they apply.

    • Martin Clark says:
      19 Apr19 April 17:31

      Hmm. I’ve flown 905, 353 miles (3.7 x to the moon) and like you have received nothing. As a Gold member I wonder why I haven’t had the hamper – what more do they want me to do?

      • Mikeact says:
        19 Apr19 April 19:54

        Actual Miles ? Or boosted by promotions or Class flown ? Big difference.

    • Ahe-g says:
      19 Apr19 April 23:00

      Me too. Like you I have flown 1million miles in the past. Typically had 2500 to 3500 tier points per year in last 5 years so clearly this doesn’t combine with the 1 million to qualify me. However, if the cheese matches the quality of the food and wine they have served in the last year, we are not missing much.

  • Matt B says:
    19 Apr19 April 14:16

    OT – not sure if this is common knowledge, but my wife used her Mbna horizon card to withdraw cash in the US yesterday. It happened to be a Bank of America machine and she wasn’t charged a fee, so no ATM or cash advance fees for the transaction. I used it just before her with my santander zero and was charged $3. I assume as Mbna used to be owned by BofA there is a flag which hasn’t been taken away. Somewhat strangely she wasn’t even asked if you wanted to convert upfront which I always get using my card abroad. Going to come in handy in Vegas where fees on the strip are up to $10 per transaction.

    • Kai says:
      19 Apr19 April 14:58

      Nice perk. It’s annoying you always pay a fee withdrawing cash from ATMs in the US.

    • Pangolin says:
      19 Apr19 April 19:00

      I’ve never been charged fees for using my MBNA Horizon card, even at the dreaded Euronet ATMs. The fact that it has 0% FX charge means that it is one of the best cards for travelling.

  • Michael says:
    19 Apr19 April 14:46

    OT: Any idea how to find out how far away i am from my virgin CC 241/premium upgrade voucher?

  • Benylin says:
    19 Apr19 April 15:54

    OT: Looking to go Maldives Mar-2020 via redemption. Cash tickets (because so early I guess) for economy are pricing at £650 ish via Emirates. Any suggestions for alternative/cheaper so that I can do a stopover. I guess could ticket separately as well.

    • Steve says:
      19 Apr19 April 22:25

      Im my experience EK flights to Maldives have always been around the £600 mark for conveniently timed flights. Maybe worth checking Sri Lankan as an alternative?

      You mention redemption and economy in the same breath, those two words dont go together right? what am I missing?

      • Benylin says:
        20 Apr20 April 10:00

        Ah I meant the hotel is via redemption! So flights will be by cash!

  • Mark says:
    19 Apr19 April 23:00

    Probably part of the reason Amex have suddenly cut their bonuses.

  • G W H says:
    20 Apr20 April 18:19

    ‘re BA gifts article. I’ve flown 1764677 miles with BA, and haven’t recieved a gift, presume its because I am retired and only fly rarely with them now

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

New to Head for Points?

Welcome!  We’re the UK’s most-read source of business travel, Avios, frequent flyer and hotel loyalty news. Let us improve how you travel. Got any questions? Ask them in our forums.

Latest Forum Posts

Get 40,000 bonus points (worth 40,000 Avios) and £300 dining credit with The Platinum Card

Check reward flight availability instantly for free!

See a whole year of reward seat availability on one page at SeatSpy.com

Get £10 when you spend £150 on your free Currensea card

Booking a luxury hotel?

Our luxury hotel booking service offers you GUARANTEED extra benefits over booking direct. Works with Four Seasons, Mandarin Oriental, The Ritz Carlton, St Regis and more. We've booked £1.7 million of rooms to date. Click for details.

SME? SPECIAL OFFER TO 12TH MAY EARN POINTS WORTH 30,000 AVIOS WITH CAPITAL ON TAP

Get 20,000 bonus points, four airport lounge passes and your first year free with American Express Gold

The UK's biggest frequent flyer website uses cookies, which you can block via your browser settings. Continuing implies your consent to this policy. Our privacy policy is here.

Got it!