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LAST CALL: Get a 20%-45% bonus when you buy Avios points

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A quick reminder that that British Airways is currently running a new short-term ‘buy Avios’ promotion which has another 48 hours to run.

You will receive a bonus of up to 45% Avios when you buy or gift points by Sunday 18th August.

This is not as high as the 50% bonuses we have seen from time to time.  The bonus is also staggered, and you need to buy a whopping 100,000 to get the full 45%.

You need to visit ba.com via this page in order to buy.

Avios wing 7

This is how the bonus is staggered:

  • 20% bonus when you buy 1,000 to 15,000 Avios
  • 30% bonus when you buy 20,000 to 35,000 Avios
  • 35% bonus when you buy 40,000 to 90,000 Avios
  • 45% bonus when you buy 100,000 to 200,000 Avios

As you can see, British Airways has increased the number of Avios you can buy under this deal – the cap is now 200,000 points per year.  This means that, with the bonus, you will receive 290,000 Avios for a whopping £3,215.

I am not a buyer at 1.1p, which is what you pay if you buy 100,000+.  However, as my core article on ‘What is an Avios worth?’ shows, it is easy to get a lot more than 1.1p.  My valuation is low because I do a lot of Gold Priority Rewards (using double Avios to force open a seat, mainly due to school holiday restrictions) and don’t always have a BA Amex 2-4-1 voucher to use.  I also tend to use Avios irrespective of the value, because I am sitting on a lot of them.

If you are strategic you should do far better than me.  And, of course, if you are just topping up your account before you make a redemption the exact price you pay doesn’t matter as much.

This HfP article from our ‘Avios Redemption University’ series shows you how to buy Avios points and which route is the best value from all of the options available.

The link to buy is here.

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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 (19)

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

  • Roger says:
    16 Aug16 August 04:52

    Can you buy Avios as legitimate business expense to redeem on flights meant for official business purposes?

    • Chas says:
      16 Aug16 August 06:45

      I can’t see why not if you’re going to legitimately use them to redeem for a business flight and can demonstrate a link between the Avios you bought and a business flight redemption. If you were being prudent you might want to check with your accountant though…

      • Rob says:
        16 Aug16 August 09:48

        I have bought and instantly redeemed hotel points for a work trip and expenses it. Can’t see any problem.

    • Chrisasaurus says:
      16 Aug16 August 07:13

      Keep the ratio 1:1 and maybe but I’d still be squeamish

  • s879 says:
    16 Aug16 August 09:01

    OT: I have to go to Dubai for a weekend in November. Would prefer BA re Avios earning and flight times vs Emirates but due to recent BA strikes and mayhem wondering if I should risk it. Any advice re if the risk is high or not?

    • Rob says:
      16 Aug16 August 09:45

      Should be fine, even if the pilots do strike in September it should be resolved quickly.

    • Andrew says:
      16 Aug16 August 10:01

      Not sure if the arrangement still exists but a compromise might be EK flight on the QF flight code which can be credited to BAEC?

      • AJA says:
        16 Aug16 August 11:38

        +1 That is still possible although I think the fare may be slightly higher with a QF flight number.

  • Chas says:
    16 Aug16 August 10:32

    No detail as to what the “exclusive shareholder rewards” will be though. Have registered my interest though in case it leads to higher limits or similar.

  • Chris says:
    16 Aug16 August 10:49

    OT: App in the air 1% day

    Did anyone get / going to the App in the Air 1% travellers day @ the O2 on the 5th of September? Or have experience of a similar even in the US; trying to decide if its worth a trip down from Nottingham (Its a travel planning app more focussed on flights than say tripit?)

    • Rob says:
      16 Aug16 August 10:58

      We have a media invite – Rhys is probably going. Not exactly a long way for us though.

  • TimTam says:
    16 Aug16 August 10:51

    This comes weeks after they got bunch of funding: “Curve, the London-based “over-the-top banking platform,” has raised $55 million in new funding.” – July 2019

    So is this a Robert Maxwell style scam; or a unprofitable business model trying to stay afloat?

    • Ross Parker says:
      16 Aug16 August 10:54

      I think these days, crowdfunding for equity has become a marketing activity, not a fundraising one.

  • Roger says:
    16 Aug16 August 12:31

    OT just to reconfirm, if I book Avios rewards flight as Avios + £0.50 and if I have to cancel (must it be 24 hours+ before departure), do I get full Avios back and loose only 50p for the booking?

    On another note, BA system seems to be broken and it does not offer Avios + £17.50 (or £35 for RT) on short haul reward flights. Nearest Price is £50 or so even for economy booking for RT.

    • Lady London says:
      16 Aug16 August 15:55

      Let’s hope it’s just ‘broken’ then.

    • TGLoyalty says:
      16 Aug16 August 23:09

      As long as it’s more than 24 hours before departure you’ll get all your Avios back.

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

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