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30% bonus on buying Avios points extended  – but Groupon Spain is a better deal

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Avios has extended the current 30% bonus when you buy points until 1st October.  However, a new Groupon Spain deal offers better value if you can take the risk that the admin process will run smoothly.

For the 30% bonus, you need to visit ba.com via this page in order to buy.

This is a poor deal, given that we regularly see bonuses of 40% or 50% these days.  The only positive aspect is that there is no minimum purchase.  The bonus kicks in with the smallest 1,000 Avios transaction.

Over at Groupon Spain …..

The Groupon ‘cheap Avios’ promotion in Spain, with Iberia Plus, is also back again.  Click here for details.

The Avios are not a steal at these prices either, but you will in most cases find them cheaper than the offical BA offer.

Here are the prices:

  • 1,000 Iberia Plus Avios for €19 (1.68p)
  • 2,000 Iberia Plus Avios for €29 (1.28p)
  • 4,000 Iberia Plus Avios for €59 (1.30p)
  • 8,000 Iberia Plus Avios for €109 (1.20p)
  • 15,000 Iberia Plus Avios for €199 (1.17p)
  • 20,000 Iberia Plus Avios for €259 (1.15p)
  • 34,000 Iberia Plus Avios for €429 (1.11p)

You will need an Iberia Plus account to redeem your Groupon voucher, and you can then use ‘Combine My Avios’ to move them across to British Airways Executive Club.  Please remember that Iberia Plus accounts must be 90 days old before you can use ‘Combine My Avios’, so don’t open a new one specifically to take advantage of this deal.

Some people have had trouble getting their Avios recently due to IT issues with Groupon and Iberia.  I can only hope that, in the four months since this offer last ran, they have sorted themselves out.

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 (174)

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

  • Mr(s) Entitled says:
    27 Sep27 September 03:20

    Am I missing something with the relevance of the firework tickets to the points game?

    • The Original David says:
      27 Sep27 September 05:19

      Pair it with a Bonvoy redemption at Marriott County Hall?

    • Rob says:
      27 Sep27 September 06:33

      We slot in random stuff that our ‘London professionals’ audience will find useful from time to time …

      • Benilyn says:
        27 Sep27 September 08:40

        For what it’s worth, I like these small things! HFP are a rowdy bunch aren’t they!

        Side note, ideas for hotels to see the fireworks from? Not Shangri-La, too expensive….

      • Amazeballs says:
        27 Sep27 September 15:01

        London Professionals want to pay £10 to stand outside in the street at midnight watching naff fireworks? Really?

    • Brian says:
      27 Sep27 September 09:03

      Fireworks are a metaphor for how sudden devaluations can make your points go up in smoke.

  • Lumma says:
    27 Sep27 September 04:28

    Going to watch the fireworks live has to be one of the worst ways to spend New Year. Stand in the cold for hours to see something that looks worse than it does on TV, then walk for miles trying to find a tube station that is open

    • Cat says:
      27 Sep27 September 06:25

      We have a great view of the London Eye from our flat, so we just enjoy the fireworks on the sofa with a bottle of Champagne!

      • Rhys says:
        27 Sep27 September 06:59

        Thanks for the invite, Cat 😉

      • Jake says:
        27 Sep27 September 09:42

        Some of the best views are to be had in elephant and castle in the new developments around there!

        • Cat says:
          27 Sep27 September 10:53

          Yup, I’m in the Strata building! Carbuncle Cup winner that it is, it still has fabulous views of the London skyline!

          • Jonny says:
            27 Sep27 September 15:04

            did you buy??? If renting, well pricey?

          • Jake says:
            27 Sep27 September 16:20

            Haha. Nice nice. Disagree though….

            The get living buildings building with the flats on the corner above the Sainsbury’s. Get views north and a balcony west 👌👌👌

          • Cat says:
            27 Sep27 September 16:27

            I was a teacher living in Southwark, desperately
            looking to find a way to buy so that I could stop Gumtree flatshare-hopping, when the the affordable housing flats went on the market 9 years ago. I was right near the top of the list (as a key-working Southwark resident) so I nabbed one of the best ones. Its fabulous, the views are amazing and I love it!
            From what I’ve seen, it doeant seem to be too expensive renting here.

          • Cat says:
            27 Sep27 September 16:39

            I’m not sure an old Kent road facing balcony would be the clincher for me when buying a flat (I realise that I’m saying this as a proud Walworth Road resident)! Although, I imagine the people watching would have been superb around the time the Charlie Chaplin emptied out on a Friday night (before it was shut down).

          • Jake says:
            27 Sep27 September 18:35

            The balconies face elephant road over the train tracks. I can probably wave at you Cat as I can see straight into Strata (without being creepy)

            Omg the people watching would have been 👌👌👌

            Haha I’m joking of course. All the properties will have wonderful views and having the opportunity to buy is much better than renting….

          • BJ says:
            27 Sep27 September 19:57

            Thanks, will pass this valuable info on to my aunt and hopefully she’ll move to London! Obviously Jake is saving £150 on his TV license 🙂

          • Cat says:
            27 Sep27 September 20:04

            😂🤣

      • Bazza says:
        27 Sep27 September 21:45

        I live in the elephant but don’t see much unless we go outside in the street. Need to be in the north side for any decent viewing.

    • John says:
      27 Sep27 September 06:31

      I learned this in 2007. Thankfully the local chavs now let off enough fireworks that I don’t need to leave the house

      • Simon says:
        28 Sep28 September 18:11

        Reading this on an hour-delayed train out of WAT — just the tonic I needed! 😁

  • Matt B says:
    27 Sep27 September 04:34

    Google have 21% for their 21st anniversary. Will go nicely on top of the various Amex offers if they bill the card before the offers expire on Monday.

  • BJ says:
    27 Sep27 September 05:35

    O/T: news for Middle East holiday fans:
    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-49848068

    • Shoestring says:
      27 Sep27 September 06:23

      with 195 countries in the world there are 192 better ones to go to for a holiday

    • Spurs Debs says:
      27 Sep27 September 07:21

      That’s fortuitous just yesterday I suggested that Owen smollett Jones went there for a holiday. I think I’ll pass on it being a lowly woman.

      • Steve says:
        27 Sep27 September 07:46

        Who is Owen Smallett Jones?

        • Roberto says:
          27 Sep27 September 08:07

          Owen Jones is left wing Journalist and was
          allegedly assaulted but was claimed he made it up for publicity..

          Jussie Smollett is an american actor who was questioned about “inventing” a race crime..

          As for who owen smallett jones is I cant help but guess its something smart to do with the two people above….

          And as for Saudi Arabia – I wont be going..

          • Rob says:
            27 Sep27 September 08:28

            Eh? People have been arrested for the assault.

          • Spurs Debs says:
            27 Sep27 September 09:05

            @rob people were arrested in the Smollett case as well. Look how well that turned out.

          • Mary Berry says:
            27 Sep27 September 12:54

            Pathetic 🤦‍♂️🚮

          • Cat says:
            27 Sep27 September 16:58

            I find it massively worrying that journalists and politicians regularly receive death threats and are being violently attacked. I also find it alarming when people allege that these attacks are made up, without a shred of evidence, just because they don’t like the politician or journalist in question.
            The police reviewed the CCTV footage and then made arrests. You can probably assume that there was some form of evidence that led to those arrests.

          • Harry T says:
            27 Sep27 September 17:40

            Completely agree, Cat. And our current excuse for a PM is fanning the flames.

          • Cat says:
            27 Sep27 September 18:26

            Indeed Harry T, as is his doppelgänger across the pond.
            Frightening times.

          • J says:
            28 Sep28 September 00:24

            @Spurs Debs: Just to clarify, were you suggesting the holiday because a journalist you don’t like is gay and could therefore be executed? Apologies if I’ve misunderstood this.

  • Dave says:
    27 Sep27 September 05:53

    Not saying it as fact, but I know of at least one person who might have received double a few times from the previous Spanish points deals. YMMV

  • Andrew says:
    27 Sep27 September 06:14

    And Rhys on the BA doc on C5 yesterday!

  • Mark says:
    27 Sep27 September 06:48

    I also have £5 off £20 spend at papa johns showing on my account!

  • BJ says:
    27 Sep27 September 07:15

    O/T Monese: When topping up at paypoint do I hand over the card for them to swipe or do I pop it in the card reader? What are peoples experience of their CS? I’m still awaiting responses to an email sent Sunday and an in-app message sent Tuesday, not very encouraging at all.

    • Steve says:
      27 Sep27 September 07:49

      Hand over the monese, then hand over the cash you want to top up.

      • BJ says:
        27 Sep27 September 07:56

        Thanks to both. Going to try amex at co-OP. I have not received any premium trial yet but hopefully soon.

      • Nick_C says:
        27 Sep27 September 09:22

        Cash? Lol. I think not.

        Same process as paying your Council Tax or Water bill.

        • xcalx says:
          27 Sep27 September 12:51

          Is the coop limit on amex £200 per transaction, That’s what I stick to but someone mentioned £300
          Thanks

          • Shoestring says:
            27 Sep27 September 12:58

            It was possibly my Halifax limit of 10% back @Co-Op on *up to* £300 that determined the £300

            Paypoint + council tax has a £200 limit per barcode scan of your CT bill – but you can just get the Paypoint agent to add on as many barcode scans as you need, then pay in 1 transaction (wouldn’t matter with Amex but with the Halifax deal only 1st transaction counts)

            so I did £200 + £100 = 1 transaction of £300 to get me £30 discount

            If you just want to pay CT on Amex at Paypoint, you can obvs pay exactly what you want, just remember £200 limit per barcode scan

          • Genghis says:
            27 Sep27 September 13:01

            < What Harry says. My last time I had to fight to get them to put multiple scans on the one payment. They did it once manager approved.

          • BJ says:
            27 Sep27 September 13:08

            I think the limits vary by local authority as opposed to being implemented by the co-OP.

          • xcalx says:
            27 Sep27 September 13:09

            CT £203 PM this year so have been doing £200 on card then handing over £3 for the bits.

    • Harry T says:
      27 Sep27 September 07:49

      Tesco paypoint would only top up Monese with cash – I believe they swiped the Monese card. Haven’t tried another one yet, though I should probably try the coop. Post Office has no problems accepting Amex but I don’t want to do too many top ups there – they also just swipe the Monese card. My three free months of Premium expire in late October, so trying to make the most of it before then but not attract unwanted attention.

    • Alan says:
      27 Sep27 September 07:56

      Wait, you weren’t daft enough to mention amex to Monese in your email/chat were you?

      • BJ says:
        27 Sep27 September 08:00

        No, that was about a problem with online payments. I set up a couple but when I press the pay icon on the payment review page nothing happens, the payments don’t complete. Also, I could not withdraw cash from an ATM but that has resolved itself as of yesterday.

        • Nick_C says:
          27 Sep27 September 09:25

          I’ve had problems using a debit card to deposit into NS&I several times recently using Google Chrome. Transaction crashes. Payment is either returned to the Debit Card provider or manually allocated the next working day.

          No problems if I use MS Edge though.

          • Andrew says:
            27 Sep27 September 10:06

            Have a check on the NS&I under “standing order”.

            You can remit money to them by faster payment to their SC & AC number just quoting your holders number in the narrative field. It can be one off as well as regular SO.

            I’ve been doing it this way for years.

          • Harry T says:
            27 Sep27 September 11:15

            What are you buying at NS&I? Bonds? I can understand which debit card you’re probably using.

          • Spaghetti Town says:
            27 Sep27 September 11:29

            @ Harry T – haha.

          • BJ says:
            27 Sep27 September 12:56

            Thanks to Nick and Andrew for those helpful comments. @HarryT – 24h bonds for me … fantastic returns on these investments 😉

          • Harry T says:
            27 Sep27 September 16:39

            @BJ – I catch your drift.
            Anyone know if Curve payments to Vanguard S&S ISA are “successful”?

          • Chabuddy geezy says:
            28 Sep28 September 08:43

            Can you use an “every little helps” debit card for NS&I?

    • Alan says:
      27 Sep27 September 11:57

      Be very careful on this, AMEX know about it and will threaten you with a financial review which you really don’t want

    • Alan G says:
      27 Sep27 September 11:57

      Be very careful on this, AMEX know about it and will threaten you with financial review which you really don’t want

      • BJ says:
        27 Sep27 September 13:01

        Happened to you Alan? Is there anything in the rules that prevent us using amex at paypoint? Never been a problem with CT although the difference is obvious.

        • memesweeper says:
          27 Sep27 September 13:15

          I don’t suppose they can work out exactly what you’re doing with your Amex at the Post Office or Co-op, but enough exactly £ 200 transactions might be a cause for concern. If Amex get any wind you are sending money to yourself by any means, including via a business or partner you have an interest in, you may get a call from a special team, I think they’re called ‘remittences’ or something. You really, really don’t want to hear from them.

          • Shoestring says:
            27 Sep27 September 13:21

            judging from my Halifax a/c they’ll only see:

            RETAILER NAME: CO-OP GROUP 160XYZ
            BUSINESS TYPE: Grocery Stores, Supermarkets

            plus date, amount etc

          • Genghis says:
            27 Sep27 September 13:24

            Indeed. In Amex T&Cs there is a line,
            “You may not use your account for illegal activities or in a manner which disguises the true nature of the transaction, for example, by obtaining cash through a transaction which you know will be treated as a purchase of goods and services”
            Non first line Amex treatment of customers can be very draconian. I’ve been there…

          • xcalx says:
            27 Sep27 September 17:49

            Not sure Amex check multi spend I once put £15000 on nana xcalxs Gold card over 3 days in 5 Morrison stores £1000 a time (3Vs) and not a thing from Amex. Was selling the £1 petrol coupons for £75 a pop.

          • Nick_C says:
            27 Sep27 September 22:40

            Surely paying your Council Tax or Water Bill at a Paypoint isn’t going against Amex T&Cs? Topping up a Monese could be, but Amex don’t have a clue what the paypoint transaction is for.

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