Maximise your Avios, air miles and hotel points

Who won 1 million Avios in our Monese competition?

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Back in September we ran a competition in association with online bank Monese to win 1 million Avios.

I apologise for the delay in announcing the winner.  Monese wanted to be the first to announce the names, so we had to wait until they had published their blog post.  The winners – there were six in total, of which Head for Points was allocated a guaranteed slot – are here.

The HfP winner from that list was Daniel G.  He wrote to me two weeks ago to say:

“I entered the Monese Avios Millionaire competition via the HfP code a few months back and was lucky enough to win – The Avios dropped into my BAEC account today!  I’ve been subscribed to the site for a while now and find the info and tips you write about really informative – I enter competitions all the time but I have literally never won anything, till now.”

Well done Daniel, and thank you to everyone who entered.


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.

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.

Comments (114)

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

  • Paul says:

    O/T: I see Sainsbury’s have 25% off Uber gift cards.
    Sold out at my local store.

  • Dave says:

    OT – saw some comments about delayed Amex referral points posting. I just had some points post but the OH got approved/received the card a couple of weeks ago. Previously points have always posted same time as the card has arrived.

  • sohan says:

    OT – I’m trying to book a free Ambassador night at IC Paris Le Grand, but it says “Rooms are not available for Ambassador Complimentary Weekend Night on one or more of the selected dates.”

    When I click on the calendar to show other available dates, nothing is showing up in the next 6 months. Same for the IC Avenue Marceau. It comes up even before I choose a room type.

    I am aware that it doesn’t automatically deduct the free night when you book it online, but if the actual rate isn’t even available does that mean they won’t be able to apply it when I check in/out?

    Anyone with experience of this I would be grateful for your advice…

    • Lyn says:

      Are you signed in and trying to book 2 nights (Fri + Sat or Sat + Sun) using the Ambassador booking page? (The first of the two night would be the paid night and the second would be the free night).

      The Le Grand currently have less than half their rooms available so there is much less availabilty than normal, I’ve just checked a sample weekend in April – the Le Grand is available for Friday 3 for 2 nights for instance, so you could check to see if that is coming up.

      The L

      • Lyn says:

        Sorry, should have explained that the lower availability is due to renovations. We stayed there in October and the renovations are not a problem when you are actually staying. If you do manage to find a room it will be one of the renovated ones, and they have been done well.

  • Harry T says:

    OT: Car hire in Australia
    Trying to book a one way car hire from Sydney to Melbourne so we can explore the East Coast in March 2020. Car hire is pricing up as £250 -£400 for only three days or so. Any tips to lower this? I’ve added Platinum CDP to Hertz etc but it’s still very expensive. Budget competitors also pricey.

    • Harry T says:

      If I try and book Hertz rentals in Australia when logged in, it tells me all the vehicles are sold out. If i log out, multiple vehicles pop up. Hertz is amazing.

      • DaveL says:

        Hi Harry T – had the same issue back in Sept for a three day rental from Sydney airport with one way drop off (city centre.) prices were crazy. I wanted Avis given status. Prices direct were sky high, and even via BA, Autoeurope etc. THEN I managed to find an amazing deal, booking via the Qantas site. It was about half the cost – I was billed £119 ultimately.

        I may have been lucky, but hope that helps.

        • Harry T says:

          @DaveL that’s a brilliant, thanks. I’ll check the Qantas site because my flights are with them and I just joined their FF program.

    • Nick Burch says:

      Try Jucy? They often have more reasonable one-way fees in Aus.

      The other option is to skip the car, and take the train. A Discovery Pass – https://transportnsw.info/tickets-opal/regional-tickets-fares/discovery-pass – will let you take any NSW TrainLink Regional train or coach for a 14 day period. Make your way down stopping off where you want

  • rams1981 says:

    OT Ambassador benefits. Anyone have experience of using in Boston?

    • rams1981 says:

      Should say Intercontinental

      • Genghis says:

        Yep. Upgrade to water view room. V nice hotel. Little by way of other benefits from memory but I was on expenses. Let me know if you go and I’ll recommend some food places.

        • rams1981 says:

          Thanks. Going tonight for work so any tips welcome.

          • Genghis says:

            Lobster / chowder at James Hook & Co and Yankee Lobster. Not fancy but v tasty. Breakfast at Flour bakery not too far from IC

      • Rob says:

        I’ve reviewed it if you search.

        • rams1981 says:

          Yes I saw it Rob, from a few years ago though so not sure if they are as generous now.

    • Anna says:

      If you’ve got lounge access at BOS, the new BA lounge is extremely pleasant; if you’re there at the right time you can watch the sun set over Boston Harbour through the huge windows.

      • Sussex bantam says:

        +1 to this. Lovely new lounge. Hard to remember just how bad the previous one was !

    • Bernard says:

      A really great IHG property. We redeemed points for our stay. Contacted the hotel via email in advance. Got an amazing Harbour view room and negotiated a good rate for daily lounge access. Staff in lounge are really top draw. Great for breakfast and snacks throughout the day

  • Shoestring says:

    couldn’t find anything down in Cornwall—>LHR (admittedly only looked for 10 mins!)

  • henry says:

    OT has anybody seen the HSBC 25% bonus work yet?
    It said it would work on the 1/12/19 on the pdf that was put out a few days ago on this site but it has not come on to my online banking yet.
    Thank you

  • Charlieface says:

    Check your profile settings include or exclude insurance as applicable and what is the preferred car size.
    To get it cheaper try switch the country between UK and AU (make sure to switch after logging in or it will switch you back) also using points is usually good for one ways.

    • Charlieface says:

      That was a reply to Harry T

      • Harry T says:

        Thanks, I read your superb article too. Would you recommend taking off all the insurance and car preferences? I have Amex Plat for insurance.

        I don’t have more than a handful of points. Is there a way to acquire them?

        • Charlieface says:

          It depends how they would price it if you weren’t logged in. For example in the EU insurance is mandatory for residents, I think Oz is the same, therefore it’s cheaper with insurance anyway. Check the logged out prices first, then change your profile to match.

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

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