Should you use your Avios for British Airways ‘Experiences’ rewards?

You may not know this, but British Airways Executive Club has a range of ‘Experiences’ redemptions.  Available in most major cities in the world, you can redeem your Avios points for local attractions or sightseeing tours.

There is a tiny bit of explanation about the programme on the ‘Spending Avios’ page here at ba.com.  Click on ‘Book Experiences’ to be taken to a log-in screen.

BA removed this option from its website during covid, but with travel now re-opening it has made a comeback with a restricted range.  Is it worth it?

Are Avios ‘Experiences’ redemptions a good deal?

Not really, for two reasons.  The curse of Nectar strikes again, as you will see.

As with most third party Avios redemptions, such as hotels or wine, you tend to get around 0.5p to 0.6p per Avios.

Here is an example.

If you want to climb over the roof of the O2 Arena in Greenwich, it will cost you 6,300 Avios.  Alternatively, you can pay £32 in cash.

This works out at 0.51p per Avios.

This is not a great deal.  It is certainly far poorer value than using them for flights – even economy long-haul redemptions should get you over 0.5p of value.

Before 2021, I used to say that if you have more Avios than you can realistically use, or if you earn your Avios from business travel and therefore value them intrinsically at nothing (as you spent nothing to earn them), then it might still be worth a look.

In January 2021, however, Avios launched its partnership with Nectar.

You can now transfer up to 50,000 Avios per month into Nectar.  You will receive 0.8p of Nectar points for every Avios you transfer.  These can be spent at Sainsbury’s, Argos, eBay etc.

When you can get 0.8p per Avios by transferring them to Nectar, there is no value in using them for ‘Experiences’ redemption at 0.5p.

Pay cash for whatever ‘experience’ you are after and use the Avios for Nectar points.  You will be better off.

In this example, the 6,300 Avios required for the £32 O2 climb would get you £50.40 of Nectar points.  You can pay £32 in cash for the O2 climb and will be £18.40 better off than if you’d redeemed directly for it.

The same logic now applies to most other non-flight redemptions bookable via British Airways Executive Club – wine, hotels, car hire, seat selection etc.  You are far better off paying cash and redeeming for Nectar points instead.

You can find out more about Avios ‘Experiences’ redemptions on the British Airways website here.

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How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (March 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 Mastercard

Get 25,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £10,000 Read our full review

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.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 8th April 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Business Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to 120,000 points. You receive 80,000 points when you spend £12,000 within three months and a further 40,000 points if you spend on the card between Month 14 and Month 17. Points convert 1:1 into Avios and many other programmes. Click here to apply.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 8th April 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Business Gold is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 60,000 points. You receive 40,000 points when you spend £6,000 within three months and a further 20,000 points if you spend on the card between Month 14 and Month 17. Points convert 1:1 into Avios and many other programmes. Click here to apply.

American Express Business Platinum

Up to 120,000 points when you sign-up and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review

American Express Business Gold

Up to 60,000 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.