Maximise your Avios, air miles and hotel points

Apple Pay is now functioning on the Barclaycard Avios credit cards

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As our article on Tuesday explained, an astonishing bonus of 50,000 Avios is currently available if you apply for the Barclaycard Avios Plus credit card. You can apply here.

The benefits are very impressive. The Barclaycard Avios Mastercards are, easily, the most rewarding non-Amex travel credit cards on the market. They are arguably the most valuable Visa or Mastercard credit cards in the UK of any sort.

Apple Pay Barclaycard Avios

There were, however, delays in setting up the cards to work with Apple Pay. This was especially frustrating because the pre-printed brochure that arrived with the cards said that it was functioning.

The good news is that Apple Pay functionality is now here. It has actually been in beta for the last few weeks, but Barclaycard is now happy to publicly announce it. Above is a screenshot to prove it.

If you had been putting off getting one of the cards due to the lack of Apple Pay support, you can now jump in.

The 50,000 Avios sign-up bonus on Avios Plus runs to 18th July. You can also pick up a 10,000 Avios bonus on the free Avios Mastercard – but as long as you can spend £3,000 in three months it makes more sense to get Avios Plus and reconsider later.

To learn more about the cards, read our Barclaycard Avios Mastercard credit card review here and our Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard credit card review here.


How to earn Avios from UK credit cards

How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (October 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

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.

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 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, along with a sign-up bonus worth 10,500 Avios.

Capital on Tap Business Rewards Visa

10,000 points bonus – plus an extra 500 points for our readers 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

Up to 80,000 points when you sign-up and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review

American Express Business Gold

Get up to 40,000 points as a sign-up offer 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 (56)

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

  • Maples says:

    Will this show live transactions on Apple Pay even when Apple Pay wasn’t used, like how it does for Amex?

    I don’t get any notifications for the Barclaycard and it’d be nice to be able to get some notification through Apple Pay. Amex transactions show a history even when I didn’t use Apple Pay, like when I use it online.

  • M says:

    London hotel using IHG free night voucher – IC PL or L’oscar? IC wasn’t available when I booked but availability has now opened up. I’m diamond so should get free breakfast at IC too. Any reports on free brek at IC PL? I’m going for a weekend away with a West end show and a concert at RAH booked. Thanks for advice.

  • Leo says:

    OT: Does anyone know if it’s possible to use Amex Points to book through FHR for someone else to stay – that individual holds a supp card if that makes any difference? TIA

  • lumma says:

    One thing I will never get my head round is the obsession with mobile phone payments. Other than allowing contactless over £100, which is less of a thing now contactless is £100, I really don’t see the point.

    It’s hard to indicate in a restaurant that you’re ready to pay, if your battery dies you miss out on the daily and weekly caps on TFL, it’s a solution to a problem that didn’t exist

    • JK says:

      Because a lot of people (especially younger ones) don’t want to carry a wallet full of cards. Mobile pay is also more secure than card contactless because you need to authenticate every transaction. It is much more convenient. Also if you have an iPhone, express travel on TfL still works even with a flat battery.

    • PeteM says:

      I could say the exact same about the obsession with using physical cards 🙂 I can’t remember the last time I did not pay for something with my phone, certainly in the UK. I rarely carry my wallet around – my pockets are way lighter too!

      • Navara says:

        Must be a very light phone.

      • RussellH says:

        My wallet – with 21 cards in – plus 3 bank notes and some of those funny round things called coins weighs far less than my partner’s pocket Samsung thing.

        I accept that I do not need all the cards at any one time, but I know I would forget them when I actually needed them otherwise.

    • Panda Mick says:

      Things that can (and do) happen with credit cards…..

      Skimming….

      Things that don’t happen with mobile phones

      Skimming….

      • RussellH says:

        Credit cards are much more likely to work after being dropped in a swimming pool.
        Phones do not seem to be as resilient.

        • Brian says:

          Don’t drop your phone in a swimming pool then 🤷🏻‍♂️

        • Chas says:

          The latest phones are water resistant….?! But seriously – I can’t remember the last time that my phone ran out of battery, and it’s so much more secure to use Apple Pay than it is a card.

    • Track says:

      You will be surprised how hard it is for young people to keep track of things.

      Cards gets constantly misplaced.

      The memory buffer is not that trained.

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

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