Maximise your Avios, air miles and hotel points

Got or had the new British Airways Prepaid Mastercard? Collect 500 free Avios

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We recently asked readers to join a paid focus group that IAG Loyalty was running for people who hold or have held the British Airways Prepaid Mastercard.

IAG Loyalty has now moved to a second phase of research.

It is looking for current or past users of the British Airways Prepaid Mastercard to share their experience of using the card by completing the survey here.

EDIT: the survey has hit its cap on responses and is now closed – thank you for your help

It should take around 5 minutes to complete and you will be awarded 500 Avios approximately 30 days after completion.

To ensure you get the Avios awarded to you, please make sure your surname matches your British Airways Executive Club account. Only those who have (or have had) the British Airways Prepaid Mastercard and used it will be eligible – this will be checked against your Avios account details.

You can access the survey by clicking here. If you get a message saying that the survey is closed then it has reached the cap on participants. IAG Loyalty thanks you in advance for your help.

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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 (52)

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

  • QFFlyer says:
    18 Nov18 November 04:25

    Survey done, won’t hold me breath for the Avios, but we’ll see

  • Can says:
    18 Nov18 November 06:50

    I don’t have that card yet filled up the survey 🙂

    • Ian says:
      18 Nov18 November 07:20

      So you won’t get the Avios because, as the article says, they’ll check you’ve had and used the carrd!

      • Can says:
        18 Nov18 November 10:30

        that’s a lot of labour to check it manually 🙂
        I wanted to see what BA is up to anyways..

  • Eoc says:
    18 Nov18 November 06:55

    As I filled up the survey I recalled how utterly incompetent the whole customer experience was with that awful product. From getting it to adding cash, payments to log, chasing down bonuses and even cancellation. I was happy to share..

    • Metty says:
      18 Nov18 November 08:27

      Totally agree, it’s a shame mainstream BA aren’t aware how absolutely terrible the Prepaid MC customer service is, it may not be the only reason people switch travel from BA but any product that trails a signup bonus (and the extra HfP bonus) and fails to deliver on the promise is a negative impact on the BA brand. Both my son and I have never received the basic signup bonus or the HfP bonus despite completing the requisite spend. Customer support promising the Avios will be added within 10 days – and then not – just adds extra annoyance. (Obvs have ranted in the survey but as it’s the same Prepaid MC folks I assume they’ll ignore my thoughts!)

  • Greenpen says:
    18 Nov18 November 07:43

    It worked well for me but I did cancel as the earning rate for Avios was very poor.

  • Rob H not Rob says:
    18 Nov18 November 07:47

    Anyone else signed up to Santander’s new Boosts program?

    Seems to offer nothing new whereas the old rewards program at least offered quick and easy to use discounts.

    Boosts feels wretched.

  • ThinkSquare says:
    18 Nov18 November 07:57

    There are several other realistic options within range: Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds, Birmingham,…

    • Bob Bilby says:
      18 Nov18 November 10:11

      You can happily put an a321 in to east midlands too but it won’t make financial sense!

      • Jonathan says:
        18 Nov18 November 11:14

        Manchester maybe a feasible option, but there probably wouldn’t be much need other a single flight per day

    • the_real_a says:
      18 Nov18 November 13:09

      Bristol supported a successful US direct flight for 15 years or so. Belfast too. Manchester had plenty of flights with TUI. Pre covid of course. Problem for leisure routes is that the US has become almost stupidly expensive for just about everything.

  • UKFE says:
    18 Nov18 November 08:18

    I could do with getting the £70 I was overcharged on that card refunded by BA. I have been waiting weeks for a reply from their helpdesk after waiting ages to speak to someone on the phone. To anyone considering it I would avoid this prepaid card due to the dreadful customer service

    • Peter K says:
      18 Nov18 November 08:30

      Having read all the comments on here, that’s exactly what I did. I avoided it and have no plans to get it.

    • Luke says:
      18 Nov18 November 09:08

      I paid for something using contactless which declined and asked me to put my card and pin in which I did. I was double charged for that item. Customer service was dreadful and refused to help. I closed the card the second I got the bonus.

  • Peter says:
    18 Nov18 November 08:28

    Better rate is needed, you get 1 Avios for £2 (0.66p back), comparing to Chase you get 2p for £2 spent, so simply you earn a third of that.. and your money is locked. They should also match what to do when illegible transaction happens, simply not award Avios rather than charge additional ££ fee.

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

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