Barclaycard tweaks Avios earning on its credit cards

Barclaycard shook up the UK credit card market in 2022 when it launched its two Avios credit cards.

Notwithstand their creaky IT, we have seen some exceptional benefits:

• a free Barclaycard Avios Mastercard earning 1 Avios per £1 spent and an annual upgrade voucher (or, soon, a 7,000 Avios bonus) for spending £20,000 per year – a package no other UK Visa or Mastercard can touch

• a paid-for Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard earning 1.5 Avios per £1 spent and an annual upgrade voucher (or, soon, a 7,000 Avios bonus) for spending £10,000 per year

• sign-up bonuses which have run as high as 50,000 Avios (!) for the paid-for Avios Plus Mastercard

Our review of the free Barclaycard Avios Mastercard is here. Our review of the paid-for Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard is here.

From 30th June 2023, Barclaycard is making a change to the cards. I would guess that it will have zero impact for 95% of HfP readers and probably 99% of broader cardholders, but it is worth flagging regardless.

There will be a monthly cap on Avios earning

Barclaycard is introducing a cap on the number of Avios you can earn each month.

This concept is not new. Virgin Atlantic has a cap on its two Virgin Atlantic Reward credit cards but the Barclaycard cap is FAR more generous.

If you have a Virgin Atlantic credit card, your monthly earning is capped at your credit limit. If you pay down your balance mid-month and run it up again, you won’t receive additional miles.

(For example, if your credit limit is £10,000 and you spend £8,000, pay it off after two weeks and then spend another £7,000, you will only earn Virgin Points on your first £10,000 of spending for that month.)

Barclaycard is limiting your monthly Avios earning to FOUR TIMES your credit limit.

Frankly, the number of people who spend their entire credit limit, pay it off, run it up again, pay it off etc x four must be tiny. It clearly is an issue for Barclaycard, however, hence this new rule.

It appears that the majority who do clear their account more than four times per month are doing so in relation to business spending. You cannot earn Avios on B2B purchases made with the Barclaycard Avios cards (see rule 4.4) and this change is part of a broader focus on enforcing this rule.

This rule change comes into force from 30th June 2023.

The full revised T&C document from 30th June 2023 is here.

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Want to earn more points from credit cards? – April 2024 update

If you are looking to apply for a new credit card, here are our top recommendations based on the current 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:

You can see our full directory of all UK cards which earn airline or hotel points here. Here are the best of the other deals currently available.

Earning miles and points from small business cards

If you are a sole trader or run a small company, you may also want to check out these offers:

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.

For a non-American Express option, we also recommend the Barclaycard Select Cashback card for sole traders and small businesses. It is FREE and you receive 1% cashback on your spending.