British Airways On Business points extended to June 2024 – website still down after 6 months
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There was a spark of life from the British Airways On Business SME loyalty scheme yesterday.
If you are a member, you should have received an email with your current points balance, albeit you can’t verify it because there is no transaction breakdown.
It is now an astonishing six months since the On Business website went down. Even by the standards of British Airways IT, this is quite an achievement.
I have been told by two separate sources what has happened, although I can’t repeat it. That said, is anything really so bad that you can’t resuscitate a website after SIX MONTHS?
The good news is that all On Business points have been extended until the end of June 2024.
You can still earn and spend On Business points
You CAN still make redemptions by calling On Business. You can’t check availability online, but as On Business seats are driven by the availability of the cheapest cash fares you can get a decent steer by pricing up a cash seat on ba.com. I managed to book one myself so it is definitely possible.
According to Flyertalk, the fare buckets you need are:
- First Class – A
- Club World / Europe – R
- World Traveller Plus – T
- Euro / World Traveller – V
Go into ba.com, try to book a cash seat on the flight you want, look at the fare bucket shown (click on the flight number during the booking process) and if its A / R / T / V then the On Business callc entre should be able to book it.
Whilst On Business points are – in theory – being added for cash flights you take, there is no easy way to check this. It is a revenue based scheme, with the points earned based on what you paid for your ticket less certain taxes and charges, so working out what you are due is very difficult.
How does On Business work?
If you’re not familiar with it, On Business is the other British Airways loyalty programme. Instead of rewarding flyers, it rewards your company when you travel.
It is fundamentally the same as Avios in structure. You earn On Business Points for every flight your company books. They can then be redeemed for flights or for upgrades.
You can collect both Avios and On Business Points on the same flight. You collect Avios as a flyer and On Business Points as a company.
We have a two-part overview of On Business here. You can’t join at present until the website comes back to life.
Fresh applications for the British Airways Accelerating Business American Express card also remain suspended. This card awards bonus On Business points for BA flight bookings, plus Avios for day to day spending.
At least, based on the email yesterday, the scheme is not dead and buried – although at this stage I think the majority of members would accept a ‘1:4’ or ‘1:5’ conversion rate into Avios and walk away.
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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 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.
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.
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