Avios CEO on expanding the currency to more airlines and even hotels …. and a devaluation

Adam Daniels, CEO of IAG Loyalty, did an interview with online travel news site Skift this week.

Whilst there were only five questions asked, there are a couple of nuggets worth sharing.

You can read the original here.

Here are the key points:

Giving Avios to your customers is a way of attracting wealthier clients who will spend more

“we …. see that customers tend to spend more on average. So their basket size, if you like, is bigger and those customers stay with the brand moving forward. So you can demonstrate that. And we do demonstrate that to prospective partners.”

The Qatar Airways partnership has been a big success

[British Airways] Exec Club members redeeming Qatar has gone up four fold, five fold. And we’ve seen a lot of Avios move between the two carriers.

Allegedly, whilst this is being sold as good news, it wasn’t the case internally, in the same way that Avios transfers to Nectar had to be devalued twice to stem the outflow of cash.

Other airlines and – interestingly – hotel groups want to adopt Avios

We’re in active discussions with [a few] carriers at the moment. And we think we have a model that works for other players in this. One thing I would say is that it doesn’t have to be airlines. We’ve been talking to hotel groups, for instance, and other players in this market who are interested in a loyalty proposition.

What’s slightly confusing to me is why. I challenged the (now ex) Finnair CEO, Topi Manner, on this when we met last year and he couldn’t give me a single good reason why adopting Avios made sense.

It does make more sense for hotels and non-oneworld airlines. Potential customers see value from earning a handful of Avios (because they can transfer them) which they won’t get from a handful of proprietary miles or hotel points.

We may devalue the programme but only if we can get away with it

We’re ….. seing carriers trying to offer more use of points and the ability to use those points in different ways. And some of those deliver slightly higher redemption costs. I think the key thing here is about enabling customers to get perceived and get value from their reward. So they really feel like getting something that’s really rewarding on the back of that. And yes, rates may need to move if that makes sense commercially, but they also need to make sense for the customers, too. And that’s a real balance that we all have to do going forward.

Giving Avios for flights based on spending is easier to understand

We think that the [spend-based] approach makes sense for us. We think it’s fairly clear for customers. They understand that. I think one of the problems with the older systems is that customers didn’t understand it. 

Arguably it WOULD be ‘clear’ if you earned Avios based on what you spend. This isn’t how it works, of course. You earn Avios based on what you spend MINUS some – but not all – taxes and charges, the level of which is not made clear when you buy a ticket. Flights on most BA partner airlines also still earn Avios based on distance and class, not spend.

Most Avios are now issued from non-flying activity

Flying is the minority of points issued. About two-thirds of the points issued are issued by our financial services partners, our travel partners, our retail partners.

You can read the full interview on Skift 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:

There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:

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.

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.

There is also a British Airways American Express card for small businesses:

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.

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.