Avios theft – hackers cancel your redemptions to boost their haul and BA won’t reinstate

Two weeks ago we wrote about the experience Rhys had when a hacker got into his brother’s Avios account, which was part of a family account including Rhys, and drained over 500,000 Avios from family members.

British Airways reinstated the Avios and all was good.

If you thought this meant that you could rest easily about Avios security, because BA will see you right, I’ve got some bad news.

It appears that the people who hack into Avios accounts are smarter than you think.

I have heard multiple reports of hackers checking the account to see if any unflown Avios reward bookings are in place.

If the hackers find reward flights, they cancel them.

Why? It’s simple. British Airways returns the Avios to your account immediately. The hacker now has a larger pot of Avios to steal.

Now, as Rhys found out, British Airways will return the stolen Avios to your hacked account. It doesn’t have to and you should be grateful that it offers this as a goodwill gesture.

However, it appears that British Airways will NOT reinstate Avios bookings which have been cancelled.

You will, for clarity, get the Avios from those bookings returned to you. Unfortunately this isn’t much help if you had made a redemption many months ago and have little chance of finding replacement seats.

To quote one of the comments to our original article:

One of the most worrying things I saw on a Facebook group was how a few accounts have been hacked and their existing reward flights cancelled to obtain more points to withdraw fraudulently.

BA refused to reinstate the flights once the Avios were returned, as presumably the reward availability was no longer there. This devastated one couples holiday which from memory was roughly 10 days away from when the account was hacked.

In response to this another HfP reader wrote:

Yes, my colleague had this. Luckily their flights were reinstated as there was availability, but he was told otherwise it would be a no.

So …. don’t let the knowledge that British Airways will reimburse your stolen Avios stop you from beefing up your account security.

Whilst your Avios will be returned, you are still at risk of losing any redemption flights on your account.

PS. It’s worth noting that, for household account members, a flight can only be cancelled by the original booker. No-one else in a household account, or any other passenger on the ticket, can initiate a cancellation. This gives you a little more protection.

If you are the only person who ever books from your household account, your existing bookings are not at risk if another member is hacked. This was good news for Rhys, since he was two weeks away from heading off to New Zealand with three family members when his brother had his account compromised.

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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.