How to earn Avios, miles and points with American Express

[Rhys]

American Express offers a number of cards to help you earn Avios, miles and points:

• The Platinum Card
• American Express Preferred Rewards Gold
• British Airways American Express Premium Plus
• British Airways American Express
• American Express Rewards Credit
• Marriott Bonvoy American Express
• Nectar American Express

American Express also issues a number of business and SME cards:

• American Express Business Platinum
• American Express Business Gold
• British Airways Accelerating Business American Express

All of the above cards come with lucrative sign-up bonuses.  You can read more about which sign-up bonuses you are eligible for in this article.

Here is an overview of the key cards we discuss on Head for Points:

The Platinum Card

The Platinum Card is the most premium card American Express offers openly to the general public in the UK.

It comes with a number of benefits including travel and car insurance, hotel status with chains such as Hilton, Marriott, Radisson and Melia, airport lounge access with Priority Pass, £400 of annual restaurant credit and much more.  You will also receive 50,000 Membership Rewards points, worth 50,000 Avios.

This article looks at whether the American Express Platinum Card is worth the £650 annual fee.

You can read our full review of The Platinum Card by American Express here. You can apply for the card here.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold is our top choice for your first ‘miles and points’ credit card. It has no annual fee for the first year, comes with four free airport lounge passes and £120 of annual Deliveroo credit.  It also has a very generous sign-up bonus of 20,000 Membership Rewards points, worth 20,000 Avios.

This article explains in greater detail why the American Express Gold card is the best credit card for a miles and points beginner.

You can read our full review of the American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card here. You can apply for the card here.

The British Airways American Express cards

There are two American Express cards that let you earn Avios directly: the free British Airways American Express card and the paid-for British Airways Premium Plus card.

If you are committed to British Airways, the Premium Plus Amex card is your best choice. It comes with a 30,000 Avios sign-up bonus and a 2-4-1 companion voucher that could save you up to 200,000 Avios on your next flight redemption. The voucher can also be used to get a 50% Avios discount on a flight for a solo traveller.

This article explains how to use the BA 2-4-1 companion voucher you earn on the British Airways American Express cards.

You can read our full review of the British Airways American Express card here and our British Airways Premium Plus American Express card review here.

You can apply for the free card here (5,000 Avios bonus) and the Premium Plus card here (30,000 Avios bonus).

Marriott Bonvoy American Express card

The Marriott Bonvoy American Express card is a great choice for anyone looking to increase their Marriott Bonvoy points balance.

The card has a £95 annual fee but comes with a 20,000 points sign-up bonus and 15 elite night credits.  This gives you instant Silver Elite status and puts you on the way to Gold Elite and beyond.  You also earn 2 points for every £1 spent on the card.

You can read our full review of the Marriott Bonvoy American Express card here.  You can apply for the card here.

The American Express Rewards Credit Card (ARCC)

The American Express Rewards Credit Card – ARCC – is a FREE basic Amex card that still lets you earn Membership Rewards points and access American Express offers. The card has a 10,000 Membership Rewards points sign-up bonus.

It is an excellent card for keeping your Membership Rewards balance active if you want to cancel an Amex Platinum or Preferred Rewards Gold card.

You can read our full review of the American Express Rewards Credit Card here.  You can apply for the card here.

British Airways American Express Accelerating Business card

‘On Business’ is the British Airways loyalty programme for small and medium sized businesses. It rewards your business for booking staff travel on British Airways. Any company, however small, can join as long as it is VAT registered.

You can read our two-part overview of the On Business program here.  It includes a promo code to give you a 1,500 points bonus when you sign up.

Our review of the British Airways American Express Accelerating Business card is here. This card lets you earn Avios and extra On Business points on qualifying spend. It also has a good sign-up bonus. You can apply for the card here.

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