Guide to earning Avios – Part 1 Flights and credit cards

Even if you think you know everything about Avios collecting and spending, you may find this series of articles teach you a few things. There have been huge changes over the last couple of years, so it is worth refreshing yourself where you may be missing out on getting Avios or all the spending opportunities.

We will be running the whole series of earning and spending Avios over the next few days.

Earning Avios – The basics

Avios (formerly airmiles) is the miles currency used by the British Airways Executive Club but they can be earned and redeemed on a large number of airlines and partners. They are the easiest way to travel in business or first class for the least amount of cash, particularly when combined with vouchers that I will discuss below.

The first step for a beginner is to make sure you join not only the BA Executive Club but also Avios.com via Aer Club, Qatar Privilege Club and Iberia Plus. Each offers something slightly different. In the case of Iberia some of the best offers require you to have been a member of the scheme for at least 90 days so it’s best to just join now.

You can easily move Avios between the schemes but probably will want to credit most of your flying to British Airways in case you earn enough to gain status. For Iberia Plus, you will also need to earn at least 1 Avios before you can partake of some of the offers such as transferring miles to someone else. Moving miles in from American Express does count. 

Make sure every time you fly, you check whether the airline gives Avios. There are also some partners outside the oneworld alliance who give Avios. You must enter your BA Executive number when flying on a non-BA flight/booking. 

The basic rules for earning on a BA Executive Club account are:

• Codeshare flight on any airline booked through British Airways with ba flight number – earn Avios and tier points
• Oneworld member – earn Avios and tier points
• Codeshare booked through Oneworld member but non-oneworld flight – no Avios or tier points (except Emirates booked on Qantas)

Which airlines can I collect Avios on?

Through British Airways Executive Club (BAEC)

Obviously, British Airways is included but did you know that if you book your flight with a hotel or car you can get an extra 1 Avios per £1 spent on top of the regular Avios? You can also use a BA Premium Plus Amex credit card to pay and get 3 Avios per £1 spent instead of the usual 1.5 Avios per £1. You are generally better off crediting Avios to your BA account if flying BA as you get a better rate, particularly if you have status.

Iberia has recently introduced spend based Avios earning on flights, and BA is due to do this in 2023. 

• Aer Lingus (no tier points unless codeshare)
• Alaska Airlines
• American Airlines
• Cathay Pacific
• Emirates when booked on a Qantas codeshare
• Fiji Airways (Oneworld Connect)
• Finnair
• Iberia
• Japan Airlines
• Malaysia Airlines
• Oman Air (joining 2024)
• Qatar Airways
• Qantas
• Royal Air Maroc
• Royal Jordanian
• S7 (currently suspended)
• Sri Lankan Airlines
• Vueling (have to collect through Vueling account)

Through Aer Lingus Aer Club

• United Airlines

Through Qatar Privilege Club

• Oman Air
• Rwandair
• Bangkok Airways
• Jet Blue

Ways to maximise your earnings

Many people forget that there are lots of ways to earn Avios, not just flights and credit cards. I will go through all the easiest ways to earn Avios, starting with credit cards today and other ways to earn in part 2.

Credit and charge cards

There are numerous credit cards that can get you Avios, not just the Avios and British Airways branded ones. Many of the American Express cards, such as Marriott, Preferred Rewards Gold and The Platinum charge card, also can give you Avios by converting the points afterwards.

For example, some Amex cards give you Amex Membership Rewards, which can be converted into Avios. The earning rates aren’t always as good, but they do give you the flexibility to move the rewards into other schemes such as Virgin Atlantic and some hotel groups. You can leave the points in the Amex scheme until you need them and then transfer over very quickly to the relevant scheme. This can be a very useful backup stash if you are just shy of being able to afford a redemption.

Credit and charge cards which you can get Avios from include:

• British Airways American Express Card – There are two versions – a free one and a premium one (the Premium Plus) with a fee of £250 per year. The card has the potential to get a companion voucher after spending £10,000 on the premium card and £12,000 on the free version. You also get bonus Avios when you use the Premium Plus Amex to pay on britishairways.com.
• American Express Platinum card – 1 Avios per £1 spent. Lots of other benefits such as travel insurance, status in hotel loyalty schemes and car hire excess insurance. 
• American Express Preferred Rewards Gold Card – 1 Avios per £1 spent
• Barclaycard Avios and Avios Plus (can earn upgrade vouchers)
• Marriott American Express (can transfer Marriott points into Avios)
• HSBC Premier World Elite MasterCard – Earn 2 points (1 Avios) for every £1 of eligible spend you make in sterling and 4 points for every £1 spent in non-sterling currencies. £195 annual fee, card only available to HSBC Premier current account holders. 

For business owners there is also

• Capital on Tap Visa (limited companies only) £99 to join the rewards scheme. 1 Avios per £1. 
• British Airways Accelerating Business American Express

All the cards have different earning rates, and some can include an enhanced earning rate for the first few months. Make sure you look at all the benefits of the card versus the fees charged to work out which is right for you. The two Avios cards I currently own are the BA Premium Amex for the earning rate and the companion voucher and Platinum Amex due to the flexibility to transfer points into different airline schemes. I also have the Marriott one for the Marriott perks rather than for transferring to Avios. 

How to maximise your gain from credit cards

Make sure you keep an eye out for the sign-up bonuses. These vary throughout the year and can be as much as 70,000 Avios for an Amex BA Premium Plus card. If you are aiming for a bonus make sure you read the fine print. Often if you already hold a particular type of card with the credit card company or have held one in the last six months you are not eligible for the sign-up bonus. There will nearly always be a minimum spend required to get the bonus so make sure it is achievable for you.

Does one of your friends or family have the card you want? Often if they refer you, you both get a bonus which can be more than the normal one. Once you have the card, why not get your partner or spouse one and refer them too?

Make sure you check TopCashback for credit card cashback before applying for a card. For example, when I took out the Lloyds Avios card the cashback almost paid for my yearly fee.

Become like the Royal Family and never use cash! Use your credit card like a debit card and use it for everything as well as paying it off in full every month. With contactless payment it is so easy to use a card for even the smallest things.

If you are married or have a partner, you should both take out a card. That way you both get the sign-up bonus. If you will struggle to make the minimum spend for the 2-4-1 voucher, why not get them a supplementary card to both use one account towards the spend?

I will continue the list of way to earn Avios in tomorrow’s article – Beginners’ guide to collecting Avios part 2

Disclaimer: Turning left for less is a journalistic website. Nothing here should be construed as financial advice, and it is your own responsibility to ensure that any product is right for your circumstances. Reviews are based primarily on the ability to earn miles and points and do not consider interest rates, service levels or any impact on your credit history.

Here are the rest of the series of spending Avios guides:

GUIDE TO SPENDING AVIOS PART 1 – HOW TO GET THE FLIGHTS YOU WANT

GUIDE TO EARNING AVIOS – PART 2 HOTELS, SHOPPING, CAR HIRE AND MORE

GUIDE TO SPENDING AVIOS PART 2 – USING AMEX COMPANION & BARCLAYCARD UPGRADE VOUCHERS