💼 How to Collect Avios Points: A Get Started Guide

Hello, Adventurous Travellers, and Happy Sunday!

If you're new to collecting points and miles, we have you covered! We recently sent out a beginner's guide to collecting air miles and points, but this time, we will focus on Avios.

Collecting Avios can seem daunting at first, but it's one of the most versatile and rewarding airline frequent flyer programmes out there. If you're going to start collecting airline miles, collecting Avios with British Airways is the best place to start.

Here’s what we will cover!

• ✈️ What is an Avios Point?

• ✈️ The British Airways Executive Club

• ✈️ Collecting Avios with Other Airlines

• ✈️ All the Ways to Earn Avios

✈️ What is an Avios Point?

Avios is a reward currency used by multiple airline loyalty programmes, including British Airways. Avios are a type of airline mile, like those found in other frequent flyer programmes, that can be earned and redeemed for rewards such as flights, upgrades, hotel stays, and even car hire.

The British Airways Executive Club

The British Airways Executive Club is the flagship loyalty programme that allows you to collect and redeem Avios points. If you fly regularly with British Airways or its partner airlines, this is where you’ll likely earn the bulk of your Avios.

When you sign up for the British Airways Executive Club, you'll start earning Avios every time you fly with British Airways.

Everyone begins as a Blue member, and as you fly more, you'll climb through the membership tiers. The more you fly, the more benefits and perks you’ll get. These include priority boarding, extra baggage allowance, and lounge access. The higher your tier, the more Avios you’ll collect each time you fly with British Airways:

Blue: 6 Avios for every £1 spent

Bronze: 7 Avios for every £1 spent

Silver: 8 Avios for every £1 spent

Gold: 9 Avios for every £1 spent

To see for yourself, try our British Airways Avios Calculator to see how many Avios you might earn for your next flight. You can check your Avios balance when logged in to the BA Executive Club.

✈️ Collecting Avios with Other Airlines

We recently covered airline alliances. British Airways is part of the oneworld alliance. You can transfer your Avios to other airlines in the Oneworld alliance and book redemption flights with them. Airlines in the Oneworld alliance include:

• Alaska Airlines

• American Airlines

• British Airways

• Cathay Pacific

• Finnair

• Iberia

• Japan Airlines

• Malaysia Airlines

• Qantas

• Qatar Airways

• Royal Air Maroc

• Royal Jordanian

• SriLankan Airlines

• Fiji Airways (connect)

• Oman Air (coming soon)

When flying with partner airlines, you must provide your British Airways Executive Club number when booking or check-in.

The number of Avios you'll earn is based on the flight distance, fare class, and, in some cases, the partner airline's rules.

Make sure you use the Smart Redemptions Extension to find the best-value redemption flights and determine whether it’s worth using your Avios instead of paying in cash.

💼 Other Ways to Earn Avios

You don't need to be a frequent flyer to build up a stash of Avios. There are plenty of everyday ways to earn Avios:

💳 Credit Card Spending

Credit cards are the most lucrative way to earn Avios, mainly due to their huge sign-up bonuses. You can also earn Avios points per £1 spent.

The number of Avios you earn is usually higher with the paid cards, but it’s well worth getting a free version, too. There are still sign-up bonuses, but the number of Avios you earn is lower.

Here are the top Avios earning credit cards:

NOTE: 1 AMEX Membership Rewards Point = 1 Avios Point

Barclays Avios Rewards

If you don’t want a credit card but you earn over £75,000 per year, you can earn Avios through Barclays Avios rewards. You will need to sign up for Barclays Premier Banking and pay £12 per month.

You will earn 1,500 Avios per month, a hefty sign-up bonus (25,000 Avios after 3 months) and a loyalty bonus of 7,000 Avios each year.

🎁 Shopping Portals

The British Airways portal allows you to earn extra Avios online shopping. With over 900 retailers such as Apple, John Lewis, and ASOS, you can collect Avios on every £1 spent.

Other airlines, like Qatar Airways, also have shopping portals. Before you buy anything online, make sure you check whether you could be earning Avios.

🌍 Partner Hotels

Book stays with partner hotels like Marriott IHG through the BA Executive Club shopping portal:

You can also transfer hotel points from programmes like Marriott Bonvoy to Avios on top of the Avios you’ll get for booking through the portal:

• IHG: 2 Avios per $1 spent

• Avios Hotels: 10 Avios per £1 spent

• Accor: 2.5 Avios per €2 spent

• Airbnb: 2 Avios per £1 spent

• Marriott: 2 Avios per $1 spent

TIP: Triple dip and earn Avios by paying on your Avios-earning credit card, booking through the BA Shopping Portal, and transferring your hotel points to Avios.

⛽ BP Fuel

By linking your BPme Rewards account to your British Airways Executive Club account, you can earn Avios every time you fill up at participating BP stations in the UK.

For every £1 spent on fuel or in-store purchases, you’ll earn 1 Avios. Plus, when you spend £10 or more on fuel, you’ll earn a bonus of 50 Avios.

1. Join BPme Rewards: If you’re not a member yet, sign up for a BPme Rewards account online or via the BPme app.

2. Link Your Account: Go to your BPme Rewards account settings and enter your Executive Club number to link it to your British Airways Executive Club account.

3. Earn Avios: Present your BPme Rewards card when paying at the pump or in-store, and your Avios will be automatically credited to your British Airways Executive Club account.

🛒 World Duty-Free

If you’re travelling through Heathrow or Spain, you can now earn 250 bonus Avios on your first shop at World Duty-Free shops by linking your British Airways Executive Club and Red By Dufry (now Club Avolta) accounts. Here’s how you can collect Avios effortlessly with your purchases:

1. Download the Club Avolta app from the App Store or Google Play.

2. Join British Airways Executive Club and Club Avolta

3. Link Your Accounts. Choose ‘British Airways Executive Club’ and enter your BA Executive Club details.

4. Show the QR code in your Club Avolta app whenever you shop at World Duty-Free shops at Heathrow Airport or Spanish airports.

5. Collect 1 Avios per £1 spent.

📊 Completing Surveys

You can earn Avios by completing surveys with Avios for thoughts. You typically earn between 20 to 350 Avios per survey, depending on the length. There are often sign-up bonuses when you complete your first survey.

🛍️ Bicester Village

The Bicester Collection has luxury shopping destinations like Bicester Village in the UK. As a British Airways Executive Club member, you can earn 5 Avios for every £4 spent at any of The Bicester Collection’s participating villages across Europe, including locations in France, Italy, Spain, and Germany.

To start collecting Avios, present your shopping receipts at the Village Welcome or Tourist Information Centre on the day of your visit. You’ll need to provide your British Airways Executive Club membership number to make sure your Avios are credited.

🍷 Wine

The Wine Flyer is an Avios wine club where you can earn Avios for wines, spirits, and other items on the website. You can collect up to 10 Avios for every £1 spent on wine purchases. Additional promotions often offer bonus Avios for select cases or brands.

🚗 Car Hire

Earn when you book through the British Airways website or provide your membership number at the time of rental.

• Avis: 5 Avios per £1 spent + a free additional driver with your rental.

• Budget: 2 Avios per £1 spent

• Zipcar: Collect 1,000 Avios when you join Zipcar and collect 50 Avios on every booking

🔄 Nectar Points

400 Nectar points can be converted into 250 Avios. You can earn Nectar Points by shopping at Sainsbury’s.

🟣 Heathrow Rewards

If you want to earn more Avios while travelling to and from Heathrow Airport, don’t overlook the benefits of joining Heathrow Rewards.

Sign up for Heathrow Rewards and earn Avios when you spend at Heathrow Airport. These can be converted into Avios at a 1:1 rate. Heathrow reward points can be earned by shopping, dining, using the car park and more!

Heathrow Rewards has two membership levels—Standard and Premium. The more you spend at Heathrow, the more you earn per pound spent, and higher tiers come with additional perks like bonus points and discounts on parking.

Download the app and sign up to get started!

🚆 The Heathrow Express

If you book the Heathrow Express via the BA Executive Club, you can earn Avios on your trip. Book your Heathrow Express tickets online, purchased via heathrowexpress.com/avios if you book in advance and enter your British Airways Executive Club membership number.

You’ll receive up to 5 Avios per £1 spent. There are often offers to increase this amount.

Final Words

That’s all for this week! We hope these tips help you maximise your travel rewards and have better experiences. We will be doing a beginner's guide to spending Avios soon!

Safe travels, and always aim for the upgrade!

Want to continue the conversation? Come and join our free Facebook group.

Bye for now!

It’s time to STOP using Honey and Credit Karma

Forget Honey, Credit Karma, and Apple Pay. Kudos is the all-in-one browser extension that's revolutionizing online shopping. Maximize rewards at 3M+ stores, discover red-hot credit card deals, and enjoy lightning-fast one-click checkouts. It's like a personal trainer for your wallet, pumping up savings on desktop and iPhone. Why settle for less when Kudos can skyrocket your rewards? Sign up now with code "EARN" to get $20 back on your first eligible purchase. Your wallet won't just thank you—it'll throw you a party.

Download Now—It’s Free!