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Compare Avios credit cards

Frequent flyer reward schemes like Avios can be a little flighty when you try to pin them down. We've done the hard work to help find which card is best for you.

Chris Lilly
Chris Lilly

Last updated:

Compare Avios credit cards How the programme works
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Recent changes to the Avios points programme

The Avios Travel Rewards Programme closed at the end of July 2018. Avios as a currency is carrying on but with all members transferred to a British Airways (BA) Executive Club membership instead. If you already have an Avios account, you’ll be transferred automatically and there is nothing you have to do. The deadline for opting out has passed.

You’ll still be able to redeem points for upgrades, hotel stays, goods etc. and flights to any worldwide destination (subject to availability) with British Airways or its oneworld alliance partners.

Compare credit cards that earn Avios points directly

Table: sorted by representative APR, promoted deals first
Updated February 21st, 2020
Name Product Max. intro bonus Default earn-rate Annual/monthly fees Rep. APR Incentive Representative example
British Airways American Express Premium Plus
British Airways American Express Premium Plus
25,000 points
1.5 points per £1 spent
£195 per annum
76% (variable)
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More Info
25,000 Avios when you spend £3K within 3 months of account opening. Earn 3 Avios for virtually every £1 spent directly with BA, and 1.5 Avios for virtually every £1 spent everywhere else. Spend £10K in 12 months to redeem the Avios for a companion ticket on a BA flight. Earn up to 90,000 bonus Avios points per calendar year, 9,000 points per friends/family that uses Referral Programme and successfully apply for an American Express card (Excl. Basic card).
Representative example: When you spend £1,200 at a purchase rate of 22.9% (variable) p.a. with a fee of £195 per annum, your representative rate is 76% APR (variable).
British Airways American Express Card
British Airways American Express Card
5,000 points
1 point per £1 spent
£0
22.9% (variable)
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More Info
5,000 Avios when you spend £1,000 within 3 months of account opening. Earn 1 Avios for virtually every £1 spent. Spend £20K in 12 months and get 2 for 1 travel when redeeming Avios for a BA reward flight. Earn up to 90,000 bonus Avios points per calendar year, 4,000 points per friend/family member that successfully applies for an American Express card (Excl. Basic card) and uses the Referral Programme.
Representative example: When you spend £1,200 at a purchase rate of 22.9% (variable) p.a., your representative rate is 22.9% APR (variable).

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Approval for any credit card will depend on your status. The APR shown represents the interest rate offered to most successful applicants. Depending on your personal circumstances the APR you're offered may be higher, or you may not be offered credit at all. Fees and rates are subject to change without notice. It's always wise to check the terms of any deal before you borrow.

What's in this guide?

Compare credit cards that earn points which can be exchanged for Avios points

Table: sorted by representative APR, promoted deals first

Several cards on the market let you exchange their loyalty points for Avios. At the time of writing, American Express Membership Rewards points can be exchanged at a rate of 1:1, for example, and £150 of Tesco Clubcard points can be exchanged for 36,000 Avios. IHG Rewards Club points can be converted too (call 0871 226 1111), but you’ll need at least 10,000 of them first. HSBC has also periodically run promotions allowing Premier customers to exchange reward points for Avios.

Updated February 21st, 2020
Name Product Max. intro bonus Default earn-rate Annual/monthly fees Rep. APR Incentive Representative example
American Express Rewards Credit Card
American Express Rewards Credit Card
5,000 points
1 point per £1 spent
£0
22.9% (variable)
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More Info
Earn 5,000 bonus Membership Rewards points when you spend £2,000 in your first 3 months, and 1 point for virtually every £1 spent thereafter.
Representative example: When you spend £1,200 at a purchase rate of 22.9% (variable) p.a., your representative rate is 22.9% APR (variable).
American Express Preferred Rewards Gold Credit Card
American Express Preferred Rewards Gold Credit Card
10,000 points
1 point per £1 spent
Year 1 - £0, Year 2 onwards - £140 per annum
57.6% (variable)
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More Info
Earn 1 point for virtually every £1 spent. 2 points per £1 spent directly with airlines or in a foreign currency or 3 points for every £1 spent through American Express Travel. Earn 10,000 bonus points when you spend £3,000 in your first 3 months. Spend £15,000 or more during the year and earn 10,000 bonus points each year the card is renewed. Earn 6,000 points per friend/family member that successfully applies for the card or 12,000 points if they spend £3,000 in their first 3 months. Two complimentary lounge visits per year, available at over 500 airport lounges worldwide.
Representative example: When you spend £1,200 at a purchase rate of 22.9% (variable) p.a. with an annual fee of £140 (£0 in first year), your representative APR is 57.6% APR (variable).
Tesco Bank Clubcard Credit Card with Low APR Mastercard
Tesco Bank Clubcard Credit Card with Low APR Mastercard
N/A
1 point per £8 spent
£0
9.9% (variable)
More Info
1 point per £4 spent (£4 minimum) in Tesco and 1 point per £8 spent (£8 minimum) outside Tesco, must have available credit to earn points. Card can also be used as a Clubcard to collect standard points at 1 point per £1 spent on shopping and 1 point per £2 spent on fuel. Points are converted to Tesco vouchers which can be used towards shopping or exchanged for Partner Rewards.
Representative example: When you spend £1,200 at a purchase rate of 9.942% (variable) p.a., your representative rate is 9.9% APR (variable).
Tesco Bank Clubcard Credit Card Purchases Mastercard
Tesco Bank Clubcard Credit Card Purchases Mastercard
N/A
1 point per £8 spent
£0
19.9% (variable)
More Info
1 point per £4 spent (£4 minimum) in Tesco and 1 point per £8 spent (£8 minimum) outside Tesco. Must have available credit to earn points. Points are converted to Tesco vouchers or can be exchanged for Partner rewards to receive money off a variety of restaurants, entertainment or Avios points.
Representative example: When you spend £1,200 at a purchase rate of 19.944% (variable) p.a., your representative rate is 19.9% APR (variable).
Tesco Bank Clubcard Credit Card for 28 Months Money Transfer Mastercard
Tesco Bank Clubcard Credit Card for 28 Months Money Transfer Mastercard
N/A
1 point per £8 spent
£0
19.9% (variable)
More Info
1 point per £4 spent (£4 minimum) in Tesco and 1 point per £8 spent (£8 minimum) outside Tesco. Must have available credit to earn points. Points are converted to Tesco vouchers or can be exchanged for Partner rewards to receive money off a variety of restaurants, entertainment or Avios points.
Representative example: When you spend £1,200 at a purchase rate of 19.944% (variable) p.a., your representative rate is 19.9% APR (variable).
Tesco Bank Clubcard Credit Card for 28 Months Balance Transfer Mastercard
Tesco Bank Clubcard Credit Card for 28 Months Balance Transfer Mastercard
N/A
1 point per £8 spent
£0
19.9% (variable)
More Info
1 point per £4 spent (£4 minimum) in Tesco and 1 point per £8 spent (£8 minimum) outside Tesco. Must have available credit to earn points. Points are converted to Tesco vouchers or can be exchanged for Partner rewards to receive money off a variety of restaurants, entertainment or Avios points.
Representative example: When you spend £1,200 at a purchase rate of 19.944% (variable) p.a., your representative rate is 19.9% APR (variable).
Tesco Bank 15 Month All Round Clubcard Credit Card Mastercard
Tesco Bank 15 Month All Round Clubcard Credit Card Mastercard
N/A
1 point per £8 spent
£0
19.9% (variable)
More Info
1 point per £4 spent (£4 minimum) in Tesco and 1 point per £8 spent (£8 minimum) outside Tesco. Must have available credit to earn points. Points are converted to Tesco vouchers or can be exchanged for Partner rewards to receive money off a variety of restaurants, entertainment or Avios points.
Representative example: When you spend £1,200 at a purchase rate of 19.944% (variable) p.a., your representative rate is 19.9% APR (variable).
Tesco Bank 12 Month All Round Clubcard Credit Card Mastercard
Tesco Bank 12 Month All Round Clubcard Credit Card Mastercard
N/A
1 point per £8 spent
£0
19.9% (variable)
More Info
1 point per £4 spent (£4 minimum) in Tesco and 1 point per £8 spent (£8 minimum) outside Tesco. Must have available credit to earn points. Points are converted to Tesco vouchers or can be exchanged for Partner rewards to receive money off a variety of restaurants, entertainment or Avios points.
Representative example: When you spend £1,200 at a purchase rate of 19.944% (variable) p.a., your representative rate is 19.9% APR (variable).
IHG Rewards Club Credit Card Mastercard
IHG Rewards Club Credit Card Mastercard
10,000 points
1 point per £1 spent
£0
22.9% (variable)
More Info
Receive an additional 10,000 IHG Rewards Club bonus points when £500 or more spent within first 90 days of opening until 31.3.20.
1 IHG Rewards Club point for every £1 spent in the UK.
2 IHG Rewards Club points for every £1 spent at any IHG location in the UK.
2 IHG Rewards Club points for every £1 spent abroad.
Representative example: When you spend £1,200 at a purchase rate of 22.9% (variable) p.a., your representative rate is 22.9% APR (variable).
Tesco Bank Foundation Clubcard Credit Card Mastercard
Tesco Bank Foundation Clubcard Credit Card Mastercard
N/A
1 point per £8 spent
£0
27.5% (variable)
More Info
Collect 1 Tesco Clubcard point per £4 spent (£4 minimum) in Tesco and 1 Clubcard point per £8 spent (£8 minimum) outside Tesco in each purchase transaction.  Must have available credit to collect Clubcard points. Clubcard points are turned into Clubcard vouchers every 3 months or sooner using Faster Vouchers. Clubcard vouchers can be used in Tesco or with Clubcard Reward Partners to get even more value on dining out, hotel stays and travel.
Representative example: When you spend £1,200 at a purchase rate of 27.542% (variable) p.a., your representative rate is 27.5% APR (variable).
Tesco Bank Clubcard Plus Credit Card Mastercard
Tesco Bank Clubcard Plus Credit Card Mastercard
N/A
1 point per £8 spent
£0
37.7% (variable)
More Info
1 point per £4 spent (£4 minimum) in Tesco and 1 point per £8 spent (£8 minimum) outside Tesco, must have available credit to earn points. Card can also be used as a Clubcard to collect standard points at 1 point per £1 spent on shopping and 1 point per £2 spent on fuel. Points are converted to Tesco vouchers which can be used towards shopping or exchanged for Partner Rewards.
Representative example: When you spend £1,200 at a purchase rate of 19.944% (variable) p.a., your representative rate is 37.7% APR (variable).
IHG Rewards Club Premium Credit Card Mastercard
IHG Rewards Club Premium Credit Card Mastercard
20,000 points
2 points per £1 spent
£99 per annum
45.1% (variable)
More Info
2 IHG Rewards Club point for every £1 spent in the UK.
4 IHG Rewards Club points for every £1 spent at any IHG location in the UK.
4 IHG Rewards Club points for every £1 spent abroad.
Free night voucher at any IHG property if customer spends £10,000 per year. Free night voucher to be awarded on account anniversary.
Representative example: When you spend £1,200 at a purchase rate of 22.9% (variable) p.a. with a fee of £99 per annum, your representative rate is 45.1% APR (variable).

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What is Avios?

Avios is a frequent flyer scheme, where you earn points towards the cost of a flight as you spend. You can earn points through flying, spending with Avios partner brands or converting points from other programmes (such as Tesco Clubcard points (at the time of writing, you get 600 Avios points for every £2.50 in Clubcard points you exchange). The amount you can collect from flights you buy depends on which airline you fly with, how far you fly, and which cabin you fly in – whether you’re going in economy, business or first class.

The number of points you need to use per flight depends on which zone you travel in. The zone depends on the distance between your departure airport and your destination, and there are nine zones. Generally, if you’re travelling in Europe, your flight will be within Zones 1 and 3 (up to 2,000 miles away).

You still need to pay taxes and charges on flights. But under Avios’ “Reward Flight Saver” scheme, you pay a fixed £35 fee on most short-haul economy flights in Zones 1-3, as long as you earn at least one point during the year before you book. You can choose to pay for your flight with Avios points, or a combination of points and money.

The cost of flights in Avios points is fixed – it doesn’t fluctuate as it does if you’re paying in cash. However, availability can be lower, so book early if you want to use your points. Booking generally opens 355 days before a flight.

BA Executive Club

The changes of July 2018 move all Avios members to the BA Executive Club, and promise to bring even more options than before.

You can choose to collect and spend Avios with BA, Iberia, Vueling and Aer Lingus. The changes also mean you can now fly with LATAM, Malaysian, S7, Royal Jordanian, American Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Qantas, Finnair, Qatar, and Japan Airlines, Air Italy and Alaska Airlines.

BA flies to Europe only from London, and you used to be charged in Avios points for both sections of each leg of the journey if you had to fly to London first. However, new airlines fly to European destinations from other cities in the UK, such as Manchester or Liverpool. Plus, there are more destinations, hotels and experiences you can spend your money on.

How can I compare cards that offer Avios points?

There are different factors you should consider when choosing a card. These include:
  • Is there a sign-up bonus?
  • Where you can earn points?
  • What is the earn-rate?
  • Are any types of transaction exempt?
  • Does the card have an annual fee?
  • How easy is it to convert the points?
  • How much will the card cost to run?
  • Does the card have other benefits?

It’s worth noting that many of these cards have a foreign exchange fee of 3%, so you may wish to get a separate credit card for spending money abroad.

Although the British Airways American Express credit card bonus might seem like a reason to go for it over the American Express Rewards credit card, you could get better value for your money going for the Premium Plus card, which has a fee of £195 per annum. This is because the earn-rate of Avios points on the Premium Plus is 1.5 (rather than 1) for every £1, which would give you 10,000 extra Avios points on a spend of £20,000. You also get an extra year to use your two-for-one voucher.

Although an annual fee can put some people off, it’s always worth weighing this up against the extra benefits that these cards typically entitle you to. Ultimately, whether or not the fee is worth paying will come down to how many points you expect to earn over the year, and how much those points will then go on to save you – you could be surprised.

If you don’t want to pay a fee, there are another couple of notable free cards. The Amex Gold is the best for sign-up bonuses, with an offer of 10,000 membership rewards points, which is the equivalent of 10,000 Avios points. However the annual fee is only waived for the first year.

The free Tesco Clubcard Mastercard is a strong choice for earning Avios, earning you 0.3 Avios per £1 spent. You can also use the points for Virgin miles or different deals such as Uber credit. American Express is not accepted everywhere so this is worth considering as an alternative.

What are the pros and cons of Avios points cards?

Pros

  • You can use your points for long-haul business trips and lounge passes.
  • Companion tickets – you can take someone on the same conditions as your flight – so if you fly long-haul in business class, they can join you.
  • You can use them like any usual credit cards for your everyday spending – and as long as you pay off in full every month, this could mean more points.
  • If your card is a credit card (rather than a charge card), you’re protected by section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act if you buy anything costing between £100 and £30,000, at home or abroad.

Cons

  • Availability is more limited when booking flights, so it helps to be flexible.
  • You still need to pay taxes and charges on flights, so they’re not entirely free.
  • Some do come with annual fees.
  • You should only use them if you know you will pay them off in full every month, because of high interest fees.
  • For some, only high earners are eligible.
British Airways American Express Card

British Airways American Express Card

  • Earn 1 Avios per £1 spent
  • 5,000-Avios welcome bonus
  • Refer a friend bonus

Representative example: When you spend £1,200 at a purchase rate of 22.9% (variable) p.a., your representative rate is 22.9% APR (variable).

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Promoted

Are there any alternatives to Avios credit cards?

There are other frequent flyer cards, including the Virgin Atlantic Reward card , which offers double points on Virgin flights, as well as offers from Virgin Experience Days, Virgin Trains and Virgin Wines, which can help you earn miles. Other schemes include Emirate Skywards Miles, Iberia Plus, and Miles and More.

There are also cards aimed specifically at hotel stays, such as the IHG Rewards Club credit card, which includes offers for IHG properties like Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn.

Do Avios points expire?

You’ll need to spend or collect 1 Avios point on your credit card every 36-months period to avoid losing any points.

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