Avios points get a lot of attention in UK credit card circles, and for good reason. They’re genuinely useful if you fly British Airways or any of the other IAG airlines like Iberia and Aer Lingus. But there’s a right way and a wrong way to accumulate and spend them, and the difference can be worth hundreds of pounds per year, perhaps even more.
The straightforward approach is to get a Barclays Avios Plus card, which earns you 1.5 Avios per pound spent everywhere. It’s simple, and you get Avios directly without any faffing about with transfers. But here’s the thing most people miss: you’ll earn significantly more points by getting an American Express card that earns Membership Rewards points, then transferring those to Avios at a 1:1 ratio. The Amex Gold card, for instance, gives you 4 points per pound at UK supermarkets and restaurants. That’s more than double what the dedicated Avios card offers in those categories.
The real question isn’t how to earn Avios though. It’s whether they’re actually worth collecting. The answer depends entirely on how you redeem them. If you’re using Avios to book short-haul flights within Europe, you’re looking at excellent value, often 1.5 to 2 pence per point. A return flight from London to Edinburgh costs just 9,000 Avios plus about £35 in taxes. When those flights normally cost £150 or more, you’re getting nearly 2p per point in value.
Long-haul flights are trickier. British Airways charges hefty fuel surcharges even on reward tickets, which means your “free” flight to New York still costs £300-400 in taxes and fees on top of your Avios. Sometimes it’s actually cheaper to just buy the ticket with cash. This is where Virgin Atlantic Flying Club becomes interesting as an alternative transfer partner from Amex. Virgin charges lower surcharges on long-haul awards, though they’re less useful for European travel.
The biggest mistake people make with Avios is booking during peak periods. BA uses dynamic pricing now, and school holiday flights can cost double the off-peak rate. If you have flexibility, flying on a Tuesday instead of a Friday can save you literally thousands of Avios. Similarly, rarely redeem Avios for hotel bookings, car rentals, or merchandise from the Avios shop. The value is usually below 0.5p per point. Check the numbers before you press buy.
If you’re serious about maximising Avios, here’s a realistic scenario. Say you put £500 monthly through your Amex Gold at supermarkets and £300 at restaurants. That’s 38,400 points per year from those categories alone, which converts to 38,400 Avios. Add in another £1,200 monthly on a Barclays Avios Plus card for other spending, and you’re earning another 21,600 Avios annually. That’s 60,000 Avios per year without breaking a sweat, enough for six return trips within Europe or two return trips to New York during off-peak periods.
One often-overlooked strategy is the household account feature. For £35 annually, you can pool Avios with up to six family members at the same address. If you and your partner both collect Avios, combining them makes reaching redemption thresholds much easier. It’s particularly worthwhile if you’re working toward business class tickets, which require substantially more points.
The honest truth is that Avios work brilliantly for some people and poorly for others. If you regularly fly British Airways to European cities or take domestic flights within the UK, they’re fantastic. If you rarely fly or prefer long-haul trips where surcharges eat into the value, you might be better off with straightforward cashback instead. There’s no wrong answer, just different approaches for different lifestyles.