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Compare credit cards that earn points you can exchange for Avios
Table: sorted by representative APR, promoted deals first
If you’re a regular business traveller or have the option to use points collected on your business credit card for personal use, it’s worth knowing that some credit cards let you exchange their loyalty points for Avios. For example, you can swap your American Express Membership Rewards points at an exchange rate of 1 Membership Rewards point for 1 Avios (although there is a small caveat that you transfer a minimum of 1,000 points).
What is Avios and how can my business benefit from it?
Avios is a frequent flyer programme. You can earn points in a number of different ways, including booking flights with partner airlines, shopping at partner retailers (there are more than 1,100 – from Apple to Selfridges to M&S), or using a credit card that earns Avios points when you spend on it.
You can then redeem Avios points for a number of rewards, from free flights and hotel stays to wine gifts.
You’re probably the best person to judge if and how your business can benefit from Avios, but here are a few questions you might want to consider:
How much do you normally budget for expenses? If your team is small and you don’t spend much, it’s probably not worth the hassle (or the annual card fee).
How much do you travel? Earning and redeeming Avios is most easily (and lucratively) done by travelling, preferably with one of Avios’ partner airlines. However, even if you don’t travel much for your business, an Avios card might still be worth it. It largely depends on whether you spend at Avios’ retail partners.
How can my business join Avios?
Bad news first: it can’t. Avios is a “personal” frequent flyer scheme: your Avios account only belongs to you, and you’ll be the only person able to use your membership card. If different people in your business fly often, they’ll have to open different Avios accounts.
However, that doesn’t stop you from earning Avios when you spend using your business card. It just means that points earned by different people can’t be accumulated into a single account.
In order to join Avios, you need to join one of its partner airlines’ clubs. You can choose among British Airways Executive Club, Iberia Plus, AerClub, Finnair Plus, Vueling Club and Qatar Airways Privilege Club. They’re all free, so it all comes down to which airlines you use the most. Once you’ve joined, you’ll be given a card and a membership number that you can use or quote every time you want to collect or redeem Avios points.
How do business credit cards that offer Avios points work?
You earn points on the card’s scheme every time you use your business credit card. Those points can then be converted into Avios points and added to your personal Avios account, even though they have been collected on business spending.
How to find the best credit card for Avios points
Unlike personal credit cards, the selection of credit cards earning Avios points isn’t exactly huge: basically, you can choose between Capital On Tap and American Express business cards. To make the right decision, you should consider:
Earn rate. How many points will you get for every £1 you spend? And how many Avios points will the card scheme’s points be worth? For example, you can get an Amex business card that earns you 1 Membership Rewards point for every £1 you spend, and 1 Membership Rewards point = 1 Avios point.
Annual fee. How much do you need to spend on the card to earn back the fee? If you’re a smaller business, is that a realistic level of spend?
Sign-up bonus. It’s a nice-to-have, but you should consider the value of the card over the whole period you’re planning to use it for: don’t get enticed by an introductory offer and then get stuck with a card that isn’t right for you.
Foreign transaction fees. If you travel a lot for business purposes, do you go overseas? If you do, you may want to look for a card that doesn’t charge extra fees when used abroad. Capital On Tap beats Amex on this.
Flexibility. If you grow tired of Avios or realise it doesn’t fit your business, what else can you do with the points? It’s worth knowing that Avios points can be converted into Nectar points: you can currently get 400 Nectar points for 400 Avios, and 250 Avios for 400 Nectar points.
Extra perks. Some cards complement the rewards with other handy features, such as airport lounge access or travel insurance.
Whether or not you want an Amex. There are a lot of advantages to having an Amex business credit card, but bear in mind that some businesses still don’t accept these cards. It’s worth doing a little research into how many of your vendors and suppliers accept Amex before you apply: there’s no point paying for a credit card you can’t use.
Ultimately, it’s all about figuring out how much business spending you need to do on the card, and whether it’ll get you enough rewards to make up for the annual fee.
It’s also worth noting that these cards are all about the rewards: they’re far from the best when it comes to borrowing. The Amex business cards are all charge cards, so you’ll have to pay the bill in full every month. Capital On Tap’s credit cards have quite a high representative APR, so carrying a balance on them will prove expensive.
Credit card cost comparison
Credit card limit: £10,000
Outstanding balance: £5,000
Interest rate: 23%
Monthly repayment: £250
Total interest: £1,199
Credit card limit: £10,000
Outstanding balance: £5,000
Interest rate: 34%
Monthly repayment: £250
Total interest: £1,979
Make sure you collect, spend, buy or share at least one Avios every 36 months, otherwise your Avios will expire and be removed from your account.”
5 tips to get the most out of your Avios business card
If you’re looking to get more bang for your buck, we’ve put together 5 of our best top tips to get more Avios.
Introductory bonus. If timed correctly and you meet the eligibility criteria, you could bag yourself some welcome Avios points to get you off to a flying start.
Business expenses. Why not use your card for all your business expenses? As long as you keep on top of your repayments, this is a savvy way to earn more for your buck.
Employee cards. Some lenders offer up to 99 additional business cards designed for your employees. By making use of this benefit, your points pot could build quite quickly with your employees in on the game. But, as the account holder, you will be responsible for all card spend and repayments.
Referral bonuses. Depending on the card you opt for, you could earn a bonus from successfully referring another business that also signs up for the card.
Spending targets. Again depending on your card, you could earn additional Avios when you spend over a certain amount. As with any credit product, make sure you’re not just chasing the points and you only spend as much as you can repay.
Pros and cons of Avios business cards
Pros
You can redeem your points for a variety of rewards, from flights to wine.
These cards allow you to earn Avios points on all your business spending.
You might benefit from welcome or referral bonuses.
Team up to earn – and spend? – Avios together with your colleagues, thanks to additional cards.
Cons
These cards normally come for a fairly pricey annual fee.
Borrowing with these cards can be quite expensive: to avoid this, pay off your business card bill in full every month.
If you’re redeeming your Avios on flights, you’ll still need to pay taxes and charges.
Business credit card purchases aren’t protected by Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act.
Alternatives to Avios business cards
Unfortunately, there aren’t any other frequent flyer business credit cards on the market at the moment, so if you want to use a different airline to those on the Avios network, you’re out of luck. However, Amex’s Membership Rewards points can be redeemed for miles and points with other airlines, including Delta and Virgin Atlantic.
Alternatively, you could consider a cashback business credit card: less fancy, more flexible.
Avios business credit cards can be great for your business if you regularly travel overseas. However, remember that most of these cards charge high annual fees and are best suited to those who can afford to repay their balance in full every month. They can also charge high fees for making purchases overseas, so you might need a separate business card for that purpose.
Frequently asked questions
It closed in July 2018. If you were a member, you’ll have been moved to a British Airways Executive Club membership. Avios has remained as a currency but doesn’t have its own frequent flyer scheme anymore.
That’s the million-dollar question. It depends on factors, such as what you redeem your points for and, if you’re looking at rewards flights, the airline you fly with, when you want to travel, where to and in which class. You can learn more about how the scheme works on our page about personal credit cards that earn Avios points.
You’ll need to spend or collect 1 Avios point every 36-month period to avoid losing any points.
Short answer: it’s like a credit card, but you can’t carry a balance from one month to the other. Long answer here.
There are several Mastercard credit cards which you can use to earn Avios points, but none of them are business cards.
It depends what you want them for: Amex points and Avios points have equal value, but with Amex points you get more flexibility on how to spend them.
You can, but only on personal cards: there isn’t a business Barclaycard offering Avios points right now.
You can use Avois points with the following airlines when you book via the BA website: Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Finnair, Iberia, Japan Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, Qantas, Qatar Airways, Royal Jordanian, Royal Air Maroc, and SriLankan Airlines.
We show offers we can track - that's not every product on the market...yet. Unless we've said otherwise, products are in no particular order. The terms "best", "top", "cheap" (and variations of these) aren't ratings, though we always explain what's great about a product when we highlight it. This is subject to our terms of use. When you make major financial decisions, consider getting independent financial advice. Always consider your own circumstances when you compare products so you get what's right for you. Most of the data in Finder's comparison tables has the source: Moneyfacts Group PLC. In other cases, Finder has sourced data directly from providers.
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To make sure you get accurate and helpful information, this guide has been reviewed by Rachel Wait, a member of Finder's Editorial Review Board.
Tom Stelzer is a writer for Finder specialising in personal finance, including loans and credit, as well as small business and business loans. He has previously worked as a freelance writer covering entertainment, culture and football for publications like FourFourTwo and Man of Many. He has a Master of Media Arts and Production and Bachelor of Communications in Journalism from the University of Technology Sydney. See full bio
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