Not another one: the BA Accelerating Business Amex will also have its Avios rate cut from 7 October, with On Business points removed entirely

Another week, another cut to your benefits.

In December, we lost a chunk of value in the Avios devaluation. In May they raised the taxes and fees for reward flights. Then Friday last week, Amex confirmed it's cutting the earn rate on the Premium Plus card and scrapping the triple Avios on British Airways spend. Now the British Airways American Express Accelerating Business Card is getting an even more brutal cut.

Everything below takes effect on 7 October 2026, the same day as the cuts to the British Airways Premium Plus.

Thank you to Sean for bringing this to our attention via Instagram.

Who this actually affects

Only holders of the BA Accelerating Business Card. This is the small business version of the BA Amex, so if you don't run a business, you can breathe whatever sigh of relief you've built up since last weeks cuts. I would say this is worth a read anyway if you're following what's going on, because this is now the fourth cut in eight months.

Change one: the Avios earn rate drops

Now: 1.5 Avios for every eligible £1 you spend.

From 7 October: 1.25 Avios for every eligible £1 you spend.

In layman's terms, spend £1,000 on the card and you'll collect 1,250 Avios instead of 1,500.

Change two: On Business points disappear

Now: 2 On Business points for every £1 you spend directly with British Airways, on top of the Avios.

From 7 October: none at all.

If you've not come across On Business, it's British Airways' loyalty scheme for companies, sitting alongside Avios.

The idea is that when your business buys a flight, two different accounts get rewarded. The person flying gets Avios in their own British Airways Club account, and the business collects On Business points in the company account. You then spend those company points on flights and upgrades through a separate On Business booking site, where seats are offered with greater availability compared with Avios.

Normally a business needs to be VAT registered to join On Business. If you were to take this card then that requirement is void, and an account is opened automatically for you.

In my opinion this change will sting the most, because if you were to currently buy British Airways flights using this card today, you're being rewarded twice for the same transaction, with Avios and On Business points. From October you're being rewarded once, at a lower rate.

Change three: a new £200 statement credit arrives

Now: nothing.

From 7 October: up to £200 back each calendar year when you spend at Avios Hotels or Avios Car Hire.

Avios Hotels and Avios Car Hire are the Avios-branded booking sites for hotel rooms and hire cars, where you can pay with cash, Avios, or a mix of the two.

You're enrolled automatically, so there's nothing to activate. There's also no minimum spend, so you can use it across as many separate bookings as you like until you've had your £200.

The allowance resets every 1 January. So as the benefit starts on 7 October, you have just under three months to use this years credit before it resets in the new year.

What isn't changing

• The annual spend bonus. You still get 10,000 bonus Avios each time you spend £20,000, up to three times a calendar year, so up to 30,000 additional Avios a year.

• The eligibility rules.

• The £250 annual fee, as far as we can see.

Why this is worse for sole traders than anyone else

Back in January, Amex stopped accepting sole traders on both the Business Gold and the Business Platinum. Capital on Tap has never accepted them either. That leaves the Accelerating Business Card as the only card in the UK that earns Avios and that a sole trader can actually apply for.

I said above that the change to On Business points will sting, well this flat-out hurts. Why? When a card gets worse, the normal answer is to go and get a better one. If you run a limited company you've got options to consider. But if you're a sole trader, you haven't, so you are stuck with a worsening product.

The bottom line

Whereas last week you could make the case that the Avios reduction was there to fund the increase in tier points on offer, today's change to the Accelerating Business card is a blatant cut and a devaluation to what you and I have got used to, with the statement credit there as a ruse to make you think this isn't a worse deal.

I promise to bring you some good news soon.

Sam

Points Well Made is a passion project from Sam and Helena. If you've enjoyed this and want to help us keep the lights on, please consider buying us a Ko-fi or subscribing monthly. You can also find us on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok for more of the same. Thanks for reading.