We Ranked the Best Credit Cards for Earning Avios in the UK Right Now
- Sam
- 17 hours ago
- 10 min read
If you want to collect as much Avios as possible, then a credit card is the must-have tool. Whether you're chasing that business class seat or just want to fly to Europe for next to nothing, having the right card for you can make a big difference to how quickly your Avios balance grows.
We've ranked the five best Avios-earning credit cards available in the UK right now, based on earning rates, standard welcome bonuses, annual perks, and overall value. Some are free, some cost a fair bit, and each has its place depending on your spending habits and travel goals.
Just a quick heads-up: Points Well Made is here to dish out the juicy details on miles and points, but we’re not your financial advisers. Any decisions you make regarding products featured on this site are your own responsibility, and you should always consider whether a product suits your personal circumstances. While we chat about all manner of lender goodies, we’re not a lender ourselves. Remember, you know you best.
One thing before we start! These cards have high interest rates on them. Pay them off at the end of each month to avoid paying this interest.
5. Barclaycard Avios Mastercard
Annual Fee: £0
Welcome Bonus: 5,000 Avios (spend £1,000 in first 3 months)
Earn Rate: 1 Avios per £1
Annual Perk: Cabin upgrade voucher or 7,000 Avios after £20,000 spend
Let's start with the no-frills option. The free Barclaycard Avios card isn't going to set the world alight with its 5,000 Avios welcome bonus, but it costs nothing to hold and earns 1 Avios per £1 on all spending.
The real advantage here? It's a Mastercard, so it works everywhere. Your village corner shop, local café, and smaller retailers that won't take your Amex? This card will work. If you're already using an American Express as your primary card, the Barclaycard Avios slots in perfectly as your backup.
Hit £20,000 in spending over 12 months and you'll unlock a British Airways Cabin Upgrade voucher (or take 7,000 Avios instead if you prefer). This doesn't let you upgrade an existing booking – instead, when you're booking a BA reward flight using Avios, it lets you book the higher cabin while only paying the Avios cost of the cabin below it.
For example, you want to fly Club World to New York. Normally you'd need around 166,000 Avios return. With the voucher, you book Club World but pay the 93,500 Avios that World Traveller Plus would cost. You still pay business class taxes and fees, but you've halved your Avios spend.
The downsides? That £20,000 spend requirement is steep for a lot of people. There's also a 2.99% foreign transaction fee, so I wouldn't recommend using this card abroad.
Best for: Light spenders who want a free Avios card that works everywhere Amex doesn't, or as a backup to an American Express.
4. British Airways American Express Credit Card
Annual Fee: £0
Welcome Bonus: 5,000 Avios (spend £2,000 in first 3 months)
Earn Rate: 1 Avios per £1
Annual Perk: Companion voucher after £15,000 spend (economy only)
The free British Airways American Express card has been around for ages, and it's a decent way to quietly rack up Avios without paying an annual fee. Hell, it's the first card I took out to start my points journey!
The standard welcome bonus is 5,000 Avios when you spend £2,000 in your first three months – like the Avios Barclaycard, it's nothing spectacular, but it's essentially free points for a card that costs nothing to hold. The earning rate is a straightforward 1 Avios per £1.
Spend £15,000 in a card year and you'll earn a Companion Voucher, valid for use in economy only. This means you can fly with a companion for no extra Avios, or go solo and get 50% off the Avios cost of your flight. You can redeem it on British Airways, Aer Lingus or Iberia Reward Flights. You'll still need to cover taxes and fees, but the Avios savings are real.
The voucher is valid for 12 months from when it's issued, giving you an okay amount flexibility.
Getting this free card also gets you into the world of American Express member offers – this means money off at various retailers, hotel discounts, that sort of thing. Not bad for a card that costs nothing.
Best for: Anyone new to Avios collecting who wants to dip their toes in without committing to annual fees.
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3. American Express Preferred Rewards Gold Card
Annual Fee: Free in year one, then £195 annually
Welcome Bonus: 20,000 Membership Rewards points (spend £3,000 in first 3 months)
Earn Rate: 1 Membership Rewards point per £1 (converts 1:1 to Avios), 2 points per £1 on airline bookings, 3 points per £1 spent via Amex Travel
Annual Perks: Up to 10,000 bonus points based on spending, £120 Deliveroo credit, 4 Priority Pass lounge visits
This is where this list gets more interesting. Flexibility is the card's superpower. The Amex Gold doesn't earn Avios directly as it earns Membership Rewards points, which you can then convert 1:1 into Avios (or Virgin Points, Emirates Skywards, Singapore Krisflyer etc).
The standard welcome bonus is 20,000 Membership Rewards points when you spend £3,000 in the first three month that's 20,000.
The card is free for your first year, then £195 annually. You'll also earn up to 10,000 bonus Membership Rewards points each year based on spending: 5,000 points when you hit £10,000, and another 5,000 when you reach £20,000.
The Deliveroo credit is £120 per year – Amex refunds you £5 for the first two Deliveroo orders charged to your card each month. There's also four Priority Pass lounge visits included annually, which is a nice way to level up a couple of trips.
The earning rate is 2 points per £1 on airline bookings, though note there's a 2.99% foreign exchange fee which somewhat dampens the benefit when spending in something other than pounds.
The big restriction: you must not have held a personal American Express card in the last 24 months to qualify for the welcome bonus.
I could go as far saying that this is the best points starter card. More on that next week.
Best for: People who want flexibility to transfer points to multiple airlines, not just British Airways. It's also brilliant as a first card if you're new to the points game with that free first year.
2. Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard
Annual Fee: £20 per month (£240 annually)
Welcome Bonus: 25,000 Avios (spend £3,000 in first 3 months)
Earn Rate: 1.5 Avios per £1
Annual Perks: Cabin Upgrade Voucher or 7,000 Avios after £10,000 spend, DragonPass lounge access
The Barclaycard Avios Plus costs £20 monthly, but it earns 1.5 Avios for every £1 you spend, making it one of the best non-Amex earning rates in the UK.
The standard welcome bonus is 25,000 Avios when you spend £3,000 in the first three months. Combine that with the 4,500 Avios you'll earn from hitting that spend threshold at 1.5 per £1, and you're off to a good start.
The big advantage? It's a Mastercard, so it works in all those places that won't take your Amex. If you're already using an American Express, this slots in nicely as your backup card that still earns brilliantly.
Put £10,000 through it in any 12-month period and you'll earn either 7,000 bonus Avios or a BA Cabin Upgrade Voucher. The voucher is where the real value lies.
Like the free Barclaycard Avios, the Cabin Upgrade Voucher doesn't actually upgrade an existing booking. Instead, when you're booking a BA reward flight using Avios, it lets you book the higher cabin while only paying the Avios cost of the cabin below it.
If you're spending £10,000 annually, you'll earn 15,000 Avios from that spend, plus get the Cabin Upgrade Voucher. Add the 25,000 welcome bonus in year one. That's 40,000 Avios plus a voucher that could save you a small fortune.
The downsides? There's a 2.99% foreign transaction fee, so I wouldn't recommend using this card abroad. And if you're switching from the free Barclaycard Avios, you won't get the full 25,000 welcome bonus – you'd only receive a measly 5,000 Avios.
You'll also get a Dragonpass (similar to a Priority Pass) with discounted lounge access for £20.50 each visit. You'll get four complimentary lounge visits annually if you also hold a Barclays Premier account with Avios rewards.
Best for: Regular spenders who want high earning rates and don't mind paying £240 per year for the privilege.
1. British Airways American Express Premium Plus Card
Annual Fee: £300
Welcome Bonus: 30,000 Avios (spend £6,000 in first 3 months)
Earn Rate: 1.5 Avios per £1, 3 Avios per £1 on BA bookings
Annual Perk: Companion voucher after £15,000 spend (works in ALL cabins, including first class)
The British Airways American Express Premium Plus Card is the heavyweight champion of UK Avios cards, and for good reason.
The standard welcome bonus is 30,000 Avios when you spend £6,000 in the first three months.
The card earns 1.5 Avios per £1 on all spending, increasing to 3 Avios per £1 on BA bookings made directly with British Airways. That's a very good earning rate for everyday spending.
This cards real strength is the Companion Voucher. Spend £15,000 in a card year and you'll earn a voucher that works in ANY cabin class – economy, premium economy, business, AND first class.
Let's say you want to fly to Singapore in first class. That's 154,000 Avios per person one-way. But, with the Premium Plus Companion Voucher, you can book two seats but only pay for one, meaning your spend is just 154,000 Avios in total, plus taxes and fees for both passengers. If you're flying solo, you can use the voucher to get 50% off the Avios cost of your flight.
The voucher works on British Airways, Iberia, and Aer Lingus flights, and it's valid for 24 months from when it's issued, which is double the validity period of the Companion Voucher from the free BA Amex card.
There's another crucial benefit: Premium Plus cardholders get access to tens of thousands of additional Club World seats that aren't available to other members when booking with a Companion Voucher. This enhanced availability makes finding two business class seats together dramatically easier.
The £300 annual fee is steep, but if you're a regular BA flyer or want to absolutely maximise your Avios, the value is absolutely there with this card. In your first year, you'll get 30,000 Avios from the bonus, 9,000 Avios from hitting the £6,000 spend requirement, and a companion voucher if you reach £15,000 total spend. That's 39,000 Avios plus a voucher that could be worth hundreds of thousands of Avios depending on how you use it.
The eligibility restriction is slightly less onerous than other BA Amex cards: you can't have held any personal BA American Express card in the past 24 months to get the welcome bonus. This means existing holders of cards like the Amex Gold or Amex Platinum can still qualify for the Premium Plus bonus.
Add all of that together, and I’m sure you’ll see why British Airways Premium Plus American Express is ranked as the number one Avios earning card on this list.
Best for: Serious Avios collectors and frequent BA flyers who want maximum value and premium cabin access. If you're going to spend £15,000 anyway and you value that powerful Companion Voucher, then this card pays for itself.
Honourable Mentions: HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard
Annual Fee: £290
Welcome Bonus: 40,000 HSBC Reward Points (spend £2,000 in first 90 days)
Earn Rate: 3 HSBC Rewards points per £1, 4 HSBC Rewards points per £1 in foreign currency
Annual Perks: Priority Pass lounge access
Eligibility: HSBC Premier or Personal Wealth current account required
Here's one that you may not have heard of. The HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard is only available if you have an HSBC Premier account (which requires either £75,000 income or £100,000 in savings with HSBC) or a Personal Wealth current account. This is why it gets our honourable mention.
The card earns HSBC Rewards points, not Avios directly, and the conversion rate is 2:1 – meaning you need 2 HSBC points to get 1 Avios.
The welcome bonus is 40,000 HSBC Reward Points, equating to 20,000 Avios. You also get Priority Pass membership included, giving you access to airport lounges worldwide.
The big problem? That £290 annual fee is hefty, and with no companion-esque voucher to help justify that fee.
Best for: Existing HSBC Premier customers who want to earn Avios. If you're not already an HSBC Premier customer, don't open an account just to get this card.
American Express Platinum Card
Annual Fee: £650
Welcome Bonus: 50,000 Membership Rewards points (spend £6,000 in first three months)
Earn Rate: 1 Membership Rewards point per £1 (converts 1:1 to Avios), 2 points per £1 on Amex Travel
Annual Perks: Unlimited Priority Pass lounge access, Centurion Lounge access, £400 annual dining credit, hotel elite status, travel insurance
Why is this all the way down here in the honourable mentions? Well, the title is “the best credit cards for earning Avios”, and the Platinum Card is a terrible choice if you’re purely focused on earning Avios efficiently. The £650 annual fee will make most of you wince, and the 1 point per £1 earning rate is poor at best when you’re paying that much.
Now if we were writing an article entitled “we ranked the cards with the best perks”, then the Platinum would blow the competition out of the water.
The standard welcome bonus of 50,000 Membership Rewards points is… fine? Yes, that’s 50,000 Avios, but you’re paying £650 for the privilege. If you compare that to the BA Premium Plus at £300 giving you 30,000 Avios plus a Companion Voucher, or the Amex Gold giving you 20,000 points in year one with no fee, and suddenly the Platinum looks like poor value for pure points earning.
American Express regularly runs enhanced promotions on the Platinum Card, boosting the welcome bonus to 75,000 or even 100,000 Membership Rewards points. We’ve seen these offers multiple times over the past year, and one of those offers may just help this card crack our top five.
Sam
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Are you sure about the the free DragonPass lounge access x4 on the Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard? Mine only gives me access for £20.50 per person! Have I missed something?