Responses to the Avios devaluation: Virgin increases cabin bonus, Qatar cuts BA earning

The Avios earning and burning changes, which kick in from April 28th and are covered in a series of articles starting here, are beginning to impact other carriers.

Virgin Atlantic emailed Flying Club members this week with changes to their cabin bonus structure.

As a reminder, this is what is happening with Avios:

Focussing on Club World / Business, British Airways is moving the Avios earned from a flexible ticket from 150% of miles flown to 250% of miles flown.

Virgin Atlantic currently beats British Airways by offering a 200% cabin bonus for flexible Upper Class tickets.  To ensure that they continue to beat BA, the cabin bonus has increased to 300% with immediate effect.

Between now and April 28th – ignoring the impact of any status bonus – you will earn twice as many miles on a flexible business class ticket with Virgin Atlantic compared to British Airways.  After April 28th, you will earn 20% more.

The 300% bonus is flagged as a special promotion until the end of 2015 but may well remain permanent.

It is worth noting that Virgin Atlantic continues to give 100% of miles flown on ALL economy tickets.  This is a SUBSTANTIAL difference to what you will earn on a cheap economy ticket on BA after April 28th – a modest 400% difference.  If this continues, it will be a very good reason to fly Virgin.

You can see the new Virgin Atlantic earning table on their website here.

Qatar Airways changes its rates when you credit BA flights

Meanwhile, Qatar Airways has taken the axe to the miles you earn when you credit some BA flights to their Privilege Club.

This is an important move.  If other oneworld airlines continue to credit British Airways flights at the current rates, it will make more sense for some people to start crediting BA flights to another airline.  This will be especially true of travellers who always travel in discounted economy.

Here is the new Qatar Airways Privilege Club earning table

The original is on the Qatar Airways website here.

None of the rates are more generous than British Airways Executive Club except economy class G which earns 50% in Qatar but only 25% on BA.  Given that there are nine economy ticket buckets this is not a major difference.

We can expect similar changes from other oneworld partners in the next few weeks, I expect.  It is hard to believe that American Airlines will continue to give you 100% of miles flown in BA discount economy when BA only gives 25% ….

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How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (April 2025)

As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Avios points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses!

In February 2022, Barclaycard launched two exciting new Barclaycard Avios Mastercard cards with a bonus of up to 25,000 Avios. You can apply here.

You qualify for the bonus on these cards even if you have a British Airways American Express card:

Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard

Get 25,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £10,000 Read our full review

Barclaycard Avios Mastercard

Get 5,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £20,000 Read our full review

There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

30,000 Avios and the famous annual 2-4-1 voucher Read our full review

British Airways American Express

5,000 Avios for signing up and an Economy 2-4-1 voucher for spending £15,000 Read our full review

You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points. These points convert at 1:1 into Avios.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on the ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 30,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (30,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to a huge 80,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (80,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 30,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express

80,000 bonus points and great travel benefits – for a large fee Read our full review

Run your own business?

We recommend Capital on Tap for limited companies. You earn 1 Avios per £1 which is impressive for a Visa card, and the standard card is FREE. Capital on Tap cards also have no FX fees.

Capital on Tap Visa

NO annual fee, NO FX fees and points worth 1 Avios per £1 Read our full review

Capital on Tap Pro Visa

10,500 points (=10,500 Avios) plus good benefits Read our full review

There is also a British Airways American Express card for small businesses:

British Airways American Express Accelerating Business

30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios Read our full review

There are also generous bonuses on the two American Express Business cards, with the points converting at 1:1 into Avios. These cards are open to sole traders as well as limited companies.

American Express Business Platinum

50,000 points when you sign-up and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review

American Express Business Gold

20,000 points sign-up bonus and FREE for a year Read our full review

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.