Maximise your Avios, air miles and hotel points

Let’s be clear …. avios.com is NOT closing. Your questions answered.

Links on Head for Points may support the site by paying a commission.  See here for all partner links.

A disproportionate percentage of my inbox in the last 6-8 weeks has been on the topic of the closure of the avios.com website.

Despite (or perhaps because of) the correspondence from British Airways and Avios on this subject, there is substantial confusion over what is going on.  I thought it was worth taking a bit more time today to clarify certain issues.

BELIEF:  The avios.com website is closing down

TRUTH:  The avios.com website is not closing down, and will actually become far more important than it is at the moment

The thing that is being closed down is the Avios Travel Rewards Programme.  This was set up to be the ‘Avios scheme for people who don’t fly’ and there was a hope that it would compete with Clubcard or Nectar.  It has failed to do this – not helped by the fact that BA doesn’t fly from the regions – and is closing.

Your 3081xxxxxxxx account will be closed very shortly, if it has not already closed, and the balance moved to a British Airways Executive Club account.

Going forward, avios.com is where members of Vueling Club, Flybe, Aer Lingus AerClub and other Avios-earning schemes – except for British Airways and Iberia – will go to manage their accounts and book redemptions.

BELIEF:  I have no way of accessing avios.com once my Avios Travel Rewards Programme account is closed

TRUTH:  Not true.  You can continue to log in at avios.com – and book flights and make other redemptions – using an Aer Lingus AerClub or Vueling Club account

AerClub and Vueling Club accounts use the same 3081xxxxxxxxxx numbering system as Avios Travel Rewards Programme accounts and you can log-in at avios.com using AerClub or Vueling Club details.  Set up a free account at aerlingus.com or vueling.com and test it out.

BELIEF:  I can’t transfer Avios to AerClub or Vueling Club (or vice versa) because they don’t appear on the ‘Combine My Avios’ dropdown menu

TRUTH:  This is not the case

When you use ‘Combine My Avios’, the menu option for avios.com actually refers to ANY Avios account which starts 3081.  As well as Avios Travel Rewards Programme, this includes AerClub, Vueling Club and indeed Avios South Africa.

To move Avios into AerClub, for example, simply use ‘Combine My Avios’, select avios.com as destination and give your AerClub number.

If you want to move between two schemes which use the Avios platform, ie from AerClub to Vueling Club, you will need to move them via BA or Iberia as an intermediary – you cannot move Avios directly between two different schemes on the Avios platform.

Flybe Avios collection

BELIEF:  I can no longer earn Avios from Flybe because my Avios Travel Rewards Programme account has been closed and migrated to BA

TRUTH:  This is not the case

You can give Flybe ANY Avios account which starts with 3081.  If you are flying with Flybe, open an AerClub or Vueling Club account, credit the Avios to that and then use ‘Combine My Avios’ to move them using the route above.

Flybe will launching its own Avios scheme in the near future which will work in the same way as AerClub and Vueling Club.

BELIEF:  I can no longer use avios.com to move Avios between Iberia Plus and British Airways Executive Club, which is often the only functioning route, because my Avios Travel Rewards Programme account has been closed

TRUTH:  This is not the case

Simply open an AerClub or Vueling Club account, which operates off avios.com as I described above, and use that as a ‘middle man’ when you use ‘Combine My Avios’

Iberia tailfins

BELIEF:  Avios sent to my old avios.com account will be lost now my account is closed

TRUTH:  This is not the case

Once you Avios Travel Rewards Programme account is closed, any Avios sent to it will be automatically sent to your BA Executive Club account.

Hopefully this clarifies most of the questions you may still have about the closure of the Avios Travel Rewards Programme.  Ask in the comments below if you have any other queries.

PS. If you are not a regular Head for Points visitor, why not sign up for our FREE weekly or daily newsletters? They are full of the latest Avios, airline, hotel and credit card points news and will help you travel better. To join our 65,000 free subscribers, click the button below or visit this page of the site to find out more. Thank you.

How to earn Avios from UK credit cards

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 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 card

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.

Category

British Airways and Avios, Iberia and Club Iberia Plus

Comments (163)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • Gin and Tonic Please says:
    20 Aug20 August 09:58

    OT: Marriott Travel Packages (sorry to those who are fed up with the level of chat on this topic).

    I’ve just had an email from Marriott confirming that my (old) Category 7 certificate has been applied to my reservation at Domes Noruz Chania (new Category 7). This is what I was promised when I spoke to them last Friday, so I’m delighted that they’ve honoured that promise.

    • Alex W says:
      20 Aug20 August 11:02

      Well done – did you try to attach it before or after 18th Aug? Presume you had an existing points booking?

      • Gin and Tonic Please says:
        20 Aug20 August 13:46

        It’s a little more complicated than that – you can read more detail in my posts on Fri. In short, I tried to book a Cat 9 package on Fri and attach straight away to a booking at Domes Noruz. The Marriott agent told me repeatedly that all certificates would be honoured at the same category, so persuaded me to buy a Cat 7 package and make a reservation on Fri, but then attach the certificate this week. I was unsurprisingly nervous about that, so got her to confirm it in writing on Fri. In the end, all has worked out fine – and indeed I’m 60K Marriotts points better off! 🙂

    • Alan says:
      20 Aug20 August 22:00

      Good work G&TP 🙂

      Latest update (so far only released via OMAAT!) is that you can now make bookings using Travel Packages (no one month hiatus) and 30k compensation for those losing out (eg old cat 6) will be provided, with 45k if cancelled as before. No ability to upgrade from what they’ve said.

  • Felix Flyer says:
    20 Aug20 August 10:00

    Thanks. That’s answered my concern that I couldn’t transfer from my specific avios e-rewards account as I am away from the UK till October. Access to E-rewards doesn’t seem possible when outside UK.

  • Holly says:
    20 Aug20 August 10:07

    Hi – advice please – I need to book an Aer Lingus flight today. I have already moved my Avios to my BA acc. Where do I book this now? Sorry if it’s stupid question but I’m not up to speed with all the changes! TIA

    • ADS says:
      20 Aug20 August 10:59

      you can phone up BAEC and book it – taxes are lower doing this way.
      you can’t book EI reward flights on BAEC website.

      or you could move your Avios back to Avios.com and book on the Avios.com website – but taxes are higher on Avios.com than when you phone up BAEC.

      you can use Avios.com to check availability – it usually matches what you get on the phone with BAEC.

      • Holly says:
        20 Aug20 August 21:35

        Thanks for the reply. I called BAEC and although the availability was exactly the same as on avios.com the taxes were indeed different – but very surprisingly more! £285 v £162 on Avios.com. I transferred my Avios back and booked on .com
        Thanks for the advice.

        • ADS says:
          20 Aug20 August 23:07

          what route were you booking ?

        • Holly says:
          21 Aug21 August 09:13

          I was booking Faro to Manchester with a connection in Dublin for 1 Adult, 1 12-15yr and 1 child – economy

        • ADS says:
          23 Aug23 August 10:50

          i wonder if BA have upped their Aer Lingus fees.
          285 gbp seems like a huge amount for what you were booking.

    • Rob says:
      20 Aug20 August 12:38

      You need to ring BA to book if you Avios are in ba.com. Note that BA has worse availability but lower taxes. If the seats are only available via the Avios website (with the higher taxes) you’ll need to move them back via ‘Combine My Avios’ on either avios.com or ba.com.

      • Holly says:
        20 Aug20 August 21:35

        Thanks for the reply. I called BAEC and although the availability was exactly the same as on avios.com the taxes were indeed different – but very surprisingly more! £285 v £162 on Avios.com. I transferred my Avios back and booked on .com
        Thanks for the advice.

  • Craig says:
    20 Aug20 August 10:15

    OT: Is anyone else missing Amex sign up progress bars?

    • Peter K says:
      20 Aug20 August 10:51

      Yes. Had a look this morning and it’s not there.

    • RTS says:
      20 Aug20 August 10:58

      Still there.

    • Mike says:
      20 Aug20 August 11:19

      Also missing progress bar (annoying as I am within 30 days of year end and I don’t want to trigger it too early) – but if I click on “view earned avios” it shows “YOUR COMPANION VOUCHER STATUS” and the count down is there

  • Richard G says:
    20 Aug20 August 10:17

    So are they supposed to be matching your existing avios account to a BA account somehow? If so, it doesn’t seem to have worked for my wife’s account.

    • MarkZ says:
      20 Aug20 August 12:27

      As per my earlier comments: from my own experience, the key piece of information that made the match for me between Avios and BA was Date of Birth, along with Name, possibly gender, and possibly email address. When this whole saga started, I couldn’t initially transfer my wife’s Avios to her BA account, because of some “missing data”. After waiting a few days, I tried again, and discovered that the Avios IT team had introduced a pop-up window on logging in, which allowed me to enter and/or confirm the information that was required to make a transfer work – as stated, it was my wife’s Date of Birth that was missing, as it was such an old account (ex-Air Miles). Once this had been entered, the transfer went through without a hitch. So, if either you or your wife logs into your wife’s Avios account, then see if a pop-up window appears. If it does, then fill it in. Otherwise, check your wife’s Avios profile to ensure that her Date of Birth is in there, along with all the other important details. If the transfer still fails, then I have no other suggestions, I’m afraid.

    • Rob says:
      20 Aug20 August 12:36

      They haven’t done mine yet either, but it will come ….

  • Laura says:
    20 Aug20 August 10:18

    I like the statement page on Avios, helps with chasing unpaid points (as I am currently doing), but I haven’t yet found a similar statement page of unpaid, pending and cancelled Avios on the BAEC site, have I missed something?

  • RTS says:
    20 Aug20 August 10:34

    OT – Marriott – so i have been matched to Plat Elite despite my SPG being via AMEX PLat…

    • Peter K says:
      20 Aug20 August 10:53

      Several yesterday found the same thing, myself included. Someone said they asked and were told this will continue until next year… but can we really trust their call centres for info. It’s a wait and see situation I think!

      • guesswho2000 says:
        20 Aug20 August 11:19

        It would certainly tie up with what was originally reported (that us who got Marriott Gold via SPG Gold via Amex Platinum would be Platinum Aug-Dec 2018).

        • fivebobbill says:
          20 Aug20 August 12:09

          Not so, been inconsistent, my missus got status via that route and has remained Gold in Marriott

        • Lee says:
          20 Aug20 August 12:41

          Everyone I know have been upgraded to Platinum except one who never stayed at Marriott.

          • Rob says:
            20 Aug20 August 13:05

            Without wishing to state the obvious, don’t go off booking hotels for the Platinum benefits until we are 100% sure this will stick.

        • meta says:
          20 Aug20 August 15:13

          I did status match via Amex Plat and didn’t get Marriott Plat, so don’t think everyone got it…

        • Roger says:
          20 Aug20 August 20:58

          Same here both of US are Gold only via SPG gold obtained from Amex Platinum.

      • Alan says:
        20 Aug20 August 22:01

        Agreed all still a bit of a mess – I still can’t access my SPG account using either email or membership number.

    • fivebobbill says:
      20 Aug20 August 11:58

      Just to update on a post I made yesterday, My Amex account info has been updated and is now showing 2 MR points = 3 Starpoints as of today, although all activity has been suspended until tomorrow (21st Aug).

  • Alex W says:
    20 Aug20 August 11:00

    They are crooks I would not trust them with a barge pole. I almost exclusively use c/b sites instead of airline portals, since once you withdraw your c/b they don’t erroneously claw it back leaving you with a negative balance…

    • Leo says:
      20 Aug20 August 12:27

      Yes I wouldn’t put it passed them to nab the points I’m now earning from the Virgin Credit Card!

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

New to Head for Points?

Welcome!  We’re the UK’s most-read source of business travel, Avios, frequent flyer and hotel loyalty news. Let us improve how you travel. Got any questions? Ask them in our forums.

Get 25,000 Avios with the Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard

GET A SIGN-UP BONUS OF 18,000 VIRGIN POINTS!

Latest Forum Posts

Get 80,000 bonus points (worth 80,000 Avios) and £400 of dining credit with The Platinum Card (Offer ends 27th May)

Check reward flight availability instantly for free!

See a whole year of reward seat availability on one page at SeatSpy.com

Get up to 10,000 bonus Hilton Honors points

Booking a luxury hotel?

Our luxury hotel booking service offers you GUARANTEED extra benefits over booking direct. Works with Four Seasons, Mandarin Oriental, The Ritz Carlton, St Regis and more. We've booked £1.7 million of rooms to date. Click for details.

SME? GET THE ONLY FREE SMALL BUSINESS CREDIT CARD WHICH CAN EARN AVIOS

Get points worth 30,000 Avios with 'first year free' American Express Gold (ends 27th May)

The UK's biggest frequent flyer website uses cookies, which you can block via your browser settings. Continuing implies your consent to this policy. Our privacy policy is here.

Got it!