Earn double Avios with Marriott and Accor hotels – but still not worth it
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We covered the new British Airways ‘double Avios’ promotion last week – you can read full details here and register here if you missed it.
As part of the offer, British Airways has also launched special deals with Marriott and Accor. I don’t want to spend too much time on them – one of these is not good and the other is pointless.
The Marriott offer
As this page of ba.com shows, you usually earn between 1-2 Avios per $1 at Marriott hotels, depending on brand, if you choose to take Avios instead of Marriott Bonvoy points. During this offer, you will get a 50% bonus.
You must book via the Marriott website by 18th October 2019 and complete your stay by 31st October 2020.
Is it worth it? With a 50% bonus, you’re getting 1.5 to 3 Avios per $1 depending on brand, worth 1.5p to 3p. If you’d taken Marriott Bonvoy points, you would earn 5-10 base points per $1 which (at my valuation of 0.5p per point) is worth 2.5p to 5p. Taking Avios is the worse option.
If you collect both Bonvoy points and Avios, you should keep on choosing to earn Bonvoy points on your Marriott stays. If you aren’t bothered about Bonvoy points, you should continue to keep your Bonvoy account set to ‘earn miles’ and take Avios – they are less valuable but at least you will use them. The 50% Avios bonus doesn’t change the maths either way.
The Accor offer
….. is a waste of space. You earn 50% bonus Avios in British Airways Executive Club for stays between 18th September and 31st December if booked on accor.com between 18th September and 18th October.
Here’s why it is rubbish:
British Airways Executive Club members usually earn 2.5 Avios per €2 at most Accor brands
Iberia Plus members usually earn 5 Avios per €2 at most Accor brands
Even with the 50% bonus, you are worse off. If you have no interest in earning Accor points when you stay, set up your Accor account to credit your stays to Iberia Plus, not British Airways Executive Club. You will be better off, and you can use ‘Combine My Avios’ to move the points from Iberia Plus into British Airways Executive Club.
You can learn more about the Marriott and Accor deals, as well as similar deals with Hotels.com and booking.com, on this special page of ba.com.
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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.
