Maximise your Avios, air miles and hotel points

An Avios flight redemption bonanza to parts of Asia …. if you’re up for travelling at the moment

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This is, I admit, not necessarily the best time to be planning a holiday in Asia.

However, hear me out.

British Airways has opened the floodgates on Avios availability to some Asian cities between now and, in some cases, the end of 2020.

British Airways BA 777X 777 9X

You may never, ever see it as good as this again in Club World.

Don’t dismiss the idea.  The key with Avios travel is that you can cancel your ticket and get all your Avios and cash back for just a £35 per person fee.

If British Airways cancels your flight due to coronavirus, you will get it all back without a cancellation fee.

On some routes, if we look ahead to December – ten months from now – there are loads of dates with virtually unlimited amounts of Club World availability.

Coronavirus could be a lot worse by December, but it could also be a lot better.

It’s up to you if you want to risk a booking, but it is really a one-way bet given the Avios refund rules.


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.

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.

Comments (122)

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  • Ron says:

    HKG – it could go either way… I’ve got tickets for my partner and myself for 16 days between the bank holidays in early May with Virgin to HKG… booked before the virus outbreak.
    All things being equal I’d cancel if I could but Virgin will only cancel up to end April to date.
    But I’m watching the virus numbers and the rate of increase is tailing off…. so fingers crossed for 75 days time will be OK.
    The tickets aren’t refundable, so I’ll have to wait and see if the advice changes. I guess I can’t sell em on either.
    The silver lining is I may get a good hotel deal, the cloud being I may die of the virus. Hmmm… i need to think this one through.
    I’m never going to advance book anything more than about a month ahead again….

    • guesswho2000 says:

      Don’t bank on a good hotel deal, prices in HKG have stayed stubbornly high over the last year, with the civil unrest and even now with the (admittedly non-risk) of corona.

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

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