Can I pay for British Airways buy on board food and drink catering with Avios points?
Links on Head for Points may support the site by paying a commission. See here for all partner links.
Today I want to answer the question over whether you can pay for British Airways buy on board food and drink using Avios points?
In 2017 British Airways chose to scrap complimentary food and drinks on its short-haul flights in economy, opting for a buy-on-board offering instead. This was initially offered in partnership with premium British supermarket chain Marks and Spencer, but the deal ended in 2021.
There is now a two tier system in place.
All passengers in Economy receive a free bottle of water and very light snack, such as a mini flapjack.
If you want more, you can pre-order food and drink via the highlifeshop.com website. This gives you access to a wide range of products, including some from Tom Kerridge. Your pre-paid food will be brought to you on the aircraft by the crew.
A small range of products – mainly hot and cold drinks and ambient snacks (nothing fresh) – can be purchased on board without pre-ordering.
If you do not want to spend your hard earned cash, British Airways lets you pay for food and drinks with Avios. This is possible both for pre-orders via highlifeshop.com and for purchases onboard.
In general, you are looking at a valuation of 0.7p per Avios – not the worst, by a long way, but you can do better. It is a better choice than using your Avios to book hotels, car hire or to pay for seat selection or extra baggage, where you will usually only get 0.5p per point.
You should target 1p per Avios if you redeem them for premium cabin flights. You can read more about how much we believe an Avios is worth here.
(This article is part of our ‘BA Q&A’ series which explains how British Airways Club works. You can see all of our ‘BA Q&A’ articles here. )
(Head for Points is the UK’s biggest frequent flyer website with 2.6 million monthly page views. Want to learn more about earning and spending Avios? Click here to read our latest news stories and click here to sign up for our free weekly or daily email newsletters.)
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 (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.
