British Airways is a direct transfer partner of three major U.S. credit card rewards programs which makes it very easy to earn lots of Avios via intro bonuses and everyday credit card spending.
British Airways credit card transfer partners
AMEX Membership Rewards credit cards
American Express offers a large handful of credit cards that earn Membership Rewards points transferable to British Airways. Points earned with their cards can be transferred to British Airways at a 1:1 ratio meaning that every 1,000 AMEX points you transfer will give you 1,000 Avios.
American Express offers several of the best travel credit cards in the market with intro bonuses as high as 100,000 points and earning rates of up to 5X. So If you're looking to earn a lot of Avios, the Membership Rewards program is one of the best programs for British Airways.
Here's our top picks for earning Avios with Membership Rewards credit cards:
Chase Ultimate Rewards credit cards
Chase offers three Ultimate Rewards credit cards that you can use to earn points transferable to British Airways. Every 1,000 Ultimate Rewards points you transfer to your account will give you 1,000 Avios.
Two of the best benefits of having an Ultimate Rewards credit card is that:
- Points can be redeemed towards travel at a value of 1.25 to 1.5 cents per point which gives you extra flexibility on how you use your rewards AND
- Chase credit cards offers some of the best travel insurance available in the states including trip cancellation, trip interruption, auto rental collision damage waiver, baggage delay, trip delay, and more.
Here are the Ultimate Rewards credit cards that allow you to transfer points to British Airways:
Capital One miles credit cards
Capital One offers six credit cards that earn Capital One miles — 3 personal cards and 3 business cards. Miles earned with these cards can be converted into British Airways Avios at a 1:1 ratio meaning that every 1,000 Venture miles or Spark miles you transfer will give you 1,000 British Airways Avios.
Capital One miles credit cards are fantastic for those who prefer to earn rewards at a flat-rate across most purchases. Miles earned can be redeemed towards any kind of travel purchases at a value of 1 cent per point which includes airfare, hotels, car rentals, tolls, parking, and more.
Here are our top picks for the best Capital One miles credit cards:
Bilt Rewards credit cards
Bilt offers one credit card that you can use to earn points transferable to British Airways: The Bilt Mastercard. Points earned with the card can be transferred to British Airways at a rate of 1,000 Bilt Rewards points for 1,000 Avios.
The Bilt Rewards program is most known for allowing you to earn points paying rent with no transaction fee. This is something you can't do with other cards, so if you want to earn points paying rent, I highly suggest looking to the program as it is free to sign up for. You also don't necessarily need the credit card to earn the points for rent payments.
Here's the details on the card:
Citi ThankYou Rewards credit cards
Citi ThankYou points can be converted into British Airways Avios, but there are a few hoops you'll need to jump through.
First, you can only transfer ThankYou points if you own the Citi Strata Premier Card or Citi Prestige Card. If you don't have one of those cards, you will only be able to transfer points to a select few partners (and at worse ratios) — British Airways not included.
Second, Citi isn't a direct transfer partner of British Airways, but you can convert ThankYou points into Qatar Avios and then convert those to British Airways Avios. This still results in a 1:1 transfer meaning that 1,000 ThankYou points will give you 1,000 Qatar Avios which can then be converted into 1,000 British Airways Avios.
Here are the credit cards that earn Citi ThankYou points:
Other Avios credit cards
Iberia Avios and Qatar Avios can be converted into British Airways Avios at a 1:1 rate. This opens up the ability to earn Avios via credit card spending with both programs. Iberia offers one co-branded credit card and Qatar offers two. These cards do not offer as much flexibility as the credit card rewards programs, but can still be useful for adding Avios to your account.
Here are the cards both programs offer:
Marriott Bonvoy credit cards
British Airways Avios can be earned transferring points from Marriott Bonvoy to the British Airways Executive Club program. This can be done at a 3:1 ratio meaning that transferring 3,000 Marriott Bonvoy points will give you 1,000 Avios.
Marriott offers a whopping 6 credit cards with most of them offering 6X points per $1 spent at Marriott brand properties — equivalent to 2X Avios. If you frequent Marriott brand hotels and use their credit cards to pay for your stay, Marriott is a solid option for boosting your Avios balance.
Here are the credit cards that Marriott offers:
Hilton Honors credit cards
Hilton Honors points can be transferred to British Airways at a 10:1 rate. Every 10,000 Hilton Honors points you convert will give you 1,000 British Airways Avios.
While this isn't the best transfer rate (or best use of points), it's very easy to earn upwards of 30X points per $1 spent at Hilton brand properties if you're using Hilton's premium cards. This equal to earn 3X Avios per $1 spent which is a pretty solid.
So if you frequent Hilton brand hotels and frequently pay for your stays with their co-branded credit cards, you can obtain a good amount of points transferable to British Airways.
Here are the credit cards Hilton offers:
What's the best credit card for Avios?
Input your monthly and yearly spend amounts into our credit card finder tool to find out which credit cards will earn you the most British Airways Avios and best return per $1 spent.
Results will include all co-branded British Airways credit cards and all British Airways credit card transfer partners. Results will show up to the top 20 cards.
This calculator uses our valuations, the intro bonuses we have in the database, and includes the maximum (calculable) bonuses for each card. If you want to have control over these options and much more, check out this tool:
Rewards Credit Card Directory & Calculator: British Airways Avios
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Results
Listed below are the results based on what you entered into the tool above. These estimates are to help guide you towards making the best decision when it comes to picking up a rewards credit card.
You can click on "Show Calculations" to see a breakdown of how the rewards were calculated, click on the card itself to learn more/apply through our partners (big thanks if you do!), or click on any of the other links to learn more about the card and it's rewards.
Do note that some of the calculations are rounded so it is possible that the estimated values may be off by a point or two when added up.
Remember that this particular tool uses our point/mile valuations, the intro bonuses we have in the database, and includes the maximum (calculable) bonuses for each card. If you want to have control over these options and much more, slide over to the Rewards Credit Card Directory & Calculator.
These calculations should be used for illustrative purposes only.
FAQs
Can you transfer points to British Airways Avios?
Yes. You can earn Avios in the British Airways Executive Club program using several major transfer partners including Chase, American Express, Citi, Capital One, and Bilt.
Which transfer partner is best for earning British Airways Avios?
American Express Membership Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards, Citi ThankYou Rewards, Capital One Venture Rewards & Spark Rewards, and Bilt Rewards are the best options for quickly building lots of Avios with British Airways.
Can you transfer British Airways Avios to other programs?
Yes. You can transfer British Airways back and forth between Iberia Avios and Qatar Avios at a 1:1 ratio.
Can you transfer AMEX points to British Airways?
American Express Membership Rewards points can be transferred to British Airways at a rate of 1,000 AMEX points for 1,000 British Airways Avios.
Can you transfer Chase points to British Airways?
Chase Ultimate Rewards points can be transferred to British Airways at a rate of 1,000 Chase points for 1,000 British Airways Avios.
Can you transfer Capital One miles to British Airways?
Venture miles and Spark miles can be transferred to British Airways at a rate of 1,000 miles for 1,000 British Airways Avios.