Latin American airline LATAM available for Avios redemptions from early 2014

The two major Latin American carriers, TAM and LAN, have confirmed they will join the oneword alliance – which includes British Airways – in early 2014.

TAM and LAN merged last year to form LATAM. Whilst LAN has been a long-term member of oneworld, TAM is currently a member of the other main airline grouping, Star Alliance. It will now quit Star in early 2014 and immediately join oneworld.

(AviancaTaca remains a Star Alliance member, so the alliance retains a presence in the region.)

The combined group, which is based in Chile and listed on the stock exchange there, flies to 150 destinations in 22 countries. As well as Chile, there are subsidiaries based in Peru, Brazil, Ecuador, Argentina, Colombia and Paraguay.

Rather like International Airlines Group, which owns British Airways and Iberia, LATAM is actually a holding company. LAN and TAM are continuing to fly under their own brands.

LAN flights are already available for Avios redemptions via ba.com. TAM flights – which mainly operate to and from Brazil – will be added from early 2014.

Given that Qatar Airways and Sri Lankan are also in the queue to join oneworld – as will US Airways when it merges with American Airlines – the number of destinations that can be reached using Avios is set to increase sharply in the next 18 months.

How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (December 2021)

As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Avios points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses!

There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:

British Airways American Express

5,000 Avios for signing up, no annual fee and an Economy 2-4-1 voucher for spending ….. Read our full review

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

25,000 Avios and the UK’s most valuable credit card perk – the 2-4-1 companion voucher Read our full review

You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points, such as:

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & two airport lounge passes Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express

30,000 points and an unbeatable set of travel benefits – for a 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, along with a sign-up bonus worth 10,500 Avios:

Capital On Tap Business Rewards Visa

The most generous Avios Visa or Mastercard for a limited company Read our full review

You should also consider the British Airways Accelerating Business credit card. This is open to sole traders as well as limited companies and has a 30,000 Avios sign-up bonus:

British Airways Accelerating Business American Express

30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios 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.

(Want to earn more Avios?  Click here to visit our home page for our latest articles on earning and spending your Avios points and click here to see how to earn more Avios this month from offers and promotions.)