Why earning Avios with Moneycorp at Terminal 5 is not a great idea

I posted a couple of weeks ago that American Express Currency Exchange had resigned from its positions in Heathrow Terminal 5.  These booths, including the one in the British Airways lounge, are being replaced by Moneycorp.

The good news – if you are spending your employers money – is that Moneycorp is awarding Avios points for walk-up purchases at the rate of 1 Avios point per £1 exchanged.

The bad news is that Moneycorp is NOT giving Avios for pre-ordered currency.  American Express Currency Exchange remains the exclusive British Airways partner for pre-ordered currency.  However, it is now impossible to collect pre-ordered currency from Amex in Terminal 5.

How BA got itself into this mess I will never know.  The best way to earn Avios from pre-ordered currency is now to book yourself on an airline other than BA, since Amex Currency Exchange still has booths in the other Heathrow terminals!

You should never, ever buy currency at Heathrow as a walk-up purchase if you are spending your own money.  The rates are so poor it beggars belief.  The Travelex as you come through Terminal 5 passport control seems especially poor, with a ludicrously huge spread of around 20% IIRC.  I pity anyone who effectively pays Travelex £50 for changing £500 of $ or Euro into Sterling.

Your options for earning Avios from foreign currency are therefore (assuming you are flying from Terminal 5):

Use the Amex website (www.travelmoneynow.com/britishairways) and have currency delivered to your home or office.  Amex is still charging this as a purchase on Amex-issued Amex cards, which is a fantastic extra bonus.

Use Moneycorp at Terminal 5 as a walk-up – strictly not recommended due to the poor rates

Earn no Avios and pre-order from Travelex or Moneycorp for Terminal 5 collection.  You should still earn Heathrow Rewards points at the rate of 1 per £10 spent.

Details of BA’s new and confusing relationship with Moneycorp and Amex can be found here at ba.com.

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.)