Why British Airways On Business points are now worth a lot more

On Business is the British Airways loyalty scheme for small businesses (PartnerPlusBenefit is the Star Alliance equivalent if you are based in the UK and Ireland.)

I wrote two long explanatory articles about British Airways On Business here and here.  In summary, if you own a registered company you can open an On Business account and ‘double dip’ on every flight.  The travellers still receive their Avios points whilst the company receives On Business points.

The best thing about On Business points is that availability is FAR better than you get with Avios points.  It is not as good as it used to be, but for redemptions at peak periods On Business can be a life saver.

The worst thing is that, for short haul redemptions, you had to pay the full taxes and charges.  This was usually around £120 on a return economy flight.  This meant it was crazy to redeem them on short-haul except at very peak times.

As I wrote in January, British Airways has removed fuel surcharges from short haul redemptions.   The reason you usually don’t see it when redeeming Avios points is that the landing and security charges still cost more than the £35 Reward Flight Saver fee in most cases.

For On Business redemptions, however, the removal of the fuel surcharge makes a BIG difference.

A typical Eurotraveller redemption between London and Hamburg (a route I book often) used to cost well over £100 in charges when booked using On Business points.  Today, it costs just £59.  That is still £24 more than you pay when redeeming Avios but availability is better.

Looking at Club Europe, On Business costs £72 versus £50 for a Reward Flight Saver.  The gap is down to a manageable £22.

If you had been sitting on your On Business points because you didn’t have enough for a long-haul redemption and because you were put off by the short-haul surcharges, take another look.  The value of On Business points has now jumped up, just as the value of your Avios points is falling.

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.)