Avios closing down its South African programme – what happens to your points?

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Avios Group has announced that its South African programme is closing on 31st May 2019.

As with the closure of Avios Travel Rewards Programme in the UK, members are being encouraged to open a British Airways Executive Club account and transfer their balance. Members will also be able to transfer points to Kulula, the South African low cost carrier, and use them for a discount on a future flight.

This appears to be a messier process than the closure of the UK scheme. Whilst the UK scheme was almost a straight transfer to BAEC with few partner losses, South African residents are losing virtually all of their collection opportunities. Partnerships including BP South Africa and the Pick n Pay supermarket chain, as well as the Avios credit card in SA, are being wound down.

It isn’t clear if there will still be any way of collecting Avios via Kulula flights in South Africa after 31st May.

You can find out more details on the Avios South Africa site here.

How to earn Avios points from UK credit cards

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 BA Amex American Express card

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 BA Premium Plus American Express Amex credit card

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: