How many Avios do you earn from Heathrow Express train tickets? Fewer than you thought.

I’ve no idea when this happened, but at some point in the last few months the Avios earning rate on Heathrow Express tickets has been halved.

You now earn 5 Avios per £1, instead of the previous 10 Avios per £1.

As a reminder, there are two ways to earn Avios by taking Heathrow Express.

The first is to collect Heathrow Rewards points on online bookings. This is a rewards currency offered by various Heathrow services, including duty-free shopping, and can be easily transferred into Avios (or many other frequent flyer currencies). You earn 1 point per £1 spent and these transfer 1:1 into Avios.  This article explains more about Heathrow Rewards.

The second is to take advantage of a special Heathrow Express / Avios deal

To take advantage of the Avios offer, you need to book your ticket in advance via this special Avios / Heathrow Express link.

The promotion is significantly more generous than earning Heathrow Rewards points and converting them to Avios, even after the Avios rate was halved.  You now earn 5 Avios per £1 spent.  There is only one snag – you cannot use other promotional codes or book (cheaper) Advance Purchase tickets via this route.

If you are booking an Advance Purchase ticket or taking advantage of a package deal such as Duo Saver for a couple travelling together, the only reward you can claim is Heathrow Rewards points.

When choosing your means of travel from Heathrow to London you should consider what fits best for you. This article (click) outlines the various ways you can save money on Heathrow Express – including some non-Avios promotions – which may save you more money than the Avios collected.

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.)