Barclays Premier Rewards closing – Avios coming?

Customers of Barclays Premier received an email on Thursday telling them that Barclays Premier Rewards is closing on 15th December. Apparently:

“in recent years fewer people have been using it, with only a small number of our Premier customers now benefitting from the programme.

We’re truly grateful for your loyalty and we’re looking at new and different ways to recognise that. We’re working hard behind the scenes to improve the benefits we give you and make sure you get even more from Premier in the future.”

The reason this is relevant is that Avios signed a major deal with Barclays Premier earlier in the year.

The partnership was meant to launch this Summer. We don’t know the details, but there would be a generous switching bonus and presumably the opportunity to earn from credit cards and other products.

Covid put the brakes on the launch and there will not be a public launch until 2021. I understand there may be a soft launch for existing customers before then, but I don’t recommend moving to Barclays Premier until a large Avios bribe is offered.

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.)