Do I earn Avios if I book a flight for someone else?

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Do you earn Avios if you book a flight for another person?

Today I want to look at whether you can earn Avios points if you book a flight for someone else.

As you probably know, Avios is the reward currency used by British Airways Executive Club and several other frequent flyer programs (Iberia, Aer Lingus and Flybe to name a few). If you are a frequent flyer one of the easiest ways to earn Avios is adding your Executive Club membership number to your bookings with British Airways. This will automatically credit your account every time you fly on an eligible flight.

Unfortunately, Avios are only earned by the person who flies and not the booker. This means that if you book a flight for someone else, they are able to earn Avios if they add their Executive Club number to the booking.

You as the booker do not receive anything. It makes no difference if you paid for the ticket or not.

If you are buying a ticket for someone at the same address, it is possible to create a British Airways household account enabling you to pool the Avios earned with yours for free. This is a great way of letting children earn Avios, since the only way under-18s are allowed to join British Airways Executive Club is as part of a household account. This article explains more about how children can earn Avios.

(This article is part of our ‘BA Q&A’ series which explains how British Airways Executive Club works. You can see all of our ‘BA Q&A’ articles here. )

(Head for Points is the UK’s biggest frequent flyer website with 1.8 million monthly page views. Want to learn more about earning and spending Avios? Click here to read our latest news stories, click here to join our email list and click here to read our ‘Avios Redemption University’ series.)

How to get 20,000 Avios from Amex Gold or 30,000 Avios from Amex Platinum (December 2021 offer)

The sign-up bonus on American Express Preferred Rewards Gold converts to 20,000 Avios and the card is free for the first year. You can apply here.

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

You don’t qualify for the Amex Gold bonus if you have a British Airways American Express card. You DO qualify for the bonus on The Platinum Card, which converts into 30,000 Avios. You can apply here.

The Platinum Card from American Express

30,000 points and an unbeatable set of travel benefits – for a fee Read our full review

If you have your own small business, the best way of earning Avios is via the Capital On Tap Business Rewards Visa. It has a sign-up bonus which converts to 10,000 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 look at the British Airways Accelerating Business card, because it currently has a limited time offer of 60,000 Avios when you sign up by 14th November. You can apply here.