Will you earn more Avios from BP or Esso when buying fuel?

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On Thursday we covered the launch of the Avios and BPme Rewards partnership. You can now transfer your BPme Rewards points into Avios.

The transfer rate is attractive. If you have 200 BPme Rewards points, you can get 125 Avios or a £1 discount on your fuel. At 0.8p per Avios, you are ‘buying’ them at a good rate.

Is this better than earning Avios from Esso though?

Is it better to earn Avios from BP or Esso when buying fuel?

Esso is not an Avios partner. You can, however, collect Nectar points when you buy fuel at Esso and these can be transferred into Avios.

Let’s have a look at the numbers.

Earning Avios at BP garages

The earning rate for BPme Rewards points at BP garages is:

1 BPme point for every litre of regular fuel purchased
2 BPme points for every litre of Ultimate fuel purchased
1 BPme point for every £1 spent in a BP forecourt shop

If we convert these to Avios, you get:

0.625 Avios for every litre of regular fuel purchase
1.25 Avios for every litre of Ultimate fuel purchased
0.625 Avios for every £1 spent in a BP forecourt shop

Earning Avios at Esso garages

The earning rate for Nectar points at Esso garages is:

1 Nectar point per litre spent on Esso Synergy fuel
2 Nectar points per £1 spent on other items, including in the store

If we convert these to Avios, you get:

0.625 Avios per litre spent on fuel
1.25 Avios per £1 spent on other items, including in the store

Remember that you do not earn Nectar points at Esso garages which have a Tesco store attached. You can earn Tesco Clubcard points at these garages, which can be converted to Virgin Points if you wish.

Which is better?

It’s not difficult to analyse these two earning rates.

The deals are identical for fuel.

The only exception is if you pay for premium fuel, in which case BP is the better choice due to double points on Ultimate.

On the other hand, if you tend to buy something in the shop alongside your fuel, Esso is the better deal due to the higher rate on in-store earning – unless it is an Esso with a Tesco store, in which case you can’t earn Nectar points at all!

Coupons and bonuses may make the difference

Both Esso, via the Nectar app, and BP, via the BPme Rewards app, offer bonus points from time to time.

Given the relatively small number of Avios earned from filling your tank at standard rates, a bonus is likely to make the difference as to which is more rewarding.

Perhaps more realistically, the fairest thing to say is that buying petrol is unlikely to earn you a huge amount of Avios irrespective of whether you shop at Esso or BP.

You will probably earn more Avios from the credit card you use to pay for your fuel than from the fuel itself.

It might be worth settling for an easy life and filling up at the garage most convenient for your home or office, irrespective of what you earn. You are also likely to find fuel cheaper at your local supermarket – and you would earn Nectar points at a Sainsbury’s petrol station, of course – with a saving that would outweigh the Avios you would get from Esso or BP.

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: