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Airline credit cards
Earn points for flights and upgrades
Slash the cost of flights worldwide for you and your partner, just for spending on a piece of plastic. Airline credit cards allow you to earn Avios and other airline points as you spend, not as you fly, and you can also bag big bonuses simply for signing up.

Who's this guide for? Frequent flyers who spend on credit cards. If you're a lower spender, top reward cards could be a better option. Though do note: all reward cards, including airline cards, are only good for those who repay IN FULL every month.
Not what you want? Other related guides... Tricks to boost and max Avios | Cheap flights
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How do airline credit cards work?

You earn airline points doing your normal everyday spending and when you've collected enough, they can be converted into flights (though you still need to pay taxes and charges). Availability is much more limited than when paying for flights with cash, so you'll usually need to be flexible when booking.
You can combine any points you earn from spending with those you earn from flying, or through other credit card reward schemes, such as converting Nectar points. Added together, your stash can build up much more quickly. Our Tricks to boost and max Avios points guide has full info on that scheme, though there are others.
Airline credit card need-to-knows
See which credit cards you've the best chance of getting, in your own personal best-buy table.
Usually, applying is the only way to know if you'll be accepted for a credit card. Yet that marks your credit file, affecting your ability to get future credit. To help, our tool uses a 'soft search' to find your chances of acceptance before you apply.
Check your chances of acceptance
Top cards for multiple airline schemes
The other cards in this guide mean making a choice between Avios from British Airways and Virgin Atlantic, yet here you earn points that can be converted into either – or even shopping vouchers and Nectar points.

Both are from American Express (Amex), so there are a couple of important points to note:
- Amex isn't as widely accepted as Mastercard or Visa.
- You won't get the intro bonuses below if you've had a personal (not business) Amex in the last two years.
If this applies to you, or if you need a backup card for when Amex isn't accepted, the Virgin Atlantic cards below are Mastercard or see our top non-Amex reward cards, though these don't give airline points.
- 20,000-point bonus on £3,000 spend in first three months
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Top if you want a big intro bonus and a choice of airline: this card gives 20,000 intro bonus Amex points, swappable for points with 13 different airline schemes. You also get two free lounge passes a year – though a hefty annual fee kicks in from year two.
You'll get 23,000 points if you spend £3,000 in the first three months on this card. These can be used towards flights with British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, Emirates and Etihad, and often other rewards such as hotel stays and car hire.
There's also the choice to convert the 23,000 points into £100 in Amazon/M&S etc vouchers or 23,000 hotel points (eg, Hilton Honors or Marriott Bonvoy). Remember to cancel before the £140/yr fee kicks in in year two if you want to avoid it. |
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Check eligibility | Apply* | |
The next best card for multiple schemes | ||
Amex Rewards - 10,000-point bonus on £2,000 spend in first three months - 1 point per £1 spent - 1 point = 1 airline point - No fee - 25.3% rep APR interest |
Top fee-free card with a choice of frequent-flyer schemes: this card earns you the same number of points per pound as the card above, though you get a much smaller intro bonus. The initial 12,000 points you'd get if you spent £2,000 in the first two months converts to 12,000 airline points. As with the Amex Gold above, points can also be converted into vouchers or hotel points. However, you don't get the lounge passes with this card. |
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Check eligibility | Apply* |
(i) You won't get the intro bonus if you've held a personal Amex card in the past two years.|See all official APR examples.
Top cards for Avios/British Airways
Avios is one of the most popular airline loyalty schemes, giving airline points for British Airways and other airlines in the Oneworld group, such as American Airlines, Cathay Pacific and Qantas.
Again, most of these cards are from American Express (Amex), so note that you won't get the intro bonuses if you've had a personal (not business) Amex in the last two years. Amex also isn't as widely accepted as Mastercard or Visa.
Though if you don't want an Amex, or you've had one in the last two years and therefore can't qualify for the intro bonuses, check out the Avios offerings from Barclaycard. It offers two cards that are very similar to the options from American Express, and make a decent alternative.
- Free companion ticket on £12,000+ annual spend |
Top fee-free BA points card: this card has a decent number of intro bonus points with a low spending trigger to get them, plus you get a simple one point for every one pound you spend.
To get the bonus points, spend £1,000 on this card within the first three months, but don't use this as an excuse to overspend.
In addition, you'll get a companion ticket each year you spend at least £12,000. This lets someone travel with you in economy class without using points. |
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Check eligibility | Apply* | |
Amex Nectar - 12,500-Avios bonus on £2,000 spend in first three months - No fee in year one, then £25/yr |
Top if you're happy to pay a small fee for more Avios: this card has a higher intro bonus and gets you more points per pound than the card above, though there is a small annual fee to pay from year two.
This card's not really an 'airline card', as it doesn't give you airline points directly. It's here because there's a tie-up between Avios and Nectar which means you can convert the Nectar points you get (400 Nectar = 250 Avios). Just log in to the Nectar or British Airways Executive Club site to do the transfer.
If you spend £2,000 in the first three months to get the bonus, you'd have 24,000 Nectar points, which will get you 15,000 Avios once converted. However, there's no companion bonus – this card's all about the Avios. |
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Check eligibility | Apply* | |
The next best cards for Avios. | ||
Barclaycard Avios TABLE_CELL_STYLE - 5,000-point bonus on £1,000 spend in first three months - 1 point per £1 spent - Free cabin upgrade voucher on £20,000+ annual spend - No fee |
A no-fee Avios card that's nearly identical to the BA Amex above, so a good option if you don't want an Amex, or you've had one in the last two years. Here, you can't have had a Barclaycard in the last six months to get the 5,000 bonus points. You'll also get a free cabin upgrade each year you spend at least £20,000, rather than a companion ticket. This is a Mastercard, so will be accepted more widely than the Amex cards above. |
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Apply | ||
British Airways Premium Plus Amex
TABLE_CELL_STYLE - 25,000-point bonus on £3,000 spend in first three months - 1.5 points per £1 spent - Free companion ticket on £10,000+ annual spend - £250/yr fee - Fail to repay fully and it's 102.5% rep APR interest, incl £250 fee |
Top if you're a big spender or frequent flyer and don't mind a BIG annual fee: this card pays the joint-best ongoing points per pound of the Avios cards, and comes with decent additional perks, but you'll need to check it's worth paying the fee.
Spend £3,000 on this card in the first three months and you'll have 29,500 Avios points, which should get you at least a return economy flight to Europe (you'll pay fees and taxes). TABLE_CELL_STYLE TABLE_CELL_STYLE You'll also receive a free companion ticket if you spend over £10,000 a year, which gives you a 'free' seat in the same cabin as you (again, you pay taxes and charges). |
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Check eligibility | Apply* | |
Barclaycard Avios Plus - 25,000-point bonus on £3,000 spend in first three months - 1.5 points per £1 spent - Free cabin upgrade voucher on £10,000+ annual spend - £20/mth fee - Fail to repay fully and it's 72.4% rep APR interest, incl £20/mth fee |
A 'premium' Avios card that's nearly identical to the BA Premium Plus Amex above, so a good option if you're a big spender and you don't want an Amex, or you've had one in the last two years – though make sure it's worth paying the £20/month fee. Here, you can't have had a Barclaycard in the last six months to get the 25,000 bonus points. You'll also get a free cabin upgrade each year you spend at least £10,000, rather than a companion ticket. This is a Mastercard, so will be accepted more widely than the Amex cards above. |
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Apply |
(i) You won't get the intro bonus if you've held a personal Amex card in the past two years.|See all official APR examples.
Top cards for Virgin Atlantic
Virgin Atlantic's Flying Club is another big scheme and both its cards are powered by Mastercard, which is typically more widely accepted than the Amex cards above.
Here the cards pay points with no expiry that you can use to pay for flights, ticket upgrades or clubhouse visits – or spend via its Virgin Red scheme with retailers such as Greggs, Virgin Wines and Vue.
- 0.75 points per £1 spent - Free companion ticket/upgrade on £20,000+ annual spend - Fail to repay fully and it's 22.9% rep APR interest |
Top fee-free Virgin Atlantic card: earn ongoing Virgin points, plus a free companion ticket or upgrade for high spenders. Plus, if you'll spend over £20,000/yr on the card (don't use this as a reason to overspend) you'll get a free Flying Club tier reward. If you're at its lowest 'red' tier, you can choose a free upgrade (ie, economy to premium), a companion ticket in economy or premium – though you'll both pay taxes and charges – or a Virgin Clubhouse pass. |
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Check eligibility | Apply* | |
The next best card for Virgin Atlantic | ||
Virgin Atlantic Reward+
- 15,000-point bonus on first spend (no min) within 90 days - Until 6 Jun, additional 15,000-point bonus if you spend £3,000 in first 90 days - Free companion ticket/upgrade on £10,000+ annual spend |
Top card if you're a big spender & want to max your Virgin Atlantic points: this card gives double the number of points per pound than the fee-free version above, and has up to 30,000 intro bonus points to boot, but there's an unavoidable, hefty annual fee.
However, this card does have the advantage that the spending trigger for the annual companion ticket/upgrade is also lower at £10,000. |
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Check eligibility | Apply* |
See all official APR examples.
Cashback sites may pay you for signing up

As an extra boon, members of specialist cashback websites can be paid when they sign up to some financial products. Do check it's exactly the same deal though, as terms can be different. And bear in mind that the cashback is never 100% guaranteed until it's in your account.
For full help to take advantage of this and the pros and cons, go to our Top cashback sites guide.
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