Our Pick Of The Best Air Miles Credit Cards (2024)

Air miles are a type of rewards point that can be exchanged for flights, upgrades and other travel services.

They’re offered by major airlines, and collected whenever you spend with them or one of their partner brands.

The UK’s most popular air miles schemes are:

1. Avios — offered by British Airways Executive Club
2. Virgin Points — offered by Virgin Atlantic Flying Club

Others include:

1. American Airlines — AAdvantage Miles
2. Emirates — Skywards
3. Etihad — Etihad Guest
4. Lufthansa — Miles & more
5. United Airlines — Mileage Plus

Before you can collect air miles, you’ll need to register with your chosen loyalty scheme. It’s free to sign up, and you can collect air miles with as many providers as you like.

Whenever you book a flight, or shop with one of the scheme’s partner brands, you’ll be prompted to enter your membership information so the air miles you earn can be credited to your account.

Exactly how much you earn will vary depending on the scheme you sign up for and the tickets you buy.

With British Airways Executive Club, the number of Avios you earn is related to how far you fly, rather than how much you spend. On each flight, you’ll earn between 25% and 250% of the miles you fly in Avios.

On a 1,000 mile flight you’d earn between 250 and 2,500 Avios, depending on the cabin class and whether you purchased a flexible or advance ticket.

Virgin Atlantic Flying Club uses a similar calculation. According to Virgin’s website, booking a return flight from London to New York would earn you between 866 and 13,856 Virgin Points. This means you can effectively collect between 0.15 points and 1 point per mile travelled.

You can also collect points by spending on an air miles credit card, such as one of the above.

If you want to top up your air miles balance, you can often buy them directly from the provider.

Bear in mind that you’ll pay more for each point than it is worth when redeemed.

You may also be able to convert other loyalty points into air miles. For instance, 400 Nectar Points can be converted into 250 Avios, while 150 Tesco Clubcard Points (£1.50 in Clubcard vouchers) can be converted into 300 Virgin Points.

Air miles can be spent on flights with participating airlines, cabin upgrades, and other travel services such as car rental and hotels.

To redeem air miles, you can make a purchase through the loyalty scheme’s online portal, or enter membership details at checkout when booking with one of its partners.

Air miles don’t carry an exact monetary value. The air miles price of a flight depends on the cabin class you opt for, and when you want to travel. As an example however, a return economy flight from London to New York would cost about 20,000 Virgin Points.

While air miles credit cards can be a useful tool, there are a few potential drawbacks to consider. Many charge an annual fee, for example, which could outweigh the benefits you receive.

Equally, you’re unlikely to receive a generous 0% interest period on balance transfers or purchases — and, unless you have an excellent credit score and meet other stringent eligibility criteria, you may not be offered one of these premium type of cards at all.

To be accepted for an air miles credit card, you will typically need to have a very good or excellent credit score.

Individuals with a history of bad credit are unlikely to be accepted for an air miles card, and applying for any form of credit may impact your credit score.

While each air miles credit card has its own rules for earning points, there are ways of maximising the number of points you can earn. For example:

1. Take advantage of welcome bonuses — certain cards offer extra air miles as a reward for spending a certain amount of money in your first months
2. Check for partner offers — your provider may reward you with extra points when you shop with one of its partners
3. Pay off your balance in full each month — by clearing your balance every month, you’ll avoid costly interest payments that could cancel out the value of the air miles you earn.

Some air miles credit cards charge an annual fee, while others do not.

Fee-charging cards generally offer a generous points collection system, so you may be able to ‘earn back’ the fee in air miles.

If you are not a frequent traveller, a different type of reward card could make better sense. There’s a whole host of deals available which either pay cash back as a percentage of what you spend, or points which can be redeemed at certain stores or groups of stores – or put towards family days out for example.

Alternatively, if you’re planning a large purchase and want to spread the cost over time, a 0% purchase credit card is likely to be the best option. These cards don’t charge interest for a set period of time — typically between six and 24 months.

Meanwhile, a 0% balance transfer credit card could be the better option if you are carrying a balance on another card that charges a high rate of interest and are able to switch it over.