Start here: Barclaycard Avios — link The British Airways Club, earn Avios on card spending, track transfers and use the qualifying spend reward

Step 1: What Barclaycard Avios rewards are and who they suit

You will learn: what the rewards rules cover, which two cards they apply to, and what kind of cardholder they are written for.

The British Airways Club and Avios are promoted and operated by British Airways PLC and Avios Group (AGL) Limited, and as a Barclaycard Avios cardholder you need to be enrolled in The British Airways Club in order to collect and redeem Avios [1]. The Barclaycard Avios rewards rules are separate to your credit card agreement, are read together with your Barclaycard terms and conditions, and apply in relation to Avios if the two are inconsistent [1]. You cannot hold a Barclaycard Avios and a Barclaycard Avios Plus at the same time [1]. The version linked from the Barclaycard Avios Rewards Rules Terms and Conditions page is labelled "Barclaycard Avios Reward Rules effective from 31 July 2026" [2].

Avios are non-transferable and non-refundable and cannot be redeemed or exchanged for cash; queries about your total Avios balance and how to redeem go to The British Airways Club [1]. The card is for personal use, not business purposes [1], and you are responsible for your own tax obligations, with Barclays unable to advise on them [1]. The rules suit a cardholder who wants spending on the card to add Avios to a British Airways Club account, whether an existing membership or the account created when the card account is accepted [1].

Go deeper: The British Airways Club programme and Start here: The British Airways Club.

Step 2: How the link to The British Airways Club works

You will learn: how the Club account is created and linked, which terms also apply, and how to stop earning or raise a query.

A British Airways Club account is created for you when you are accepted for your card account, unless you choose to use your existing British Airways Club membership, and your card account is linked with that Club account so that you can collect Avios [1]. The British Airways Club, and all Avios issued and redeemed under these rules, are also subject to The British Airways Club terms and conditions, which the rules give as www.britishairways.com/content/the-british-airways-club/about-the-club/terms-and-conditions [1].

To stop earning Avios on your card you need to close your card account by calling Barclays; closing your British Airways Club account is done through the BA website in accordance with The British Airways Club terms and conditions [1].

Go deeper: Barclaycard Avios Plus vs Barclaycard Avios.

Step 3: How earning works

You will learn: what earns Avios and at what rate, how amounts are rounded, when Avios transfer, and what stops them.

You earn Avios when you use your card for purchases, balance transfers or money transfers within your credit limit, including purchases made with any additional cards on your card account [1]. Barclaycard Avios earns 1 Avios per GBP 1 and Barclaycard Avios Plus earns 1.5 Avios per GBP 1 [1]. The amount of a purchase, balance transfer or money transfer is rounded to the nearest GBP 1 before the Avios are calculated: GBP 16.50 earns 17 Avios on Barclaycard Avios and 25.5 Avios on Barclaycard Avios Plus, while GBP 16.49 earns 16 Avios and 24 Avios respectively [1]. On Barclaycard Avios Plus, a half Avios in the balance at the end of a month is rounded up [1]. All Avios accrued in a calendar month, including promotional or bonus Avios, transfer to your British Airways Club account on the second working day of the following month [1], and bonus Avios promotions may be offered at Barclays' discretion, with any additional conditions told at the time of the offer [1].

No Avios are earned on purchases made over your credit limit, items making up your cash balance, payments made by electronic money transfer, interest, fees or charges including non-sterling transaction fees, or transactions later returned or refunded [1]. Earning also stops, including on bonus and promotional Avios, while you or any additional cardholder are in breach of the Barclaycard terms and conditions or these rules — for example a late or missed payment — or while your card account is restricted under the 'restricting the use of your account' section of the Barclaycard terms and conditions; Avios earned before that still transfer on the second working day of the following month [1]. Earning stops from the date the card account is closed, or from the date of a move to a non-Avios card [1], and Barclays may remove the equivalent number of Avios if repayments are not made in accordance with the Barclaycard terms and conditions [1].

There is a limit on the Avios you can receive in a statement period: you can earn Avios on spending up to four times your credit limit in any statement period [1]. A refund applied before the Avios for that purchase have transferred deducts them from your points balance; a refund applied afterwards may result in a negative Avios balance on your card account [1]. No additional Avios transfer to your British Airways Club account while your card account has a negative Avios balance [1], and a refund for a purchase you did not make with the card removes the equivalent number of Avios from your card Avios balance [1].

Go deeper: Avios earning without flying and Avios credit cards in the UK compared.

Step 4: Welcome bonus and the qualifying spend reward

You will learn: how the two extra rewards are triggered, how refunds and transfers count, when they arrive and what the cabin upgrade voucher can be used for.

If Barclays tells you that you are eligible for an Avios Welcome Bonus, you earn it by reaching the qualifying spend amount for your card within a set amount of time [1]. The qualifying spend amount and the time period are told during the application journey and can also be seen in the Barclaycard Avios FAQs section of the Barclaycard or Barclays App and the Barclaycard or Barclays website [1]. Only one Avios Welcome Bonus is applied during the lifetime of your card account, and if you close the account after receiving it and open another Barclaycard Avios card account within 2 years of receipt on the original account you are not eligible for another [1].

A qualifying spend reward is added to your British Airways Club account when you reach a specified qualifying spend amount within a 12-month period, with the amount shown in the application journey and the Barclaycard Avios FAQs, refunds before you reach it taken into account and balance or money transfers contributing [1]. The reward may be a cabin upgrade voucher, or you may be offered a choice between a cabin upgrade voucher and a specified amount of Avios, selected in the Barclaycard or Barclays App within the period Barclays confirms, after which the default reward is selected for you [1]. Where there is no choice, the voucher is added within five working days of reaching the amount; where there is a choice and you have selected, the voucher follows within five working days, or the Avios within 25 working days, of you confirming straight away or the end of the relevant 12-month period, whichever is earliest [1].

A cabin upgrade voucher must be used on an Avios reward flight booking, reward flights and cabin upgrades are subject to availability, and taxes, fees and carrier charges per person apply, with additional terms at ba.com/cabin-upgrade-voucher and the validity period given in the Barclaycard Avios FAQs [1]. You are eligible for only one qualifying spend reward within a 12-month period, further purchases after the amount is reached are not taken into account, and the amount resets at the start of each 12-month period, the first starting from the date you opened your card account [1].

Go deeper: Barclaycard Avios upgrade voucher guide and BA Amex companion voucher vs the Barclaycard Avios upgrade voucher.

Step 5: Tracking, redeeming and the Avios Plus lounge membership

You will learn: where your Avios balance is shown, how redemption works, what Barclaycard Avios Plus adds, and how the rules can change.

The rewards section of your Barclaycard or Barclays App shows your live total Avios balance, the total Avios collected with Barclays and the Avios collected with Barclaycard [1]. You redeem Avios online at ba.com in accordance with The British Airways Club terms and conditions applying at the time you request the redemption, and reward flights and cabin upgrades are subject to availability with taxes, fees and carrier charges payable [1].

Barclaycard Avios Plus cardholders can be welcomed by the partner Assurant into selected airport lounges worldwide, and once they have signed up for an Airport Lounge Membership with Assurant they can buy lounge access passes at a discounted price for themselves, family and friends for the period the Avios Plus card is held, plus other perks such as dining and spa discounts [1].

Barclays can stop you earning Avios immediately, by closing your card account, if it reasonably believes you acted unlawfully in obtaining them; otherwise it can end the rules and close the account on two months' written notice, and any Avios in the card account transfer to your British Airways Club account on the second working day of the following month where the account is closed for any reason [1]. Changes to the rules, including the rates at which you earn Avios, come with reasonable written notice — a change to your advantage may be told after it is made — apply automatically at the end of the notice period, and you can close the card account without a charge if you do not agree [1].

Go deeper: points value calculator and award vs cash calculator.

Step 6: Your first concrete action

You will learn: the five checks to run in your app and statement this month.

1. Open the rewards section of the Barclaycard or Barclays App and confirm the card is linked to the British Airways Club account you want to collect into; the rules are published on the Barclaycard Avios Rewards Rules Terms and Conditions page [1] [2].
2. Keep your payments on time: Avios, including bonus and promotional Avios, are not earned while you are in breach of the Barclaycard terms and conditions or these rules, for example after a late or missed payment [1].
3. Look up your qualifying spend amount and the 12-month period for the qualifying spend reward, which starts from the date you opened your card account [1].
4. After each month, check that the Avios arrived in your British Airways Club account on the second working day of the following month [1].
5. Remember that a refund applied after Avios have transferred can make your card Avios balance negative and pause further transfers [1].

Once the first transfer has landed, the Barclaycard Avios programme hub groups everything else about the card by task.

Next: Barclaycard Avios programme hub and Start here for the other courses in the series.