You Can Now Earn British Airways Avios When You Stay With Airbnb
A new partnership between British Airways and Airbnb means more rewards for you and your family on vacation.
Here's how it works.
As was reported by Head for Points, if you've used Airbnb before, you'll get 3 British Airways Avios per £1, €1 or $1 spent. If you haven't, you'll receive that plus 500 Avios as a welcome bonus. And if you're thinking about hosting your home on the platform, doing so can net you up to 30,000 Avios when you host for the first time, as TPG's Benet Wilson reported last week.
Note that you'll need to complete the booking or hosting using the links on BA's website -- otherwise you won't receive your Avios points. In order to collect your points, you'll obviously need to be a member of British Airways' Executive Club program, which is free to join.
We've written before about what we dislike about BA award redemptions (fuel surcharges), but its distance-based award chart is something we are fans of for certain trips. Late last month, British Airways announced changes to the redemption rates on partner award flights, but there are still good values to be had. For instance, you can book economy awards for only 13,000 Avios each way from several cities on the West Coast to Hawaii on partners such as American Airlines. An award flight from Hong Kong to Singapore on Cathay Pacific or Chicago to Miami on American Airlines will only cost you 11,000 Avios one-way in economy.
If you want to earn miles on Airbnb stays, but you don't need any more British Airways Avios at the moment, you can instead choose to earn Delta SkyMiles on Airbnb stays, but only to the tune of 1 mile per dollar spent.
While we are on the topic, here are the best credit cards for booking Airbnb stays, tips for finding the perfect Airbnb for every trip and some family-specific advice for securing the right Airbnb rental for the next adventure that includes the kiddos. Or -- just skip all those tips and book Tony Stark's lakeside cabin used in Avenger's: End Game.
TPG featured card
at Bilt's secure site
Terms & restrictions apply. See rates & fees.
| 1X | Choose to earn up to 1X points on rent and mortgage payments with no transaction fee |
| 2X | Earn 2X points + the option to earn 4% back in Bilt Cash on everyday purchases |
Pros
- Choice to earn up to 1 Bilt Point per dollar spent on rent and mortgage payments
- Elevated everyday earnings with both Bilt Points and the option to earn Bilt Cash
- $400 Bilt Travel Portal hotel credit per year (up to $200 biannually)
- $200 Bilt Cash annually
- Priority Pass membership
- No foreign transaction fees
Cons
- Moderate annual fee
- Designed primarily for members seeking a premium, all-in-one card
- Earn points on housing with no transaction fee
- Choose to earn 4% back in Bilt Cash on everyday spend. Use Bilt Cash to unlock point earnings on rent and mortgage payments with no transaction fee, up to 1X.
- 2X points on everyday spend
- $400 Bilt Travel Hotel credit. Applied twice a year, as $200 statement credits, for qualifying Bilt Travel Portal hotel bookings.
- $200 Bilt Cash (awarded annually). At the end of each calendar year, any Bilt Cash balance over $100 will expire.
- Welcome bonus (subject to approval): 50,000 Bilt Points + Gold Status after spending $4,000 on everyday purchases in the first 90 days + $300 of Bilt Cash.
- Priority Pass ($469/year value). See Guide to Benefits.
- Bilt Point redemptions include airlines, hotels, future rent and mortgage payments, Lyft rides, statement credits, student loan balances, a down payment on a home, and more.